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# The Enrichment History of the Intergalactic Medium: O VI in Ly𝛼 forest systems at redshift 𝑧∼2The data used in this study are based on public data from UVES Commissioning and Science verification at the VLT/Kueyen telescope, ESO, Paranal, Chile.

## 1. Introduction

There have been a number of searches for heavy elements in the low density intergalactic medium over a range of redshifts, motivated in part by the need to investigate possible enrichment mechanisms and to investigate the spectrum of the integrated ionizing background. The intergalactic medium is observable through the presence of Ly$`\alpha `$ and heavy metal absorption lines in QSO spectra at redshifts up to that of the background QSO. Cowie et al. (1995) showed that for many of the high H I column density systems ($`N_{\mathrm{HI}}10^{14.5}`$ cm-2) C IV is also present. Cowie & Songaila (1998) and Ellison et al. (2000) extended this analysis by a pixel optical depth technique to find that a similar C IV/H I ratio applies at lower column densities at redshifts $`z3`$. The redshift dependence of the Si IV/C IV column density ratio Songaila & Cowie (1996) suggests that there is a change in the nature of the ionizing background at $`z3`$, though a further investigation provides little evidence for any redshift dependence Boksenberg (1997).

While these early investigations concentrated on C IV 1548.20, 1550.78 since it has the strongest lines falling in the spectral region clear of contamination from the stronger Lyman forest absorption, at higher redshift photoionized O VI 1031.93, 1037.62 is expected to be a much better probe of the heavy element enrichment in the low density intergalactic medium (Chaffee et al., 1986; Rauch, Haehnelt & Steinmetz, 1997). However, at high redshifts the presence of Lyman forest lines makes the detection of the O VI lines very difficult. A thorough search by Davé et al. (1998) at redshifts $`3`$ did not reveal any convincing candidates. However, Schaye et al. (2000) have shown using a pixel optical depth technique that O VI is generally present in the Lyman forest absorption systems seen in quasar spectra at redshifts $`3`$. O VI absorption systems at low redshifts ($`z1`$) are common (Burles & Tytler 1996; Tripp, Savage & Jenkins, 2000), and a small number of such identifications have been found towards the $`z=1.73`$ QSO HE0515-4414 Reimers et al. (2001).

At redshifts $`z2`$ the O VI lines are in a wavelength region where they are measurable using ground-based facilities, and at $`z2`$ the Lyman forest confusion is less than at higher redshifts. Therefore, it should be easier to detect the O VI lines at $`z2`$ than at higher redshifts. Here we describe the results of a search for identifiable lines from the O VI$`\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1031.93},\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}1037.62}`$ doublet in specific absorption systems towards the $`z=2.412`$ QSO $`\mathrm{HE1122}1648`$ and the $`z=2.406`$ QSO $`\mathrm{HE2217}2818`$. We investigate heavy element abundances and the nature of the ionizing mechanism for some representative cases where the H I, C IV and O VI lines could arise in the same regions. There are also systems similar to those reported by Simcoe et al. (2002), where there are clear velocity differences between these ions.

## 2. Observations and absorption line fits

The data reduction and analysis for HE$`22172818`$ have been described by Kim, Cristiani & D’Odorico (2001), who also show part of the spectrum. Some spectral regions and results for HE$`11221648`$ are described by Kim et al. (2002). The spectral range covered by the analysis is from 3050 Å to the C IV emission line in both cases.

The continuum was initially determined as described by Kim et al. (2002), and the absorption lines fitted by multiple Voigt profiles, using the VPFIT program described by Webb (1987), Rauch et al. (1992) as updated by Carswell et al.
(see http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/$`_{^{}}`$rfc/vpfit.html). The whole of the available spectrum was fitted so as to provide a self-consistent set of line profile parameters for each ion. Except where noted otherwise below, different ions with components in the same system were not constrained to have the same redshift, and their Doppler parameters were fitted independently. The main exceptions are the systems containing O VI described below where ionization levels were investigated. Each ion was fitted using all observed transitions which provided useful information.

