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# Positive Mass from Holographic Causality Alberta-Thy-08-02, hep-th/0204198

## Abstract

For $`n+1`$ dimensional asymptotically AdS spacetimes which have holographic duals on their $`n`$ dimensional conformal boundaries, we show that the imposition of causality on the boundary theory is sufficient to prove positivity of mass for the spacetime when $`n3`$, without the assumption of any local energy condition. We make crucial use of a generalization of the time-delay formula calculated in gr-qc/9404019, which relates the time delay of a bulk null curve with respect to a boundary null geodesic to the Ashtekar-Magnon mass of the spacetime. We also discuss holographic causality for the negative mass AdS soliton and its implications for the positive energy conjecture of Horowitz and Myers.

Positive energy theorems play a central role in gravitational theories, since they determine the classical stability of physical spacetimes within given asymptotic classes. Indeed, alternative versions of the proof of positivity exist, using surprisingly distinct techniques. In the asymptotically flat case, among the many approaches, one has the proof of positivity using minimal surfaces, due to Schoen and Yau , Witten’s supersymmetry-inspired proof using spinorial techniques , Geroch’s approach using the inverse mean curvature flow  and Penrose, Sorkin and Woolgar’s approach using the focusing of null geodesics near conformal infinity $``$ . Similarly, in the asymptotically AdS case one has the spinorial proof due to Abbott and Deser , and a proof based on null focusing techniques in .

In this paper, we present a new proof of positivity of energy for asymptotically AdS spacetimes based on the assumption of holography . While the AdS/CFT correspondence  is a particular realization of holography, our result does not depend on the specifics of the holographic correspondence.

In holographic theories, causally related events in the $`n+1`$ dimensional bulk theory have interpretations in the $`n`$ dimensional holographic dual theory and vice versa. Questions of causality in holographic theories have been discussed in many papers . For example, Kleban, McGreevy and Thomas  propose a relationship between causality in the holographic dual theory and matter energy conditions in the bulk.

We show that the requirement of causality in the holographic dual theory is in fact sufficient to prove that a certain weighted time-average of the mass of the spacetime is non-negative, given the assumption of a holographic correspondence, but without the assumption of any energy conditions. In the special case when the matter flux on the conformal boundary $``$ vanishes, this means that the instantaneous mass itself is non-negative. Our proof is based on a generalization to arbitrary spacetime dimensions $`n+14`$ of an expression for time delay in , which relates the time difference between a null geodesic on the conformal boundary $``$ and a nearby bulk null curve to the Ashtekar-Magnon mass.

As in the AdS/CFT correspondence, we shall take a holographic correspondence to imply that certain fields in the (conformally completed) bulk theory, evaluated at a point on the conformal boundary, correspond to operators in the dual, or “boundary”, theory localized at the same point. We further assume holographic causality: if two points on the conformal boundary are causally related via the bulk causal structure, then there is a causal relation (e.g. non-commutation) between the two corresponding operators of the dual boundary theory. The boundary theory is thus defined to be causal only if these two operators are localized at points that are causally related in the conformal boundary causal structure. More crudely, causality implies that a signal cannot go through the bulk faster than it can go along the conformal boundary.

We begin by considering the pair: a point S on $``$, dubbed the source, and an observer world-line $`R`$ on $``$, dubbed the receiver. Let $`\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ be the time taken by a fastest null geodesic $`\gamma `$ to go from S to R along $``$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }t^{}`$ the time taken by a bulk null curve $`\gamma ^{}`$ to go from S to R. If $`\mathrm{\Delta }t>\mathrm{\Delta }t^{}`$, this means that R will receive a signal from S via the bulk along $`\gamma ^{}`$ before it receives the fastest boundary signal $`\gamma `$, thus violating holographic causality. Holographic causality therefore requires that the time delay $`\mathrm{\Delta }T=\mathrm{\Delta }t^{}\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ between the fastest boundary null geodesic and any bulk null curve must always be non-negative .

When the spacetime is pure AdS, the time delay between the fastest boundary signal and any bulk signal is non-negative. It vanishes when the bulk signal is along a bulk null geodesic, but this can only join antipodal points on the boundary. Since the strictest version of AdS/CFT holography holds for pure AdS bulk spacetimes (in 3, 5 and 7 spacetime dimensions), holographic causality is satisfied. However, one must also be able to interpret, in the boundary theory, bulk perturbations about the global AdS background . Such perturbations would affect this exact matching and hence could lead to a violation of holographic causality. Intuitively one would expect that if global AdS is perturbed by the addition of positive mass, then causal geodesics in the bulk will focus and hence be non-maximal, thus maintaining holographic causality. In fact what we will find is the converse of this intuition — namely, the fact that bulk causal curves are non-maximal implies positivity of mass.

To make our treatment self contained, we start by reminding the reader of the conformal definition of an asymptotically AdS spacetime in $`n+1`$ spacetime dimensions for $`n+14`$ ; we use the definition in  rather than the weaker one in .

Definition: An $`n+1`$ dimensional spacetime $`(M,g_{ab})`$ is said to be asymptotically AdS if there exists a manifold $`\widehat{M}`$ with conformal boundary $``$ , with a (sufficiently) smooth metric $`\widehat{g}`$ and a diffeomorphism from $`M`$ to $`\widehat{M}`$ such that

1. There exists a function $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ on $`\widehat{M}`$ such that $`\widehat{g}_{ab}=\mathrm{\Omega }^2g_{ab}`$ on $`M`$.
2. $`=\widehat{M}`$ has topology $`S^{n1}\times `$, $`\mathrm{\Omega }=0`$ on $``$ and $`_a\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is nowhere vanishing on $``$.
3. $`g_{ab}`$ satisfies $`R_{ab}\frac{1}{2}Rg_{ab}+\mathrm{\Lambda }g_{ab}=8\pi T_{ab}`$ where $`\mathrm{\Lambda }<0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{1n}T_{ab}`$ admits a smooth limit to $``$,
4. The Weyl tensor of $`g_{ab}`$ is such that $`\mathrm{\Omega }^{3n}\widehat{\mathrm{C}}_{abcd}`$ is smooth on $`\widehat{M}`$ and vanishes at $``$.
5. For $`n=3`$ only (where it does not follow from the other conditions) we additionally require that the conformal isometry group of $``$ is the AdS group.

We confine our attention to the conformal metric $`\widehat{g}_{ab}=\mathrm{\Omega }^2g_{ab}`$ in a small neighbourhood $`𝒩=\times S^{n1}\times [0,ϵ]=\times 𝒰`$ of $``$, where $`\mathrm{\Omega }[0,ϵ]`$. It is convenient to express $`\widehat{g}_{ab}`$ to order $`𝒪(\mathrm{\Omega }^{n+1})`$ in a coordinate frame $`x=(\mathrm{\Omega },\stackrel{}{x})`$ adapted to the level surfaces of $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$, where $`\stackrel{}{x}=(t,\stackrel{}{\omega }_{n1})`$ are the coordinates in constant $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ hypersurfaces and $`\stackrel{}{\omega }_{n1}`$ are the coordinates on the $`S^{n1}`$ sphere. The conformal metric in $`𝒩`$ may be expressed as

$$d\widehat{s}^2=d\widehat{s}_{}^2+\mathrm{\Omega }^nf_{ab}(\stackrel{}{x})dx^adx^b+𝒪(\mathrm{\Omega }^{n+1}),$$
(1)
where

$$d\widehat{s}_{}^2=\widehat{g}_{ab}^{}dx^adx^b=\mathrm{\Omega }^2ds_{AdS}^2=\frac{1}{1\mathrm{\Omega }^2}d\mathrm{\Omega }^2dt^2+(1\mathrm{\Omega }^2)d\omega _{n1}^2,$$
(2)
with $`ds_{AdS}^2`$ the AdS metric, $`d\omega _{n1}^2`$ the standard “round” metric on an $`n1`$ sphere and $`f_{ab}(\stackrel{}{x})`$ a degenerate symmetric tensor with $`f_{a\mathrm{\Omega }}=0`$. For simplicity we use units in which $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=\frac{n(n1)}{2}`$.

As we now show, the trace-free part of $`f_{ab}`$ is in fact proportional to the electric part $`E_{ab}`$ of the Weyl tensor $`\widehat{\mathrm{C}}_{abcd}`$,

$$E_{ab}(\stackrel{}{x})=\underset{}{lim}\frac{1}{\mathrm{\Omega }^{n2}}\widehat{\mathrm{C}}_{acbd}\widehat{}^c\mathrm{\Omega }\widehat{}^d\mathrm{\Omega }.$$
(3)
Using the form of the metric (1), $`\widehat{\mathrm{C}}_{abcd}`$ can be simplified to

$`\widehat{\mathrm{C}}_{abcd}`$ $`=`$ $`2\widehat{g}_{de}^{}\widehat{}_{[a}^{}𝒞_{b]e}^e{\displaystyle \frac{4}{n1}}(\widehat{}_{[d}^{}\widehat{g}_{c][b}^{}𝒞_{a]e}^e+\widehat{}_e^{}\widehat{g}_{[a|[c}^{}𝒞_{d]|b]}^e)`$ (4)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{4}{n(n1)}}\widehat{g}_{a[c}^{}\widehat{g}_{d]b}^{}\widehat{g}^{ef}\widehat{}_{[e}^{}𝒞_{m]f}^m+𝒪(\mathrm{\Omega }^{n1}),`$
where $`\widehat{}_a^{}`$ is the connection compatible with the conformal AdS metric $`\widehat{g}_{ab}^{}`$, $`\widehat{}_a`$ is the connection compatible with (1), the tensor $`𝒞_{ab}^c`$ is given by $`𝒞_{ab}^cv_c=\widehat{}_a^{}v_b\widehat{}_av_b`$, and we have used the fact that AdS has vanishing Weyl curvature, $`\widehat{\mathrm{C}}_{abcd}^{}=0`$. Using (1), (2) and (3), and denoting the induced metric on $``$ by $`\widehat{q}_{ab}^{}`$, we get

$$E_{ab}=\frac{n(n2)}{2}f_{ab}+\frac{(n2)}{2}\widehat{q}_{ab}^{}(\widehat{q}^{cd}f_{cd}).$$
(5)
Reinserting this into (1), we obtain

$$d\widehat{s}^2=(1+\mathrm{\Omega }^nH(\stackrel{}{x}))d\widehat{s}_{}^2\frac{2}{n(n2)}\mathrm{\Omega }^nE_{ab}(\stackrel{}{x})dx^adx^b\mathrm{\Omega }^nH(\stackrel{}{x})d\mathrm{\Omega }^2+𝒪(\mathrm{\Omega }^{n+1}),$$
(6)
where $`nH(\stackrel{}{x})\widehat{q}^{kl}f_{kl}`$ and where we have used the fact that $`E_{a\mathrm{\Omega }}=0`$. The definition of asymptotically AdS spacetimes above, from , implies $`H(\stackrel{}{x})=0`$, so our proof actually applies to the broader class of metrics given by (1).

We now choose S and R so that they project to the antipodes of the spatial boundary sphere $`S^{n1}`$. Next, we use the arc length $`\sigma [0,\pi ]`$ to parameterise the null curves, where $`d\sigma ^2=(1\mathrm{\Omega }^2)^1d\mathrm{\Omega }^2+(1\mathrm{\Omega }^2)d\omega _{n1}^2`$ is the “round” metric on $`S^n`$ with the equator at $`\mathrm{\Omega }=0`$. Let $`\gamma :[0,1]`$ be one of the boundary null geodesics between S and R and let $`\gamma ^{}:[0,1]𝒩`$ be a bulk null curve which is a particular variation of $`\gamma `$ with $`\gamma ^{}(0)=\gamma (0)`$. Since $`d\sigma ^2`$ is the round metric on $`S^n`$, $`\gamma `$ projects to the equator at $`\mathrm{\Omega }=0`$, and we may now choose $`\gamma ^{}`$ to project to a nearby geodesic of $`d\sigma ^2`$ in $`𝒰`$. This is always possible on the round $`S^n`$, since geodesics with the same starting point will focus at the antipodal point. Thus, for the varied curve $`\gamma ^{}`$, $`\mathrm{\Omega }(\sigma )=\mathrm{\Omega }_𝐦\mathrm{sin}(\sigma )`$, where $`\mathrm{\Omega }_𝐦`$ is the farthest that $`\gamma ^{}`$ ventures into the bulk. For a sufficiently small $`\mathrm{\Omega }_𝐦>0`$ we then obtain the following expression for the time delay in $`\gamma ^{}`$ with respect to $`\gamma `$:

$$\mathrm{\Delta }T=\frac{\mathrm{\Omega }_𝐦^n}{n(n2)}_0^\pi \mathrm{sin}^n(\sigma )E_{ab}(\stackrel{}{x})\gamma ^a\gamma ^b𝑑\sigma +𝒪(\mathrm{\Omega }_𝐦^{n+1}),$$
(7)
where $`\stackrel{}{x}`$ and $`\gamma ^a=\frac{dx^a}{d\sigma }`$ are functions of $`\sigma `$ along the boundary null geodesic $`\gamma `$. The requirement of holographic causality implies a non-negative time delay, so that the right hand side of (7) must be non-negative. We now show that the integrand is related to the Ashtekar-Magnon mass.

The Ashtekar-Magnon(AM) mass is defined as

$$\mu [C]:=\frac{1}{8\pi (n2)}_CE_{ab}\chi ^a\chi ^b𝑑S,$$
(8)
where $`C`$ is a space-like cut of $``$, $`dS`$ the associated volume element and $`\chi ^a`$ a conformal timelike Killing vector on $``$. In the coordinate frame $`\stackrel{}{x}=(t,\stackrel{}{\omega }_{n1})`$ we use above, a natural choice is $`\chi ^a=(1,0,\mathrm{},0)`$ up to normalization, with $`C`$ the round $`S^{n1}`$ sphere with volume element $`d\mathrm{\Theta }`$, so that

$$\mu (t)=\frac{1}{8\pi (n2)}E_{00}𝑑\mathrm{\Theta }.$$
(9)
Now, up to a scale factor, on $``$ the “spray” of future directed null geodesics at a point is parameterised by an $`n2`$ dimensional sphere. Thus, for example, in $`n+1=4`$ dimensions there is a circle worth of null directions on $``$ at every point, while in $`n+1=5`$ dimensions there is a 2-sphere worth of null directions. Taking $`d\mathrm{\Xi }`$ as the volume element on the round $`S^{n2}`$, we then take the average

$$E_{ab}\gamma ^a\gamma ^b𝑑\mathrm{\Xi }=\frac{n}{n1}\mathrm{vol}(S^{n2})E_{00}.$$
(10)
Here we have used (a) the fact that the integral is performed over the future null directions at a point, so that $`E_{ab}`$ is in fact independent of these directions and (b) the fact that $`E_{ab}`$ is trace-free. Averaging the time-delay (7) over all possible null directions as in (10) and over all points on the boundary $`S^{n1}`$, we get

$$\mathrm{\Delta }T𝑑\mathrm{\Xi }𝑑\mathrm{\Theta }=\frac{8\pi \mathrm{vol}(S^{n2})}{(n1)}\mathrm{\Omega }_𝐦^n_{t_0}^{t_0+\pi }\mathrm{sin}^n(tt_0)\mu (t)𝑑t+𝒪(\mathrm{\Omega }_𝐦^{n+1}).$$
(11)
Since the time delay $`\mathrm{\Delta }T0`$, this implies positivity of the weighted time-averaged mass,

$$\mu _{t_0}=_{t_0}^{t_0+\pi }\mathrm{sin}^n(tt_0)\mu (t)𝑑t0.$$
(12)
If the matter flux $`_VT_{ab}\chi ^a\chi ^b𝑑V`$ vanishes on $``$ for the patch $`V`$ bounded by spacelike cuts of $``$ at $`t_0`$ and $`t_0+\pi `$, then $`\mu (t)`$ is constant in $`V`$ , so that the instantaneous mass $`\mu (t)0`$ in $`V`$. We have thus proved the following:

Theorem: Assume that an $`n+1`$ dimensional asymptotically AdS spacetime $`(M,g)`$ has a holographic dual on its conformal boundary $``$. Then the requirement of holographic causality implies that the weighted time-averaged Ashtekar-Magnon mass $`\mu _{t_0}`$ for the spacetime is non-negative for all $`t_0`$. In particular, when the matter flux at $``$ is zero for a time period of at least $`\pi `$, the instantaneous Ashtekar-Magnon mass is non-negative over that same time period.

Remark (i): In  the weight in $`\mu _{t_0}`$ was assumed to be uniform, but we have shown here that it is indeed non-uniform. If this weight had been a delta function instead of $`\mathrm{sin}^n(tt_0)`$, one could conclude that the instantaneous mass is non-negative in general. However, $`\mathrm{sin}^n(tt_0)`$ only approaches a delta function as $`n\mathrm{}`$, so for finite $`n`$ the weight has non-vanishing width. While this appears to be a drawback of the focusing method employed here, one may be able to extract some useful information from it. In particular, (a) $`\mu (t)`$ cannot be negative for a time scale of $`\pi `$, and (b) since $`\mu _{t_0}0`$ for all $`t_0`$, if $`\mu (t)<0`$ on time-scales $`\tau <\pi `$, then it must be compensated for by a positive contribution from $`\mu (t)`$ for a time $`\pi \tau `$ with “interest”. What does this say about classical stability? One might suppose that if the mass of the spacetime becomes negative at any time that this would lead to an increasingly negative mass. However, the fact that $`\mu _{t_0}0`$ for all $`t_0`$ clearly prevents such an instability.
Remark (ii): The elements of our proof do not suffice to prove the converse of the theorem, namely that positivity of mass is sufficient to ensure holographic causality. Positivity of mass does not imply that the function $`E_{ab}\gamma ^a\gamma ^b`$ is non-negative everywhere, and by choosing $`\gamma `$ and $`\gamma ^{}`$ suitably, the time delay could be made negative. Instead of assuming positivity of mass however, if we were to assume null genericity, null geodesic completeness and a null energy condition, then a focusing theorem  can be used to show that all bulk geodesics have non-negative time-delay with respect to boundary null geodesics555The focusing theorem was used to complete the proof of positivity of energy in conjunction with the time delay formula in .. This theorem states that in such spacetimes any complete causal geodesic must contain conjugate points. The existence of conjugate points means that the null geodesic focuses, so that the fastest null geodesics always lie on the boundary.
Remark (iii): In , it was claimed that any asymptotically AdS spacetime must satisfy an integrated weak energy condition if it is to have a causal holographic boundary dual. While the focusing theorem implies positive time delay, it is not clear how the converse conclusion of  may be reached.
Remark (iv): Finally, we briefly comment on the relation to the counterterm mass definition of , where the mass $`\mu _{ct}`$ is calculated by adding certain local counterterms to the action. In 4-dimensions it was shown in  that this mass definition is identical to the AM mass, so that holographic causality implies the positivity of $`\mu _{ct}`$ by our theorem. In 5 dimensions, however, these masses explicitly do not match, and their difference $`\mu _{ct}\mu `$ can be interpreted as a non-zero Casimir energy. Using our method, however, holographic causality cannot be used to predict the sign of this Casimir energy term.

Now, the time delay formula (7) is valid only for asymptotically AdS spacetimes with $``$ of topology $`S^{n1}\times `$. However, asymptotically locally AdS spacetimes with non-spherical boundary are also candidates for a holographic theory , and several examples of spacetimes with such boundaries are known . Positive energy theorems have not been proved for such spacetimes — indeed, the AdS soliton , which has a Ricci flat $``$, has negative AM mass666The soliton is protected from a potential instability due to a unique scaling isometry between solitons of different mass parameters .. Motivated by the AdS/CFT correspondence, Horowitz and Myers  proposed a new positive energy conjecture which states that the AdS soliton is the unique ground state in its asymptotic class. It is therefore of interest to ask how the considerations in this current work extend to such spacetimes.

We now show by explicit calculation that despite having negative mass, the AdS soliton has a strictly positive time delay when $`n3`$, so that the boundary theory is causal in this restricted sense. The $`n+1`$ dimensional AdS soliton has metric

$$ds^2=r^2dt^2+\frac{1}{V(r)}dr^2+V(r)d\varphi ^2+r^2\underset{i=1}{\overset{n2}{}}(d\theta ^i)^2.$$
(13)
Here $`V(r)=\frac{r^2}{l^2}(1\frac{r_0^n}{r^n})`$, with $`\mathrm{}^2=\frac{n(n1)}{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}`$, $`r_0`$ a constant and $`n>2`$. The solution is non-singular provided $`\varphi `$ is periodic with period $`\beta _0=\frac{4\pi \mathrm{}^2}{nr_0}`$. Putting $`x1/r`$, (13) can be re-expressed as

$$ds^2=\frac{1}{x^2}(dt^2+ds_n^2),$$
(14)
where

$$ds_n^2=\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{(1r_0^nx^n)}dx^2+\frac{(1r_0^nx^n)}{\mathrm{}^2}d\varphi ^2+\underset{i}{\overset{n2}{}}d\theta _i^2,$$
(15)
is the spatial part of the optical metric $`d\widehat{s}^2=x^2ds^2`$ . Thus, the time taken by a null signal is $`\mathrm{\Delta }t=𝑑s_n.`$

Now, consider a null geodesic from a source S on $``$, which has angular momenta $`(\stackrel{}{L},J)`$, where $`\stackrel{}{L}(\dot{\theta }_1,\mathrm{},\dot{\theta }_{n2})`$, $`J(1r_0^nx^n)\dot{\varphi }`$ and $`\dot{\stackrel{}{L}}=\dot{J}=0`$ along any geodesic where $`\dot{A}dA/ds_n`$. The time taken for this geodesic to get back to $``$ via the bulk (and not along the boundary) is then

$$\mathrm{\Delta }t^{}=\sqrt{|\mathrm{\Delta }\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Theta }}|^2+\left(\frac{4\mathrm{}^2}{r_0^2}\right)(1k^2)^{\frac{2n}{2n}}I(n)^2},$$
(16)
where $`|\mathrm{\Delta }\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Theta }}|`$ is the optical distance traversed in the $`\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Theta }}(\theta _1,\mathrm{},\theta _{n2})`$ directions, $`k^2=\mathrm{}^2J^2(1L^2)^1`$ and

$$I(n)=_0^1\frac{1}{\sqrt{1X^n}}𝑑X=\sqrt{\pi }\frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }(\frac{n+1}{n})}{\mathrm{\Gamma }(\frac{n+2}{2n})}.$$
(17)
If the bulk null geodesic is received by some observer R on $``$, the shortest time taken by a boundary null geodesic to get from S to R satisfies the inequality,

$$\mathrm{\Delta }t\sqrt{|\mathrm{\Delta }\stackrel{}{\mathrm{\Theta }}|^2+\left(\frac{4\mathrm{}^2}{r_0^2}\right)\frac{\pi ^2}{n^2}}.$$
(18)
If the fastest curve, necessarily a null geodesic, were to lie in the bulk, then $`\mathrm{\Delta }t^{}<\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ for that geodesic. But we see that this cannot be the case. Comparing the times $`\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }t^{}`$ we see that the time delay $`\mathrm{\Delta }T=\mathrm{\Delta }t^{}\mathrm{\Delta }t`$ is positive whenever

$$\frac{n}{\pi }I(n)(1k^2)^{\frac{2n}{4n}}1.$$
(19)
Now, $`(1k^2)^{\frac{2n}{4n}}1`$ for $`n2`$, the equality being satisfied only when $`n=2`$ and/or $`J=0`$. Moreover, one can easily show that $`\frac{n}{\pi }I(n)1`$ for $`n2`$ — indeed, it grows approximately linearly with $`n`$. Thus, the time-delay is zero only for $`n=2`$. This is not surprising, since in 3 spacetime dimensions, the AdS soliton is in fact global AdS. It is also satisfying to note that the existence of the time delay is in fact independent of the apparent mass “parameter” $`r_0`$. This is consistent with the fact that solitons of different $`r_0`$ are in fact isometric to each other via a scaling isometry .