Heavy element lines at wavelengths above the Ly$`\alpha `$ emission line were fitted first, including components in the Ly$`\alpha `$ forest region where necessary, and were used as indicators of where other ions might appear in the forest. Since we are interested in O VI 1031.93, 1037.62 over a range of redshifts, we have to be aware not only of the possibility of contamination by Ly$`\alpha `$ absorption at lower redshifts, but also by Ly$`\beta `$, $`\gamma `$ etc. Furthermore, these contaminating lines affect not only the O VI lines themselves, but also the continuum around them. The strategy we adopted to allow for this, was to fit the Lyman lines in decreasing redshift order, taking care to include all previously fitted higher order Lyman lines when moving down in redshift. This procedure is generally satisfactory, but in a few cases a putative low redshift Ly$`\alpha `$ introduced to obtain a satisfactory fit to a higher order Lyman line at some redshift turns out to be predominantly a different higher order Lyman line from another redshift system. In such cases the data were refitted with the misidentified Ly$`\alpha `$ removed or modified. The net result after this iterative process is a set of Voigt profiles which fits the entire Lyman forest spectrum. Attempting to measure the O VI lines without doing this, and effectively using only O VI and Ly$`\alpha `$, would give misleading results in many cases.

Fitting different transitions, particularly ones which are widely spaced in wavelength, revealed that in many cases the adopted continuum levels were not precisely correct, and local adjustments were needed to obtain a self-consistent fit. These continuum adjustments were made as part of the minimum $`\chi ^2`$ parameter optimization within the VPFIT program. With few exceptions these continuum changes were less than 1% of the originally adopted value, and tended to be correlated between neighboring fitting regions used. In light of this, a new continuum was produced by interpolating over the continuum deviations to provide a smooth, slowly-varying curve, which was then used to adjust the original continuum. The whole spectrum was then refitted without allowing the continuum to vary to produce the final set of Voigt profile parameters.

A sample list of the line fit parameters obtained in this way for HE$`11221648`$ is given in Table 1. The table gives the ion, redshift $`z`$, Doppler parameter $`b`$ in km s-1 and log column density $`N`$ (cm-2) for each system found. The error estimates given against each quantity are from the diagonal terms of the covariance matrix from the fitting procedure, and correspond to $`1\sigma `$ estimates if the variables are uncorrelated. Where no error estimate is given, the variable involved has been tied to others on the same system. For the redshift $`z=2.101764`$ example in the table, the redshifts of H I, C IV and O VI have been constrained to be the same, and the Doppler parameters have been constrained so that $`b^2=b_{\mathrm{turb}}^2+b_{\mathrm{therm}}^2`$, where $`b_{\mathrm{turb}}`$ is identical for all ions and $`b_{\mathrm{therm}}^2=2kT/m`$, where $`m`$ is the ion mass and the temperature $`T`$ is constrained to be identical for all ions. The quantity $`b_{\mathrm{turb}}`$ is not necessarily true turbulence, but bulk motion, such as the Hubble expansion of the absorbing regions, may be approximated in this way. We choose not to give observed wavelengths for the lines, since more than one transition from an ion was usually included in determining these parameters. The full line lists for this object and HE2217–2818 are available as part of the electronic journal article.

## 3. O VI systems

The fitted parameters for the systems where high ionization species may be present are given in Tables 2 and 3. For HE1122–1648 the redshift range searched is $`2.000<z<2.365`$ and for HE2217–2818 $`2.000<z<2.360`$. At redshifts $`z<2.0`$ the signal-to-noise ratio in the regions of the spectra containing the O VI doublet is too low to allow meaningful measurements. We have imposed a high redshift cutoff at a redshift 4000 km s-1 below the emission redshift to avoid the region near the background QSO.

There are a number of ways in which absorption lines from different ions, which are thought to arise in the same system, can be fitted with Voigt profiles: the redshifts can either be constrained to be the same or they can be allowed to vary independently, and the Doppler parameters can either be determined independently or be constrained to be consistent with a picture where the line is broadened by a mixture of turbulent and thermal motions. Since we are interested in ionization levels in single regions, we have chosen to constrain the redshifts to be identical and the Doppler parameters to consist of a turbulent and a thermal component as described in the previous section. Note that we implicitly assumed that all bulk/turbulent motions have a Gaussian velocity distribution.