Thus, the AdS soliton, despite having negative mass, satisfies holographic causality. However, in light of the Horowitz-Myers conjecture, it is interesting that there is no bulk null geodesic which realizes the bound set by causality or alternatively, by the focusing theorem. What this means for the conjecture is a question under current investigation .

Acknowledgments: This work was partially supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada). SS was supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.


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# Observation of double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen.

## Abstract

We report the first observation of double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen. The experiment was conducted at the TRIUMF cyclotron using the RMC spectrometer, and detected $`\gamma `$–ray coincidences following $`\pi ^{}`$ stops in liquid hydrogen. We found the branching ratio for double radiative capture to be $`(3.05\pm 0.27(\text{stat.})\pm 0.31(\text{syst.}))\times 10^5`$. The measured branching ratio and angle-energy distributions support the theoretical prediction of a dominant contribution from the $`\pi \pi \gamma \gamma `$ annihilation mechanism.

Negative pions stopped in hydrogen form pionic hydrogen atoms. These atoms can disintegrate via several modes that include the well-known processes of charge exchange $`\pi ^{}p\pi ^on`$ , radiative capture $`\pi ^{}p\gamma n`$ , and pair production $`\pi ^{}pe^+e^{}n`$ .

However, for pionic hydrogen an additional mode of capture is predicted by theory,

$$\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n.$$
(1)
This double-radiative process has been investigated theoretically by several authors, including Ericson and Wilkin , Christillin and Ericson , Gil and Oset , and Beder . The predicted branching ratio is $`5.1\times 10^5`$ , with a mechanism that is dominated by the annihilation of the stopped, real $`\pi ^{}`$ on a soft, virtual $`\pi ^+`$, i.e. $`\pi \pi \gamma \gamma `$. Beder also predicted different photon energy-angle distributions for the contributing annihilation and bremsstrahlung mechanisms.

The underlying dynamics of $`\pi \pi `$ annihilation in double radiative capture is rather intriguing. For example, it led Ericson and Wilkin  to suggest the reaction as a probe of the pion field in the nucleus, and Gil and Oset  to suggest the reaction as a novel window on the $`\pi \pi \gamma \gamma `$ vertex. Also, the related $`\gamma p\gamma \pi n`$ reaction was considered by Wolfe et al.  and Drechsel and Fil’kov  as a possible probe of the pion polarizability.

The only experimental search for double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen was conducted by Vasilevsky et al.  at JINR. They used a large-acceptance photon-pair spectrometer and obtained a branching ratio upper limit of $`5.5\times 10^4`$. However, double radiative capture on beryllium and carbon has been observed in experiments by Deutsch et al.  at CERN and Mazzucato et al.  at TRIUMF. Unfortunately, these data are difficult to interpret due to i) nuclear structure effects and ii) capture occurring from both the s- and p-states of the $`\pi `$Be and $`\pi `$C atoms.

Our experiment was performed at the TRIUMF cyclotron using the RMC spectrometer . The incident beam had a pion flux of $`7\times 10^5`$ s-1, a central momentum of 81.5 MeV/$`c`$, and electron and muon contamination of 18% and 9% respectively. The incoming pions were counted in a 4-element plastic scintillator telescope and stopped in a 2.7 liter liquid hydrogen target of length 15 cm, diameter 16 cm, and wall thickness 254 $`\mu `$m . The outgoing photons were detected by pair production in a 1 mm–thick cylindrical Pb converter and electron-positron tracking in cylindrical multiwire and drift chambers. A 1.2 kG axial magnetic field was used for momentum analysis and concentric rings of segmented scintillators were used for fast-triggering. The trigger scintillators comprised the A-ring (just inside the Pb converter radius), the C-ring (just inside the multiwire chamber radius), and the D-ring (just outside the drift chamber radius). For more information on the RMC spectrometer see Wright et al. . Note that in this experiment we moved the Pb converter from just inside the C-counter radius to just outside the A-counter radius.

For $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ data-taking we employed a two–photon trigger based on the hit multiplicities and the hit topologies in the trigger scintillator rings and the drift chamber cells. A typical $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ event that fulfilled the trigger is shown in Fig. 1. It has zero hits in the A-counter ring, two hits in the C-counter ring, and four hits in the D-counter ring. To reduce the high rate of back-to-back photons from $`\pi ^o\gamma \gamma `$ decay, we rejected photon-pairs reconstructed with drift cell hits or trigger scintillator hits separated by large azimuthal angles.

During a four week running period we collected $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ data from a total of $`3.1\times 10^{11}`$ pion stops in liquid hydrogen. Calibration data with a dedicated $`\pi ^o\gamma \gamma `$ trigger were also taken periodically.

One source of background was real $`\gamma `$$`\gamma `$ coincidences arising from $`\pi ^o\gamma \gamma `$ decay. The $`\pi ^o`$’s were produced by either at-rest or in-flight pion charge exchange. The at-rest source yields $`\pi ^o`$’s with energy $`T=2.8`$ MeV and decay photons with opening angles $`\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.91`$, while the in-flight source yields $`\pi ^o`$’s with $`T15`$ MeV and photons with $`\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.76`$. The at-rest background was roughly $`1600\times `$ the double-radiative capture signal, and the in-flight background was roughly $`10\times `$ the double radiative capture signal. Consequently, for $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ the $`\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.76`$ region was overwhelmed by $`\pi ^o`$ background, and due to the finite resolution of the photon-pair spectrometer, the $`\pi ^o`$ background was a potential problem for opening angles with $`\mathrm{cos}\theta >0.76`$.

Another source of background was accidental $`\gamma `$$`\gamma `$ coincidences arising from simultaneous multiple $`\pi ^{}`$ stops. The pion beam had a micro–structure with a pulse width of 2–4 ns and a pulse separation of 43 ns. With an incident flux of $`7\times 10^5`$ s-1 the probability for more than one pion arriving in a single beam pulse is 1.5%. Multiple pion stops in one beam pulse can yield a $`\gamma `$–ray pair by the accidental coincidence of one photon from each pion. This background was roughly $`900\times `$ our signal. It yields photon-pairs with opening angles 0–180 and summed energies 106-258 MeV. Note that the summed energy from random background events can exceed the mπ-limit for single $`\pi `$ capture.

In analyzing the data a number of cuts were applied to identify photon pairs and reject background sources. A tracking cut imposed minimum values for the number of points in the tracks and maximum values for the chi–squared of fits to the tracks. A photon cut required that the electron-positron pairs intersect at the Pb converter and that the reconstructed photon pairs originate from the H2 target. To reject the multi-$`\pi `$ background we imposed a C-counter timing cut and a beam telescope amplitude cut. The telescope amplitude cut was imposed on the normalized sum of the light output from the eight photo-multiplier tubes viewing the four individual beam scintillators. The $`\pm `$4 ns C-counter timing cut was imposed on the time difference between the two C-counters intersecting the two emerging e+e- pairs. The remaining inefficiency in rejecting the accidental coincidences was $`1.3\times 10^4`$. To reject the $`\pi ^o`$ background we imposed a photon opening angle cut of $`\mathrm{cos}\theta >0.1`$.

A total of $`2.3\times 10^6`$ photon pairs passed both the tracking cuts and photon cuts. These photon pairs are shown in Fig. 2 and are dominated by the backgrounds from $`\pi ^o`$ decays and multi-$`\pi `$ stops. The multi-$`\pi `$ background is clearly seen in the summed energy spectrum as events with $`E_{sum}>150`$ MeV and the $`\pi ^o`$ background is clearly seen in the opening angle spectrum as events with $`\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.76`$. The beam telescope amplitude cut removed about $`0.8\times 10^6`$ accidental $`\gamma `$$`\gamma `$ coincidences from multi–$`\pi `$ stops, and the photon opening angle cut removed about $`1.4\times 10^6`$ real $`\gamma `$$`\gamma `$ coincidences from $`\pi ^o`$ decays. A total of 635 events with $`E_{sum}>80`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{cos}\theta >0.1`$ were found to survive all cuts (see Fig. 3).

A small quantity of two-photon background from $`\pi ^o`$ decays and from multi–$`\pi `$ stops does however survive the applied cuts. The remaining $`\pi ^o`$ contamination was subtracted using (i) the observed number of $`\pi ^o`$ events with $`\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.76`$ and (ii) the known angular response of the photon-pair spectrometer. The remaining multi–$`\pi `$ contamination was subtracted using (i) the observed number of 2$`\pi `$ events with $`E_{sum}>170`$ MeV and (ii) the measured sum energy spectrum for the multi-$`\pi `$ background. These procedures indicated 53$`\pm `$30 $`\pi ^o`$ background events, or ($`8.3\pm 4.8`$)%, and 100$`\pm `$16 multi-$`\pi `$ background events, or ($`15.7\pm 2.5`$)%, with $`E_{sum}>80`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{cos}\theta >0.1`$. After subtraction this yielded a total of 482$`\pm `$42 $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ events with $`E_{sum}>80`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{cos}\theta >0.1`$. Using the data from Refs.  we further estimated the backgrounds originating from the nuclear $`(\pi ,2\gamma )`$ reaction on the target walls, etc, to be $`1`$%.

In order to compare the experiment with theory we performed both measurements and simulations of the two-photon response function of the RMC spectrometer. To measure the response we employed the multi–$`\pi `$ accidentals. Specifically, by counting the numbers of incoming multi-$`\pi `$ stops and outgoing $`\gamma `$-$`\gamma `$ accidentals, we mapped the detector’s response versus energy and angle***A minor complication is that the two photons from the multi-$`\pi `$ stops may have time differences of up to 4 ns (i.e the pion beam pulse width). This time difference slightly decreases both the track reconstruction efficiency and the two-photon acceptance. From simulations we found the loss in acceptance to be 6%.. Note that the calibration data and $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ data were collected simultaneously and passed through the same cuts (with the exception of the beam telescope cut). Conveniently, the energy range and angular range for multi-$`\pi `$ accidentals covers the kinematical range for $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ events.

To simulate the detector response function we used a Monte Carlo program. The program incorporated both the detailed geometry of the RMC detector and the detailed interactions of the relevant particles. Our program was based on the CERN GEANT3 package and is described in Wright et al. . We tested the simulation by comparison to the response function measurements with the multi–$`\pi `$ accidentals. We found the energy-angle distributions from experiment and simulation to be in very good agreement. However the absolute detection efficiencies from experiment and simulation were found to differ on average by 10%. Moreover, the measured acceptance was found to vary by $`\pm 4`$% from run to run and decreased by 10% between the early runs and the late runs. We attributed these variations to changes in the chamber efficiencies and fluctuations in the chamber noise, neither of which were incorporated in the simulation of the acceptance. To account for these differences between the measured and the simulated acceptance, we employed a multiplicative correction factor of $`F=0.90\pm 0.09`$. The quoted uncertainty is very conservative, and embodies the entire variation of the measured acceptance over the running period.

In addition we compared the results of measurements and simulations of photon-pairs from at-rest charge exchange $`\pi ^{}p\pi ^on`$ followed by neutral pion decay $`\pi ^o\gamma \gamma `$. Here we used dedicated ‘$`\pi ^0`$ runs’ with a modified trigger arrangement for these back-to-back photon pairs. We found excellent agreement between the simulation and the measurements using the factor $`F=0.90`$.

The branching ratio for double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen was obtained via

$$B.R.=\frac{N_{\gamma \gamma }}{N_\pi ^{}ϵ\mathrm{\Omega }Fc_{bm}c_{stop}}$$
(2)
where $`N_\pi ^{}`$ is the number of livetime-corrected pion stops, $`N_{\gamma \gamma }`$ is the number of background-subtracted $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ events, and $`ϵ\mathrm{\Omega }F`$ is the detector acceptance. Note that the appropriate acceptance was obtained using Monte Carlo  with the $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ kinematical distributions taken from Beder . The factor $`c_{stop}=0.85\pm 0.01`$ accounts for the fraction of incident pions that stopped in hydrogen (see Wright et al.  for details) and the factor $`c_{bm}=0.99`$ accounts for the efficiency of $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ events passing the beam telescope cut. Using Eqn. 2 we obtained a branching ratio of $`(3.05\pm 0.27(\text{stat.})\pm 0.31(\text{syst.}))\times 10^5`$. Note that the quoted uncertainty contains a statistical error of $`\pm 8`$% from $`N_{\gamma \gamma }`$ and a systematic error of $`\pm 10`$% in total. The systematic error is completely dominated by the $`\pm 10`$% uncertainty in the determination of the acceptance $`ϵ\mathrm{\Omega }F`$. The uncertainties in $`N_\pi ^{}`$, $`c_{stop}`$ and $`c_{bm}`$ were each $`2`$ % and entirely negligible. We stress that the result we quote is the total $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ branching ratio for all photon energies ($`0<E_\gamma <m_\pi `$) and all opening angles ($`1.0<\mathrm{cos}\theta <+1.0`$).

Our quoted branching ratio was extracted assuming the energy-angle distributions calculated by Beder , although we actually only observed the region with $`\mathrm{cos}\theta >0.1`$ and $`E_\gamma >25`$ MeV. Tests of the sensitivity of the extracted branching ratio to the energy-angle cuts revealed only a $`\pm 2.9`$% variation for $`0.2<\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.0`$ and a $`\pm 2.8`$% variation for analyses with different sum energy cuts. Also, when using a phase space energy-angle distribution rather than Beder’s energy-angle distribution , the extracted branching ratio changed by only $`7`$%.

In Beder’s calculation  of double radiative capture the main contributions originate from $`\pi \pi `$ annihilation graphs, $`NN`$ bremsstrahlung graphs, and their interference. The $`\pi \pi `$ annihilation graphs alone account for 64% of the total branching ratio and yield a distribution that is peaked at small opening angles. The $`NN`$ bremsstrahlung graphs alone account for 20% of the total branching ratio and yield a distribution that is peaked at large opening angles. At threshold, the pion bremsstrahlung contributions vanish, and effects of vector meson exchange and delta resonance excitation are calculated to be very small.

In Fig. 3 we compare our measured data with Beder’s calculation . The background contributions of ($`8.3\pm 4.8`$) % from $`\pi ^o`$ decay events and ($`15.7\pm 2.5`$)% from multi-$`\pi `$ stop events have been subtracted from the measured data and the resulting 482 events are plotted as open circles. The theoretical curves have been convoluted with the response function of the RMC spectrometer. The plot shows that the $`\pi ^{}p\gamma \gamma n`$ branching ratio and opening angle distributions from experiment and theory are in reasonable agreement. The overall consistency of experiment and theory supports the theoretical prediction of a dominant $`\pi \pi `$ annihilation mechanism. As seen in Fig. 3, the bremsstrahlung graphs alone underpredict the data by about a factor of five.

However, our measured branching ratio is somewhat smaller than the theoretical branching ratio. We note that Beder’s calculation was performed at tree-level and neglects contributions from pion loops, etc. We therefore speculate that higher–order terms might explain the difference between the experimental and the predicted branching ratio. A new calculation of double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen using chiral perturbation theory is currently underway .

We remind the reader of the results from the previous nuclear $`(\pi ,2\gamma )`$ measurements. For 12C, Deutsch et al.  obtained a partial branching ratio of $`(1.4\pm 0.2)\times 10^5`$, for $`E_\gamma >25`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.71`$, and Mazzucato et al.  obtained a partial branching ratio of $`(1.2\pm 0.2)\times 10^5`$, for $`E_\gamma >17`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{cos}\theta <0.71`$. Unfortunately the comparison of the earlier nuclear data with our hydrogen data is difficult as i) $`\pi `$ capture is predominantly from the 1S state in 1H and the 2P state in 12C and ii) the nuclear data were mainly taken at large two-photon opening angles and our hydrogen data were mainly taken at small opening angles.

In summary, we have made the first measurement of double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen by recording $`\gamma `$–ray coincidences from $`\pi ^{}`$ stops in liquid H2. We found the branching ratio to be $`(3.05\pm 0.27(\text{stat.})\pm 0.31(\text{syst.}))\times 10^5`$ by assuming the kinematical distributions from Beder . Moreover, the measured branching ratio and opening angle distribution support the theoretical hypothesis of a $`\pi \pi `$ annihilation mechanism. We hope this work will stimulate further studies into using double radiative capture as a novel probe of the proton’s pion cloud and the $`\pi \pi \gamma \gamma `$ vertex.

We wish to thank the staff of the TRIUMF laboratory for their support of this work. In particular we acknowledge the help of Renée Poutissou on the data acquisition and Dennis Healey on the hydrogen target. In addition we thank Douglas Beder and Harold Fearing for helpful discussions, and the National Science Foundation (United States) the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada), the Henry Luce Foundation (JHDC) and the Jeffress Memorial Trust (DSA) for financial support.


text:
# Raman scattering through surfaces having biaxial symmetry

\[

## Abstract

Magnetic Raman scattering in two-leg spin ladder materials and the relationship between the anisotropic exchange integrals are analyzed by P. J. Freitas and R. R. P. Singh in Phys. Rev. B, 62, 14113 (2000). The angular dependence of the two-magnon scattering is shown to provide information for the magnetic anisotropy in the Sr14Cu24O41 and La6Ca8Cu24O41 compounds. We point out that the experimental results of polarized Raman measurements at arbitrary angles with respect to the crystal axes have to be corrected for the light ellipticity induced inside the optically anisotropic crystals. We refer quantitatively to the case of Sr14Cu24O41 and briefly discuss potential implications for spectroscopic studies in other materials with strong anisotropy.

\]

In a recent article (see Ref. ) the authors developed an elegant theory on the two-magnon Raman scattering in two-leg ladder systems. Within the Fleury-Loudon model  the interaction of light with the magnetic degrees of freedom can be written as:

$$H_{int}=\underset{}{}J_{ij}^{}(𝐞_{in}\widehat{r}_{ij})(𝐞_{out}\widehat{r}_{ij})𝐒_i𝐒_j,$$
(1)
where $`𝐞_{in}`$, $`𝐞_{out}`$ are the polarization versors of the incoming and outgoing field, $`\widehat{r}_{ij}`$ are unit vectors along the bond directions, and $`J_{ij}^{}`$ represent the Raman coupling constants between spins $`i`$ and $`j`$. The key result of Ref.  is the expression for the magnetic scattering cross section in parallel polarization:

$$I_{||}(\omega ,\theta )=I_{||}(\omega ,0)[\mathrm{cos}^2(\theta )\frac{J_{||}^{}}{J_{}^{}}\frac{J_{}}{J_{||}}\mathrm{sin}^2(\theta )]^2$$
(2)
Here $`I(\omega ,\theta )`$ is the scattering intensity at angle $`\theta `$ with the rung direction and $`J_{||,}`$ are the magnetic exchange integrals along and across the ladder legs. Equation (2) would allow in principle the determination of the magnetic exchanges $`J_{||,}`$ by *continuous* variation of the angle $`\theta `$ if the $`J_{||}^{}/J_{}^{}`$ ratio is known  as destructive interference cancels the intensity at the critical angle $`\theta _{cr}`$ = $`\mathrm{arctan}[(J_{}^{}J_{||}/J_{||}^{}J_{})^{1/2}]`$.

We want to stress that although relation (2) is based on *correct* theoretical assumptions, from the experimental point of view it cannot be applied in a straightforward way for $`\theta m\pi /2`$ where $`m`$ is an integer. The theoretical prediction for the angular dependence is contrasted with the experimental results in Fig. 1, which shows the dependence of the two-magnon scattering intensity in the ladder compound Sr14Cu24O41  in parallel polarization as a function of the angle between the light polarization and the rungs direction. The intensity minimum does not reach zero but it remains 50% of the maximum value.

It is known that anisotropic media allow in principle two plane waves with two different phase velocities and two different polarizations to propagate in any given direction . When $`\theta m\pi /2`$, the projections of the electric field on the crystal axes will propagate with different phase velocities and an elliptical polarization is induced as a function of the penetration depth. In two-leg ladders this effect can be far from negligible in the visible spectrum usually used in Raman spectroscopy. In Sr14Cu24O41 for example, for a spectrum taken with incident excitation energy $`\omega _i=1.837`$ eV, numerical values for the real and imaginary parts of the complex refraction index $`\stackrel{~}{n}(\omega _i)=n(\omega _i)+ik(\omega _i)`$ extracted from Kramers-Kronig analysis of the reflectivity data,  give $`|n_xn_y|0.376`$, $`k_x=0.0945`$ and $`k_y=0.282`$ where $`x,y`$ denote the rung and leg directions, respectively. On the characteristic penetration depth scales $`\stackrel{~}{\lambda }_{x,y}`$ the phase differences between the components of the electric field $`E_{x,y}`$ given by $`\delta (z)=(2\pi /\lambda _i)(n_xn_y)z`$ are significant, namely $`\delta (\stackrel{~}{\lambda }_{x,y})=0.63\pi `$ and $`0.21\pi `$, respectively. For the particular Raman geometry used to derive Eq. (2) we have to use in Eq. (1) for the inelastically scattered photons at $`z`$ inside the sample the formulas:

$$𝐞_{in,out}(z,\omega )=\frac{\mathrm{cos}(\theta )e^{\alpha _xz}\widehat{x}+\mathrm{sin}(\theta )e^{\alpha _yz}e^{\pm i\delta (z)}\widehat{y}}{(\mathrm{cos}^2(\theta )e^{2\alpha _xz}+\mathrm{sin}^2(\theta )e^{2\alpha _yz})^{1/2}}$$
(3)
where $`\alpha _{x,y}`$ are absorbtion coefficients and the $`+`$ and $``$ correspond to the incoming and outgoing electromagnetic field. The polarization versors become dependent on the penetration depth $`z`$ and on the energy of the incoming and scattered light $`via`$ the parameter $`\delta `$ and the absorbtion coefficients $`\alpha _{x,y}`$. Furthermore, the determination of the total scattered intensity requires an integration over the $`z`$ coordinate. A real comparison with the measured signal is quantitatively difficult not only because the calculations are laborious but also because the propagation of any experimental errors in the determination of the optical parameters is hard to control. There are also other optical corrections to be taken into account - transmission at the sample interface, absorbtion and reabsorbtion processes of the incoming and scattered photons - which become more complicated if the anisotropy is considered, but it is not the purpose of this report to account for them in detail. However the effect described above can explain the lack of intensity cancellation at a critical angle as can be seen in Fig. 1 and also the fact that the finite residual intensity is excitation energy dependent.