The $`1\sigma `$ error estimates for the temperatures listed in Tables 2 and 3 are determined using an approximation based on small standard deviation normal distributions for the Doppler parameters, so in some cases negative temperatures appear to be in the allowed range when turbulent velocities dominate. In the tables the redshift is left blank if it is constrained to be the same as that of the ion above it in the list. The Doppler parameters are given for all detected ions of each redshift component, with individual errors only for one ion as a guide, even though all line widths were included in determining these.

The O VI 1031.93, 1037.62 lines are invariably in the Ly$`\alpha `$ forest and are usually blended with higher order Lyman lines from higher redshift systems, so any putative identifications rely strongly on the presence of both lines with the correct doublet ratio. In many cases, as described individually below, the blending is dominated not by Ly$`\alpha `$, but by higher order Lyman lines or by some other species. In such cases the parameters of the contaminating lines are constrained by fits to other absorption systems, and the measured strength of the O VI component is therefore more robust than if the contamination were dominated by Ly$`\alpha `$. Of course it is still likely that in some cases the O VI identification may be incorrect, with a chance superposition of Lyman lines and/or noise giving the appearance of the O VI doublet. Against this, there is a bias toward finding components with Doppler parameters less than $`15`$ km s-1, since broader ones are more easily confused with Lyman forest systems. Our approach has been to try O VI in all possible cases, and retain it as a reasonably firm identification when a physically self-consistent fit can be obtained. The search for O VI was performed without regard to the strength of the corresponding Ly$`\alpha `$ line, since the neutral hydrogen fraction could be small.

We can obtain an estimate of the number of spurious O VI identifications by using wavelengths offset from the real ones. A fake doublet with rest wavelengths 1035.0 and 1041.0 was chosen arbitrarily, but close to the real O VI doublet wavelengths so that the signal-to-noise ratio in the data is similar. A search for fake O VI corresponding to H I with column densities $`>10^{14}`$ cm-2 in HE$`11221648`$ revealed that in 8 of the 24 cases the fake ion could be present. In the other 16 cases at least one of the fake O VI lines was demonstrably absent. This suggests that up to about 1/3 of the O VI identifications could be spurious. However, we note that many of our O VI identifications were then found to have detectable C IV at the same redshift, which increases the likelihood that they are real.

It is interesting that for all but 2 of the 8 systems with $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})>14.5`$ in HE1122–1648 the data are consistent with the presence of O VI, and it may even be weakly present in one of the exceptions. In contrast, the presence of the fake doublet is excluded for 5 of the 8 systems.

### 3.1. Comments on individual systems

Below we present an atlas of all the absorption systems in which O VI could be present, and discuss each system individually. Even though most of the O VI lines occur in blends, the fits are much better constrained than the figures suggest because a large fraction of the absorption arises in higher order Lyman lines for which the parameters are determined from other hydrogen transitions. The uncertain cases are those for which there are blends with Ly$`\alpha `$ components close to the O VI transitions. The Ly$`\alpha `$ and other better-constrained components blended with the O VI lines are shown in Figures 3.1.2 to 3.1.2 along with the profiles for the lines in the individual systems.

#### 3.1.1 HE2217–2818

(Fig. 3.1.2):
Ly$`\beta `$ shows the two-component nature of the H I clearly. The O VI lines at $`z=2.075446`$ are not strongly blended with Lyman forest lines, but at $`z=2.074740`$ both the O VI 1031.93 and 1037.62 lines are seen as sharp components blended with broader Ly$`\beta `$ from systems at higher redshift and nearby strong Ly$`\alpha `$ lines. C IV 1548.20, 1550.78 are present in both components, though in the higher redshift case there is a significant difference between the C IV and O VI redshifts.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
This system is probably more complex than the component structure given in the table would suggest. It shows ions from C II to O VI apparently coexisting in one component. We have not tried for a physically self-consistent model or estimated temperatures because of the complex structure. For all components in the complex the O VI lines are free of any significant blending from other systems.