Although the general effect described here is a standard textbook consequence of light propagation in all anisotropic media, we mention briefly a couple of other examples where it can be important. NaV2O5 is an orthorhombic crystal which contains quasi one-dimensional V-O ladders at quarter filling factor.  One of the ways to gain insight in the magnetic and electronic structure might be to look for preferential orientations of dipole moments of infrared excitations with respect to the crystal axes or to perform an angular dependence Raman study  based on similar principles as described in Ref. . Potential anisotropy effects which can influence the experimental results should be checked in this case. Other materials to which such an analysis may also be relevant are the layered Cu-O superconductors with non tetragonal symmetry. It has been shown for instance that for othorhombic YBa2Cu3O6+x or Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x crystals the real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function are quite different along orthogonal directions in the $`ab`$ plane . This effect can be relevant for the symmetry analysis of the pair breaking (2$`\mathrm{\Delta }`$) peak below Tc and the discussion made for the case of the Sr14Cu24O41 compound with slight modifications can be used to account for the anisotropy in the analysis of the two-magnon scattering spectra in B1g and B2g polarization configurations for YBa2Cu3O6+x and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x crystals, respectively.

I have emphasized the importance of considering the effect of optically induced ellipticity due to the crystal anisotropy when performing polarized Raman or optical spectroscopy. The discussion is relevant for determining the symmetry and the selection rules associated with elementary excitations. The few examples referred to in this Comment show that in certain cases this effect should not be overlooked in the data analysis.

I would like to acknowledge useful discussions with G. Blumberg and M. V. Klein.


text:
# Chandra observation of Abell 1689: New determination of mass distribution and comparison to lensing measurements

## 1 Introduction

Clusters of galaxies serve as an ideal cosmological laboratory for test of theories of formation and evolution of structures, and for determinations of fundamental cosmological parameters such as the matter density parameter $`\mathrm{\Omega }_M`$, the baryon fraction $`f_b`$, the normalization parameters $`\sigma _8`$ and the shape parameter $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. All these cosmological applications depend critically on how accurately the mass distributions of clusters can be measured. Current techniques include the optical measurements of distribution and velocity dispersion of cluster galaxies combined with the Jeans equation, the X-ray observations of intracluster gas (density and temperature profiles) coupled with the hydrostatic equilibrium hypothesis, and the gravitational lensing effects of distant galaxies behind clusters. Other methods such as the measurements of hot intracluster gas through the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect and the numerical simulations of formation and evolution of clusters also act as a complementary manner to the above direct approaches. A comparison of different mass estimates provides a simple way to examine the reliability and accuracy of different methods, which also allows one to diagnose dynamical evolution of different matter components (galaxies, gas and dark matter) of clusters. In such an exercise, the mass distribution revealed by gravitational lensing, which is independent of the matter content and dynamical state of clusters, may be used as a reference point for judging other approaches. Previous studies have essentially arrived at the following conclusions: There is good agreement between the weak gravitational lensing, X-ray and optical determined cluster masses on large scales characterized by X-ray core radii, while in the central regions of some lensing clusters the X-ray method is likely to systematically underestimate cluster masses by a factor of $`2`$ (Wu 1994; Miralda-Escudé & Babul 1995; Wu & Fang 1997; Allen 1998; Wu et al. 1998; Wu 2000 and references therein). Because this discrepancy occurs in the very central cores of clusters, it may arise from our oversimplification of dynamical properties of the intracluster gas on small scales. Indeed, the discrepancy becomes significant only for non-cooling flow clusters (Allen 1998; Wu 2000), in which the apparent offsets between X-ray and lensing centers have been detected (Allen 1998; Katayama, Hayashida & Hashimotodani 2002). Therefore, detailed knowledge of the gas distribution in the inner regions of clusters will be crucial for clarifying the issue.

The unprecedentedly high spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray Observatory has permitted detailed studies of intracluster gas in the innermost regions of clusters. So far, central X-ray masses have been explicitly derived for several lensing clusters observed with Chandra. For at least three clusters (Abell 1835, MS 1358 and Abell 2390), the newly determined X-ray masses are found to be in good agreement with the gravitational lensing measurements (Allen, Ettori & Fabian 2001; Schmidt, Allen & Fabian 2001; Arabadjis, Bautz & Garmire 2001), while a significant discrepancy between the X-ray and strong lensing mass estimates is also detected in Abell 2218 (Machacek et al. 2001). For the latter, the X-ray centroid shows an offset of $`22^{\prime \prime }`$ from the dominant cD galaxy. This reinforces the argument that the mass discrepancy may be attributed to the inappropriate use of hydrostatic equilibrium to the intracluster gas in the central regions where substructures and their bulk motion may govern the dynamical process of intracluster gas even if clusters become fully relaxed. Indeed, the existence of subsonic motion of central gas has been conformed recently by Chandra observation in cluster RXJ1720 which has a redshift (0.164) similar to those of lensing clusters (Mazzotta et al. 2001). Such motion may explain the offsets between X-ray and lensing centers. In a word, it seems that the consistency or discrepancy between the two mass estimates can be simply related to the question of whether or not the X-ray centers show a displacement from the central cD galaxies in lensing clusters.

In this paper, we present a Chandra observation of the lensing cluster Abell 1689 at redshift $`z=0.181`$, in an attempt to reexamine the consistency/discrepancy between X-ray and lensing mass estimates and the possible offset between X-ray and optical centers. The mass distribution of Abell 1689 has been reconstructed by several independent techniques of gravitational lensing: arcs and arclets (Tyson & Fischer 1995), the number count dilution of lensed red galaxies (Taylor et al. 1998), the distortion of background galaxy luminosity function (Dye et al. 2001) and the weak lensing of background galaxies (Clowe & Schneider 2001). This cluster was observed with EINSTEIN, ROSAT, GINGA, and ASCA. The X-ray luminosity in the 0.1 - 2.4 band is $`(2.74\pm 3.32)\times 10^{45}`$ erg s-1 (Ebeling et al. 1996) and the X-ray temperature is $`T=9.02_{0.30}^{+0.40}`$ keV (Mushotzky & Scharf 1997). The X-ray determined mass within the giant arc position ($`51^{\prime \prime }`$), under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium, is found to be lower by a factor of $`2`$ than that derived from strong gravitational lensing (Miralda-Escudé & Babul 1995; Wu & Fang 1997; Allen 1998; Wu 2000). In particular, based on the ROSAT HRI observation, Allen (1998) attributed this discrepancy to the offset of $`13^{\prime \prime }.3`$ between the lensing and X-ray centers. The offset value is within $`12\sigma `$ position uncertainty considering that ROSAT HRI provides a $`5`$ arcsec (full width at half-maximum) imaging resolution. With the new Chandra observation of Abell 1689, which is one magnitude improved in spatial resolution with respect to ROSAT HRI, we are now able to reexamine the reported mass discrepancy and its origin. Throughout this paper , we assume $`H_0=50`$ km s-1 Mpc-1 and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_0=1`$.

## 2 Chandra observation and analysis

### 2.1 Data preparation

Abell 1689 was observed twice for separate 10 ksec by the Chandra X-ray Observatory on April 15, 2000 and January 7, 2001, respectively. Both observations were performed by using mainly the on board Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer in 2$`\times `$2 imaging array (ACIS-I) mode. In the present work, the dataset is retrieved from the Chandra archive for the first 10 ksec observation. The second observation, unfortunately, suffered from some serious aspect problem and the dataset has not yet been made available for public.

In order to achieve a better modeling of instrument gain and quantum efficiency, we process the Level 1 CXC data products using Chandra Interactive Analysis of Observations package CIAO-2.2, with complement of the updated calibration database CALDB-2.9. Following the standard methods (Chandra Science Threads for CIAO-2.2111available at http://asc.harvard.edu/ciao/documents\_threads.html.), we remove the Pixel and PHA Randomization effects, and “streak” events from the original event file.

Periods of background flaring are removed using the CIAO task lc\_clean for ACIS chips I0-3 one by one. This finally yields an effective exposure time of $`7182`$ s after all known corrections for Abell 1689 are taken into account.

While the telescope pointing placed bulk of the cluster emission on the ACIS chip I3, a certain cluster emission also extends over other three adjacent chips. This may cause some problems in finding source-free background regions for the spatial and spectral analysis. Thus, a suitable blank-sky background dataset, acisi\_C\_i0123\_bg\_evt\_230301.fits, compiled by Markevitch (2001) has been chosen and tailored for the present observation. We apply the same cleaning algorithm to the data as was applied to the background set. Identical spatial and energy filters are applied to source and background data so that the background normalization is set by the ratio of their exposure times. Moreover, we have created a spectral weighted exposure map (see section 2.2) for the entire ACIS chip array, using the aspect histogram files which contain information about aspect motion during the observation for each chip, and instrument maps which are essentially the product of detector quantum efficiency and mirror effective area projected onto the detector surface.

Figure 1 displays a true color image of Abell 1689, produced by a mosaic of three X-ray bands, red: 0.3–1.5 keV, green: 1.5–3 keV and blue: 3–10 keV. Images in each of the three bands, after being normalized by the exposure map, have been binned by four (such that an image pixel subtends 1.96 arcsec2 on the sky) and adaptively smoothed using CIAO task csmooth at 3$`\sigma `$ significant levels with a maximum smoothing scale of 5 pixels. It appears that with Chandra’s high spatial resolution a large number of X-ray point sources have been resolved within the field around the galaxy cluster, $`16^{}\times 16^{}`$.

In order to check the Chandra astrometry, we use the CIAO tool wavdetect, with a significance parameter value of $`10^7`$, to search for sources in the broad band image (0.3-10 keV) of the cluster field. A total of 29 sources are detected (see Figure 1). The source list is then compared with the optical USNO-A2.0 catalog and the radio FIRST catalog . Using a correlation radius of $`1.5^{\prime \prime }`$, we find three matches within a $`12^{}`$ radius of the ACIS-I center. The cumulative probability of a single random association between this data is 0.016. The probability that all the three matches occurred by chance is only 3.8$`\times 10^6`$. Therefore, we conclude that the astrometry of this Chandra observation is not worse than $`1^{\prime \prime }.5`$ without further adjustments.

### 2.2 Spectral analysis

First we wish to work out the mean temperature and metallicity of the cluster. For this purpose, an overall spectrum within a large circular region of radius $`3.7^{}`$ (corresponding to a physical radius of 0.87 Mpc) has been extracted from the cleaned events after excluding several point sources. The resulted spectrum is further grouped so that each energy bin contains at least 20 counts. Because for energies below 0.7 keV uncertainties in the current available ACIS-I response functions are relatively large, our spectrum analysis is restricted to the 0.7-9 keV energy band. We fit the spectrum using the thermal emission model MEKAL with a fixed absorption at the Galactic value, 1.8$`\times 10^{20}`$ $`\mathrm{cm}^2`$. We find that this model (hereafter Model 1) does not give the best description of the data reflected by $`\chi ^2`$/d.o.f$`=344/311`$. The best fit of the data needs an additional absorption to the MEKAL model (hereafter Model 2), which improves the fit of Model 1 significantly at $`>99.9`$% confidence level with $`\chi ^2`$/d.o.f$`=289/310`$. The observed and fitted spectra of Abell 1689 are plotted in Figure 2, and the best fit parameters of both models are listed in Table 1. It turns out that although the resulting X-ray temperature depends sensitively upon whether or not there is an extra absorption component, the best fit value of metallicity remains almost unaffected. This last point can be seen in the confidence plot (Figure 3) of metallicity versus temperature. In summary, the average temperature and metal abundance for Abell 1689 are $`kT=8.210.0`$ keV (or $`11.014.7`$ keV) and $`Z=0.200.49`$ of solar, respectively. The bulk emission flux in the 0.5–10 keV band is $`2.7\pm 1.0\times 10^{11}`$ $`\mathrm{ergs}\mathrm{cm}^2\mathrm{s}^1`$, corresponding to an X-ray luminosity of $`L_x=(4.12\pm 1.53)\times 10^{45}`$ erg s-1 in the 0.5–10 keV band or a bolometric X-ray luminosity of $`L_x=(6.65\pm 2.55)\times 10^{45}`$ erg s-1. This is in good agreement with the expected value from the statistical $`L_x`$-$`T`$ relation for clusters (Wu, Xue & Fang 1999) when the flux falling out the detection aperture is included using the $`\beta `$ model given below.

### 2.3 Temperature structure

Now we investigate the temperature structure of the cluster. We extract spectra for a series of annuli centered at the centroid of cluster emission (see section 2.4 for spatial analysis). All these spectra are properly grouped, which allows us to perform the minimum $`\chi ^2`$ analysis. Here, both Model 1 and Model 2 are used. Alternatively, in order to set a robust constraint on temperature value, we freeze the metallicity parameter in the fitting process. The results are summarized in Table 2 and the azimuthally averaged temperature profile is shown in Figure 4.

### 2.4 Surface brightness

In order to take the possible asymmetric emission distribution into account, we first model the bulk X-ray emission of the cluster with a two-dimensional $`\beta `$ model in the form

$$S_x(x,y)=S(r)=\frac{S_{x0}(x_0,y_0)}{(1+(r/r_c)^2)^\alpha },$$
(1)
where

$$r(x,y)=\frac{\sqrt{x^2(1ϵ)^2+y^2}}{1ϵ},$$
(2)
and

$`x^{}`$ $`=`$ $`(xx_0)\mathrm{cos}\theta +(yy_0)\mathrm{sin}\theta ,`$ (3)
$`y^{}`$ $`=`$ $`(yy_0)\mathrm{cos}\theta +(xx_0)\mathrm{sin}\theta .`$ (4)
The model assumes that cluster emission has a projected elliptical brightness surface with ellipticity $`ϵ`$ and position angle $`\theta `$. The surface brightness is measured in photon counts/arcsec2/s with respect to the X-ray centroid ($`x_0,y_0`$), and is characterized by the core radius $`r_c`$ and a power-law index $`\alpha `$. We apply this model to the exposure corrected image of the cluster in 0.3-10 keV, and also include the blank field background. The best fit results are summarized in Table 3. It appears that the core radius is in the range of $`r_c=16^{\prime \prime }.618^{\prime \prime }.6`$, the index $`\alpha `$ is 1.0–1.2, the normalization is $`S_{x0}=(6.77.6)\times 10^6`$ photons $`\mathrm{cm}^2`$ s-1, and the X-ray emission centroid is located at $`\alpha =13^h11^m29^s.45(\pm 3.45^{\prime \prime })`$, $`\delta =01^{}20^{}28^{\prime \prime }.06(\pm 1.35^{\prime \prime })`$. Overall, the emission pattern is rather symmetric about the centroid with a very small value of ellipticity, $`ϵ=0.08`$.

We have performed a detailed check of the HST observations of Abell 1689, which clearly shows a central dominant cD galaxy, with the position coinciding nicely with the X-ray centroid within $`1.5^{\prime \prime }`$ uncertainties. We have then checked the FIRST observation in the radio band, which demonstrates a central emission peaked at ($`13^h11^m30^s.002,01^{}20^{}28^{\prime \prime }.28`$). This is about $`8^{\prime \prime }`$ from the X-ray emission centroid. A visual examination shows that the radio centroid is centered on one of the companion galaxies around the central cD. In Figure 5, we plot the X-ray emission contours overlaid on an HST/WFPC2 image of Abell 1689.

Since the X-ray emission of the cluster is fairly symmetric, we first employ the conventional single $`\beta `$ model to fit the radial brightness profile of the cluster. However, the fitting is not acceptable, reflected by $`\chi ^2/\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}=225.4/49`$. We then adopt a double $`\beta `$ model

$$S_x(r)=S_{x0}^1\left(1+\frac{r^2}{r_{c1}^2}\right)^{3\beta _1+0.5}+S_{x0}^2\left(1+\frac{r^2}{r_{c2}^2}\right)^{3\beta _2+0.5},$$
(5)
which provides a significantly reduced $`\chi ^2`$ fit to the data with $`\chi ^2/\mathrm{d}.\mathrm{o}.\mathrm{f}=50.6/46`$. The best fit parameters are summarized in Table 4, and the observed and fitted surface brightness profiles are demonstrated in Figure 6.

## 3 Mass determinations

Morphology of the overall X-ray surface brightness distribution of A1689, along with the nearly constant temperature across the cluster surface out to $`r1`$ Mpc, suggests that Abell 1689 is a dynamically-relaxed cluster. This argument is further supported by the fact that the X-ray centroid coincides with the central dominant cD galaxy. Consequently, one may use the hydrostatic equilibrium hypothesis to evaluate the dynamical mass of the cluster. For an isothermal, double $`\beta `$ model, the total dynamical mass within radius $`R`$ can be obtained from

$$M(R)=\frac{kTR^2}{G\mu m_pn(R)}\left[\frac{dn_1(R)}{dR}+\frac{dn_2(R)}{dR}\right],$$
(6)
where $`\mu =0.59`$ is the average molecular weight, $`n_i(R)`$ (i=1,2) is the particle number density for the $`i`$th phase gas and $`n(R)=n_1(R)+n_2(R)`$. By reverting the observed surface brightness distribution $`S_x(r)`$ \[equation (5)\], we can derive an analytic expression for $`n_i(R)`$ (Xue & Wu 2000). Next, we infer the mass density profile from $`\rho (R)=(1/4\pi R^2)[M(R)/dR]`$, and calculate the projected mass $`m(r)`$ within radius $`r`$ from the cluster center along the line-of-sight. The resulting mass distribution based on the average temperature of $`T=13.2_{1.2}^{+1.5}`$ from Model 1 is shown in Figure 7. Note that utilization of Model 1 yields a maximum estimate of the X-ray cluster mass because the temperature given by Model 1 is significantly higher than that by Model 2.

On the other hand, the projected cluster mass within the position of giant arc $`r_{\mathrm{arc}}`$ can be estimated through

$$m(r_{\mathrm{arc}})=\pi r_{\mathrm{arc}}^2\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\mathrm{crit}},$$
(7)
where $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_{\mathrm{crit}}=(c^2/4\pi G)(D_\mathrm{s}/D_\mathrm{d}D_{\mathrm{ds}})`$ is the critical surface mass density, $`D_\mathrm{d}`$, $`D_\mathrm{s}`$ and $`D_{\mathrm{ds}}`$ are the angular diameter distances to the cluster, to the background galaxy, and from the cluster to the galaxy, respectively. Unfortunately, the redshift of the giant arc at $`51^{\prime \prime }`$ from the cD galaxy of Abell 1689 remains unknown. Assuming $`z_s=0.8`$ and $`z_s=2.0`$ for the arc in the above equation yields $`m(r_{\mathrm{arc}})=3.76\times 10^{14}M_{}`$ and $`m(r_{\mathrm{arc}})=3.18\times 10^{14}M_{}`$, respectively. For comparison, the X-ray cluster mass within $`r_{\mathrm{arc}}`$ derived from the Chandra data reads $`m(r_{\mathrm{arc}})=2.44_{0.20}^{+0.25}\times 10^{14}M_{}`$ and $`m(r_{\mathrm{arc}})=1.66_{0.10}^{+0.21}\times 10^{14}M_{}`$ for Mode1 and Model 2, respectively. Namely, the ratios of strong lensing masses to X-ray masses given by spectral Model (1, 2) within $`r_{\mathrm{arc}}`$ are ($`1.54_{0.14}^{+0.14}`$, $`2.27_{0.26}^{+0.15}`$) and ($`1.30_{0.12}^{+0.12}`$, $`1.92_{0.22}^{+0.11}`$) for $`z_s=0.8`$ and $`z_s=2.0`$, respectively. All the quoted errors are $`90\%`$ confidence limits. Recall that previous estimates based on the ROSAT and ASCA data ($`T9.0`$ keV) found a mass ratio of $`2`$ (Allen 1998; Wu 2000), which is in good agreement with our results based on Model 2. In other words, the high resolution observation of Chandra yields essentially the same result of X-ray cluster mass in the central core of Abell 1698. Only for Model 1 can the mass discrepancy be reduced especially when the background source is assumed at large redshifts and the measurement uncertainties are included.

The projected mass distribution of Abell 1689 has also been obtained from the study of the deficit of red galaxies behind the cluster by Taylor et al. (1998). We illustrate their reconstructed mass profile in Figure 7, allowing the uncertainties to include $`90\%`$ confidence limits. Another mass estimate is provided by Dye et al. (2001) from the comparison of luminosity functions of background galaxies between the lensed field behind Abell 1689 and an undistorted control field. Their cumulative projected masses within three radii are shown in Figure 7. Finally, Clowe & Schneider (2001) fitted their weak lensing derived cluster masses to a singular isothermal sphere for a set of assumed background galaxy redshifts, which are also demonstrated in Figure 7. It appears that the overall projected cluster masses reconstructed by four different lensing methods (arcs, number counts, distorted luminosity function of galaxies and weak lensing analysis) show a good agreement within measurement uncertainties.

The newly determined mass of Abell 1689 in the central region of $`r0.2`$ Mpc by Chandra observation is systematically lower than those derived from strong and weak lensing techniques, although the two innermost data points given by the distorted luminosity function of galaxies are still consistent with the projected X-ray mass when the large measurement uncertainties are included. Nevertheless, at large radii $`r>0.6`$ Mpc the two mass estimates yield roughly the same result.

## 4 Discussion and conclusions

The high spatial resolution observation of Abell 1689 with Chandra has permitted an accurate localization of the X-ray centroid of the cluster, which shows a perfect coincidence with the central cD galaxy, suggesting that the cluster has become fully relaxed at its redshift $`z=0.181`$. The central cooling time within $`r=10`$ kpc is $`t_{\mathrm{cool}}=2.54_{0.17}^{+0.20}`$ Gyr and the cooling radius is $`r_{\mathrm{cool}}=150`$ kpc. The newly determined X-ray surface brightness and temperature distributions, incorporated with the hydrostatic equilibrium hypothesis, have allowed us to re-evaluate the projected mass profile of the cluster and compare it with the results provided by different lensing techniques. It shows that the significant mass discrepancy between X-ray and lensing methods reported in previous studies still remains even if the new Chandra data are used.

With the unprecedented sub-arcsec spatial resolution, as well as the large effective detection areas in the broad energy range of 0.3-10 keV, the new Chandra observation of Abell 1689 disagrees with previous findings based on ROSAT observation that there exists an offset of $`13^{\prime \prime }.3`$ between the X-ray and optical centers (Allen 1998). The latter was suggested to be the main cause for the discrepancy between X-ray and lensing mass estimates. Indeed, the presence of such offset is a good indicator of local violent activities of the intracluster gas in the central core so that hydrostatic equilibrium may become inapplicable. An alternative is that the offset is produced by the oscillation of the central cD galaxy around the bottom of the cluster potential well (Lazzati & Chincarini 1998). The perfect coincidence between the X-ray center and the cD galaxy of Abell 1689 detected by Chandra observation, if it is not a projection effect, and the central mass discrepancy between X-ray and lensing measurements pose a challenge to the above speculation. If confirmed, this would have significant impacts on our understanding of the distribution and evolution of intracluster gas in the central cores of clusters. Future observations of other lensing clusters with Chandra would clarify the issue.

We thank the referee for constructive suggestions. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China, under Grant No. 19725311 and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, under Grant No. NKBRSF G19990754.


text:
# Spontaneous formation of a 𝝅 soliton in a superconducting wire with an odd number of electrons

## Introduction.

In a mesoscopic sample in the Coulomb blockage regime, the total number of electrons can be controlled discretely by gate voltage blockade . It was predicted theoretically Averin93  and verified experimentally Tinkham92  that the ground-state energies of a superconducting sample with even and odd number of electrons differ by the superconducting gap $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$, because the odd electron cannot form a Cooper pair. In the present paper, we discuss another manifestation of the even-odd asymmetry in a one-dimensional (1D) superconducting wire or constriction. We show that when such a system has an odd number of electrons, it can lower its energy by spontaneously forming a kink soliton of the order parameter, analogously to the charge-density-wave solitons in polyacetylene Brazovskii ; Takayama ; Schrieffer  and other systems with similar broken symmetry Brazovskii-Moriond . If the wire is closed in a ring, the phase difference on the two sides of the soliton would produce a supercurrent in the ring, which could be detected by a sensitive SQUID. The two degenerate states with the current flowing clockwise or counterclockwise can be considered as a qubit qubit .

## 1D superconductor with a kink soliton.

Let us consider a 1D $`s`$-wave BCS superconductor characterized by the mean-field Hamiltonian density

$`\widehat{H}(x)=\widehat{c}_{}^{}(x)\widehat{\xi }\widehat{c}_{}(x)+\widehat{c}_{}^{}(x)\widehat{\xi }\widehat{c}_{}(x)`$ (1)
$`+\widehat{c}_{}(x)\mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)\widehat{c}_{}(x)+\widehat{c}_{}^{}(x)\mathrm{\Delta }(x)\widehat{c}_{}^{}(x)|\mathrm{\Delta }(x)|^2/g.`$
Here $`\widehat{c}_,^{()}(x)`$ are the creation and destruction operators of electrons with the spin projections $``$ and $``$ at the point $`x`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)`$ is the superconducting pairing potential satisfying the self-consistency condition $`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)=g\widehat{c}_{}(x)\widehat{c}_{}(x)`$, $`g<0`$ is the BCS coupling constant, and $`\widehat{\xi }`$ is the kinetic energy operator. Near the Fermi energy, the electron dispersion relation can be linearized: $`\widehat{\xi }\alpha iv_F_x`$, where $`\alpha =\pm `$ labels the right- and left-moving electrons with the momenta near the two Fermi points $`\alpha k_F`$, $`v_F`$ is the Fermi velocity, and the Planck constant is $`\mathrm{}=1`$. All calculations in the paper are done at zero temperature.

The eigenstates of Hamiltonian (1) are the Bogoliubov quasiparticles characterized by the wave functions $`\psi _n^{(\alpha )}(x)=[u_n^{(\alpha )}(x),v_n^{(\alpha )}(x)]`$ that satisfy the Bogoliubov-de Gennes (BdG) equation books

$$\left(\begin{array}{cc}\alpha iv_F_x& \mathrm{\Delta }(x)\\ \mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)& \alpha iv_F_x\end{array}\right)\psi _n^{(\alpha )}(x)=E_n^{(\alpha )}\psi _n^{(\alpha )}(x)$$
(2)
with the eigenenergies $`E_n^{(\alpha )}`$. The spectrum of Eq. (2) consists of solutions with positive and negative energies related by charge conjugation. The superconducting ground-state energy $`F`$ relative to the normal state energy and the BCS self-consistency relation can be expressed in terms of these solutions books :

$`F={\displaystyle \underset{n,\alpha }{}}\left(E_n^{(\alpha )}+|\xi _n^{(\alpha )}|\right){\displaystyle 𝑑x|\mathrm{\Delta }(x)|^2/g},`$ (3)
$`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)=g{\displaystyle \underset{n,\alpha }{}}u_n^{(\alpha )}(x)v_n^{(\alpha )}(x),`$ (4)
where the sums are taken over the occupied states with $`E_n^{(\alpha )}<0`$.

Suppose the pairing potential has a phase soliton (kink) at $`x=0`$, so that $`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)\mathrm{\Delta }_0e^{\pm i\varphi }`$ at $`x\pm \mathrm{}`$:

$`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)=\mathrm{\Delta }_1+i\mathrm{\Delta }_2(x),\mathrm{\Delta }_1=\mathrm{\Delta }_0\mathrm{cos}\varphi ,`$ (5)
$`\mathrm{\Delta }_2(x)=\kappa v_F\mathrm{tanh}\kappa x,\kappa =\mathrm{\Delta }_0\mathrm{sin}\varphi /v_F.`$ (6)
In this case Furusaki ; Feigel'man , the spectrum of Eq. (2) has a continuous part $`\pm E_q^{(\alpha )}`$, where $`q`$ is the quasiparticle momentum counted from $`\alpha k_F`$, and discrete subgap states $`E_0^{(\alpha )}`$:

$$E_q^{(\alpha )}=\sqrt{(v_Fq)^2+\mathrm{\Delta }_0^2},E_0^{(\alpha )}=\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_0\mathrm{cos}\varphi .$$
(7)
The energies $`E_0^\pm (\varphi )`$ of the subgap states (7) are shown in Fig. 1(a) by the thick solid and dashed lines. The total energy $`F`$, given by Eq. (3), can be separated into the contributions from the continuous spectrum and from the discrete states. The former contribution, counted from the ground state energy of a uniform BCS superconductor with an even number of electrons, has the form

$$F_c=\mathrm{\Delta }_02\underset{q_j}{}\left(E_{q_j}E_{\overline{q}_j}\right)𝑑x\frac{|\mathrm{\Delta }(x)|^2\mathrm{\Delta }_0^2}{g}.$$
(8)
The first term in the r.h.s. of Eq. (8) reflects the fact that one state has been removed from the continuum to the discrete spectrum. The factor 2 in front of the second term represents the equal contributions from the states with $`\alpha =\pm `$. In the second term, $`q_j=\overline{q}_j\zeta _j/L`$ is the quasiparticle momentum displaced by the phase shift $`\zeta _j`$ from the unperturbed value $`\overline{q}_j=2\pi j/L`$ for a uniform system without a kink. (Here the periodic boundary condition over the length $`L`$ is implied, and $`j`$ is an integer.) The calculations of the phase shifts and the dependence of $`F_c`$ on $`\varphi `$ are given at the end of the paper (see also Brazovskii ; Takayama ; Neveu ). The result is

$$F_c(\varphi )=\frac{2\mathrm{\Delta }_0}{\pi }\left[\left(\frac{\pi }{2}\varphi \right)\mathrm{cos}\varphi +\mathrm{sin}\varphi \right].$$
(9)
Let us examine how the ground state energies $`F_e(\varphi )`$ and $`F_o(\varphi )`$ of the system with an even and an odd number of electrons depend on the phase difference $`2\varphi `$. At $`\varphi =0`$, the spectrum has only the continuous part, which is completely filled below $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ and completely empty above $`+\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ when the number of electrons is even. As $`\varphi `$ increases, the discrete state (7) with the negative energy remains occupied, whereas the one with the positive energy is empty. Thus,

$$F_e(\varphi )=F_c(\varphi )\mathrm{\Delta }_0|\mathrm{cos}\varphi |.$$
(10)
As shown in Fig. 1(b) by the dashed line, $`F_e(\varphi )`$ is minimal at $`\varphi =0`$. Thus, the system with an even number of electrons prefers a uniform state.

On the other hand, when the number of electrons is odd, the quasiparticle state with the energy $`+\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$ is filled by the odd electron at $`\varphi =0`$ Averin93 . Thus, as $`\varphi `$ increases, both the lower and upper discrete states (7) stay occupied. Because their energies cancel, the total energy in the odd case is

$$F_o(\varphi )=F_c(\varphi ),$$
(11)
which is shown by the solid line in Fig. 1(b). In contrast to the even case, $`F_o(\varphi )`$ decreases with increasing $`\varphi `$ and has a minimum at $`\varphi =\pi /2`$ with the energy $`E_s=F_o(\pi /2)=2\mathrm{\Delta }_0/\pi <\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$, lower than in the uniform state. Thus, a 1D superconductor with an odd number of electrons should spontaneously create a kink with the phase difference $`2\varphi =\pi `$ in order to decrease the total energy. This phenomenon is analogous to creation of a soliton in a charge- or spin-density wave with an odd number of electrons Brazovskii ; Takayama ; Schrieffer ; Brazovskii-Moriond .

Now let us consider the case where the 1D superconducting wire has $`N`$ channels, e.g. consists of $`N`$ parallel chains with the common potential $`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)`$. When the number of electrons is odd, $`N`$ discrete states with negative energies (7) and one with positive energy are filled. So, the total energy of the system is $`F_o(\varphi )=NF_c(\varphi )(N1)\mathrm{\Delta }_0|\mathrm{cos}\varphi |`$, and the minimum $`(\mathrm{\Delta }_02N/\pi )\mathrm{sin}(\pi /2N)`$ is achieved at $`2\varphi =\pi /N`$. Thus, the soliton also forms in this case, but with the phase difference reduced by $`1/N`$. When $`N1`$, the energy gain is insignificant, and soliton formation becomes irrelevant.

## Superconducting ring with a kink.

Now suppose that the 1D superconducting wire (with $`N=1`$) is closed in a ring of length $`L`$. The length $`L`$ is assumed to be much longer than the coherence length $`\xi =\mathrm{}v_F/\mathrm{\Delta }_0`$, so the soliton energy $`E_s`$ is not significantly affected by closing of the wire. On the other hand, $`L`$ should be short enough, so that the whole ring is in the Coulomb blockade regime, and an external gate can control the total number of electrons to be odd. The latter condition requires that $`\mathrm{\Delta }_0<E_c`$ Averin93 , where $`E_ce^2/D`$ is the Coulomb charging energy, and $`D`$ is the overall size of the sample. For a simple ring, $`D=L`$, but in general $`DL`$, as discussed below. Thus, we need

$$\xi =\mathrm{}v_F/\mathrm{\Delta }_0LDe^2/\mathrm{\Delta }_0,$$
(12)
so the Fermi velocity has to be much lower than the Bohr velocity: $`v_Fe^2/\mathrm{}=2.2\times 10^8`$ cm/s. This condition is satisfied in a typical metal with $`v_F10^7`$ cm/s.

When the number of electrons is odd, the soliton creates the phase difference $`2\varphi =\pi `$ between the ends of an open wire. However, when the wire is closed, the superconducting phase $`\theta `$ must continuously interpolate between the phases $`\pm \pi /2`$ at the opposite sides of the soliton, so $`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)=\mathrm{\Delta }_0e^{i\theta (x)}`$. The small phase gradient $`|\theta /x|=\pi /L`$ creates the supercurrent

$$J=\pm \frac{en_s}{2m}\frac{\theta }{x}=\pm \frac{ev_F}{L},$$
(13)
where $`n_s=4k_F/2\pi `$ is the superfluid density equal to the total electron density at zero temperature current . Notice that the supercurrent $`J`$ can flow in the ring either clockwise or counterclockwise, thus the time-reversal symmetry is spontaneously broken. These two degenerate states can be viewed as a qubit qubit . The supercurrent (13) is equal to the maximal persistent current in a normal (nonsuperconducting) ring with an odd number of electrons Gefen . It corresponds to the odd electron of charge $`e`$ moving with the Fermi velocity $`v_F`$ around the ring of circumference $`L`$. This current creates the magnetic flux $`\mathrm{\Phi }JL/cev_F/c10^5\mathrm{\Phi }_0`$ (where $`\mathrm{\Phi }_0=\pi \mathrm{}c/e`$ is the flux quantum), which could be detected, in principle, by a sensitive SQUID. *We predict that, when the number of electrons in the ring is switched between odd and even by an external gate, the current (13) should appear and disappear in the ring.* In the case of $`N`$ channels, the current is given by the same Eq. (13).

Above we considered an idealized situation of a uniform superconducting ring. However, the conclusion also applies to other, more realistic experimental setups. Suppose a straight 1D superconducting wire of length $`L`$, e.g. a carbon nanotube nanotube , is shunted by a thick conventional superconductor of size $`D`$. In this case, the soliton and the phase gradient are localized within the 1D wire, whereas the phase gradient over the shunt is close to zero, so the supercurrent is given by Eq. (13). Another setup is a narrow constriction with a small number $`N`$ of conducting channels in a thick superconducting ring. In this case, $`L`$ is the length of the 1D constriction, and $`D`$ is the overall size of the ring. In general, when the ring is nonuniform, the transmission coefficient $`\tau `$ through the weak link is less than one. In this case, the energies of the subgap states are $`E_0=\pm \mathrm{\Delta }_0\sqrt{1\tau \mathrm{sin}^2\varphi }`$ Furusaki ; Feigel'man , shown by the thin lines in Fig. 1(a). Although we cannot calculate $`F_c(\varphi )`$ exactly when $`\tau 1`$, the total energy of the system should be close to Eq. (9) if $`\tau 1`$, and the kink soliton should be still energetically favorable. Thus, our theory should be applicable to the atomic contacts with $`N1`$ and $`\tau 1`$ realized in experiments Urbina .

## Calculation of $`F_c(\varphi )`$ via phase shifts.

To simplify presentation, we write the equations below specifically for $`\alpha =+`$. In order to calculate the phase shifts, let us introduce the wave functions $`f_\pm (x)=u(x)\pm v(x)`$. (Notice that this index $`\pm `$ is different from $`\alpha `$.) Then the BdG equation (2) acquires the supersymmetric form SUSY ; UIUC

$`(E\mathrm{\Delta }_1)f_\pm =iv_Ff_{}/xi\mathrm{\Delta }_2(x)f_{},`$ (14)
$`\left(E^2+v_F^2{\displaystyle \frac{^2}{x^2}}|\mathrm{\Delta }(x)|^2v_F{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }_2(x)}{x}}\right)f_\pm =0.`$ (15)
Substituting Eqs. (5) and (6) into Eqs. (14) and (15), we find the (unnormalized) wave functions

$$f_+(x)=e^{iqx},f_{}(x)=\frac{v_Fq+i\mathrm{\Delta }_2(x)}{E+\mathrm{\Delta }_1}e^{iqx}.$$
(16)
From Eq. (16), we observe that, when $`x`$ changes from $`\mathrm{}`$ to $`+\mathrm{}`$, $`f_{}`$ acquires the phase factor $`\mathrm{\Xi }=(q+i\kappa )/(qi\kappa )`$. In order to impose periodic boundary conditions consistently, let us assume that the system also has an antikink far away from $`x=0`$. In a similar manner, it is easy to show that $`f_+`$ acquires the same phase factor $`\mathrm{\Xi }`$ upon traversing the antikink. Thus, when $`x`$ changes from one boundary of the sample to another, both $`f_\pm `$ experience the phase shift $`\zeta _q=\mathrm{arctan}(\kappa /q)`$ per *one* soliton Takayama ; Neveu . The same result can be also obtained by imposing zero boundary conditions at the ends of the wire.

Using the relation $`q_j=\overline{q}_j\zeta _j/L`$, we write Eq. (8) as

$$F_c=\mathrm{\Delta }_0+2\frac{dq}{2\pi }\zeta _q\frac{E_q}{q}+\frac{2\kappa v_F^2}{g},$$
(17)
where we took the integral over $`x`$ using Eqs. (5) and (6). Integrating by parts over $`q`$ and taking into account the BCS self-consistency relation

$$\frac{1}{g}=\frac{dq}{2\pi E_q},$$
(18)
we rewrite Eq. (17) as follows

$$F_c=\frac{2v_F\kappa }{\pi }2\frac{dq}{2\pi }\left(E_q\frac{\zeta _q}{q}+\frac{v_F^2\kappa }{E_q}\right).$$
(19)
Substituting $`\zeta _q=\mathrm{arctan}(\kappa /q)`$ into Eq. (19) and taking the integral over $`q`$, as in Ref. Neveu , we obtain Eq. (9).

## An alternative calculation of $`F_c(\varphi )`$.

Following the method of Ref. Brazovskii , let us calculate the derivative

$$\frac{dF_c(\varphi )}{d\varphi }=dx[\frac{\delta F_c}{\delta \mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)}\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)}{\varphi }+\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{c}.].$$
(20)
We write the eigenenergies of the BdG equation (2) as

$`E_n^{(\alpha )}={\displaystyle }dx[u_n^{(\alpha )}(x)\widehat{\xi }u_n^{(\alpha )}(x)v_n^{(\alpha )}(x)\widehat{\xi }v_n^{(\alpha )}(x)`$
$`+u_n^{(\alpha )}(x)\mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)v_n^{(\alpha )}(x)+v_n^{(\alpha )}(x)\mathrm{\Delta }(x)u_n^{(\alpha )}(x)],`$ (21)
where the normalization condition $`𝑑x(|u|^2+|v|^2)=1`$ is implied. Taking variational derivatives of Eqs. (8) and (21) with respect to $`\mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)`$, we find

$$\frac{\delta F_c}{\delta \mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)}=\underset{q,\alpha }{}u_q^{(\alpha )}(x)v_q^{(\alpha )}(x)\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }(x)}{g}.$$
(22)
The normalized wave functions $`\psi _q^{(\alpha )}=(u_q^{(\alpha )},v_q^{(\alpha )})`$ can be deduced from Eq. (16)

$$\psi _q^{(\alpha )}=\sqrt{\frac{E_q+\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_1}{4LE_q}}\left(\begin{array}{c}1+\alpha \frac{v_Fq+i\mathrm{\Delta }_2(x)}{E_q+\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_1}\\ \alpha \frac{v_Fq+i\mathrm{\Delta }_2(x)}{E_q+\alpha \mathrm{\Delta }_1}\end{array}\right)e^{iqx}.$$
(23)
Using Eq. (23), we find

$$\underset{q,\alpha }{}u_q^{(\alpha )}v_q^{(\alpha )}=\mathrm{\Delta }(x)\frac{dq}{2\pi E_q}\frac{\kappa (\pi /2\varphi )}{2\pi \mathrm{cosh}^2(\kappa x)}.$$
(24)
where the summation over $`q_j`$ has been simply replaced by integration over $`q`$, because the phase shifts contribute only a negligible term proportional to $`1/L`$. Substituting Eq. (24) into Eq. (22) and using Eq. (18), we find

$$\frac{\delta F_c}{\delta \mathrm{\Delta }^{}(x)}=\frac{\kappa (\pi /2\varphi )}{2\pi \mathrm{cosh}^2(\kappa x)}.$$
(25)
Substituting Eq. (25) and $`\mathrm{\Delta }^{}/\varphi `$ determined from Eqs. (5) and (6) into Eq. (20) and integrating over $`x`$, we get

$$\frac{dF_c}{d\varphi }=\frac{2\mathrm{\Delta }_0}{\pi }\left(\frac{\pi }{2}\varphi \right)\mathrm{sin}\varphi .$$
(26)
Integrating Eq. (26) over $`\varphi `$, we recover Eq. (9).

We can also check that the self-consistency condition (4) is satisfied at $`\varphi =\pi /2`$. Indeed, the last term in the r.h.s. of Eq. (24) vanishes, and the first term gives $`\mathrm{\Delta }(x)/g`$ because of Eq. (18), whereas the contributions of the localized states

$$\psi _0^{(\alpha )}(x)=\frac{\sqrt{\kappa }}{2\mathrm{cosh}\kappa x}\left(\begin{array}{c}1\\ \alpha \end{array}\right)$$
(27)
mutually cancel for $`\alpha =\pm `$.

## Conclusions.

We have shown that a 1D superconducting wire with an odd number of electrons can lower its energy by creating a $`\pi `$ soliton (kink) of the order parameter, so that the odd unpaired electron occupies the midgap bound state localized at the soliton. In order to exhibit this effect, the wire does not have to be completely uniform. It is sufficient that it has a 1D portion with the length $`L`$ longer than the coherence length $`\xi `$ and the atomic-size cross-section with the number of conducting channels $`N1`$ and the transmission coefficient $`\tau 1`$. Such atomic Josephson contacts have been already realized experimentally Urbina . Another possibility is to use a carbon nanotube nanotube .

If the wire is closed in a ring, the phase difference on the two sides of the soliton would generate a supercurrent in the ring, which could be detected by a sensitive SQUID. The total number of electrons in the ring can be controlled by an external gate in the Coulomb blockade regime. *We predict that the supercurrent should appear in the ring when the number of electrons is odd and disappear when the number is even.* The current can flow either clockwise or counterclockwise. These two degenerate states can be viewed as a qubit and utilized for quantum computing qubit .

Spontaneous current in a ring with phase circulation $`\pi `$ was recently predicted for unconventional superconductors using exotic theory of fractional spin-charge separation Senthil  and was disproved experimentally Moler . That theory did not consider the difference between even and odd number of electrons or the setup with only one or few conducting channels. These mesoscopic aspects play crucial role in our theory, which is formulated completely within the conventional BCS framework.

## Acknowledgments.

We are grateful to S. A. Brazovskii, who proposed the idea of this work, and to D. V. Averin, F. C. Wellstood, M. S. Fuhrer, Y. Imry, and R. A. Webb for useful suggestions and discussion. The work was supported by NSF Grant DMR-9815094.