#### 3.1.2 HE1122-1648

(Fig. 3.1.2):
The C IV 1548.20, 1550.78 lines are clearly broader than
Si IV 1393.76, 1402.77, and are best fitted as two components, one at the Si IV redshift, $`z=2.007109`$, and another agreeing with O VI, $`z=2.007205`$. Both lines in the O VI doublet are in a wavelength region where the signal-to-noise ratio is low. O VI 1031.93 is in the wing of a weak Ly$`\theta `$ and is otherwise free of significant contamination. O VI 1037.62 is seen as a distinct sharp component between a Ly$`\alpha `$ line at $`z=1.566566`$ and a blend of higher order lines along with Ly$`\alpha `$ at $`z=1.567140`$.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
This system is unusual in that it shows C IV and NV 1238.82, 1242.80, but only weak Ly$`\alpha `$. Both lines of the O VI doublet are noisy and blended, and a marginally satisfactory fit can be obtained without their presence. O VI 1031.93 is in the wing of a blend of Ly$`\beta `$ at $`z=2.048614`$ and Ly$`\gamma `$ at $`z=2.215271`$, and O VI 1037.62 is in a blend of several higher order Lyman lines. There are no Ly$`\alpha `$ lines near either component.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
There is a noise spike which obliterates the O VI 1037.62 line, so the O VI identification at $`z=2.033133`$, and parameter estimates, are based solely on a clean O VI 1031.93 line and its redshift coincidence with H I. C IV 1548.20 is not seen.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
The Ly$`\alpha `$ profile is complex, and three components are present in C IV 1548.20, 1550.78. O VI is present in the $`z=2.065681`$ component. The 1031.93 line is blended with Ly$`\beta `$ at $`z=2.084275`$. The O VI 1037.62 line is in a blend containing Ly$`\alpha `$ at $`z=1.616531`$ and several higher order Lyman lines from higher redshift systems.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
If the H I and O VI line widths are internally consistent, and the apparent double structure in each of the O VI lines is real, there appear to be at least two components, at $`z=2.080162`$ and 2.080527. In a two-component fit each has a low estimated temperature but large turbulent line widths. The dominant blend with the O VI 1031.93 line is Ly$`\delta `$ at $`z=2.346958`$, with parameters well determined from other lines in the Lyman series. The O VI 1037.62 components fall between Ly$`\beta `$ at $`z=2.115206`$ and at $`z=2.116542`$, and the wings of these lines affect the apparent continuum level against which the O VI line is seen. The blue wing of Ly$`\alpha `$ at $`z=1.629738`$ with $`b=25.8`$ and $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=12.75`$ also has a small effect the O VI 1037.62 line profiles.

It is also possible to fit this system as a single component, with the O VI lines having a Doppler parameter of 39 km s-1 and H I with a lower $`b`$ ($`=29`$ km s-1), though it is not clear what this means. In this case $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=15.1`$ and $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{OVI})=13.9`$.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
The structure around the O VI 1031.93 feature is dominated by Ly$`\delta `$ at $`z=2.369161`$ shortward and C IV 1548.20 at $`z=1.067739`$ longward of the observed wavelength of the line. Ly$`\alpha `$ is present at $`z=1.632438`$, but with $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=13.07`$ and $`b=49.7`$ this does not strongly affect the O VI line. The O VI 1037.62 line is significantly blended with Ly$`\alpha `$ at $`z=1.647796`$ ($`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=13.70`$, $`b=28.1`$), and shows only as an extended blue wing to a feature at 3218.8Å.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
C IV is weak, and the 1548.20 line may have a further velocity component. O VI 1031.93 is in the wing of a Ly$`\alpha `$ line at $`z=1.721641`$, and 1037.62 with Ly$`\alpha `$ at $`z=1.736637`$.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
Two components are detected, one with O VI line Doppler parameter $`b=7.3`$ km s-1 at $`z=2.215271`$ and a more doubtful one at $`z=2.215494`$ with broad lines. O VI 1031.93 at $`z=2.215271`$ appears as a narrow component blended with Ly$`\alpha `$ at $`z=1.729154`$ ($`b=35.9`$, $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=12.93`$), and for 1037.62 the higher redshift component is blended with Ly$`\alpha `$ from a system with $`z=1.744575`$, $`b=25.0`$ and $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=12.31`$.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
In this case the presence of O VI rests solely on a weak 1031.93 line at $`z=2.339260`$. O VI 1037.62 at this redshift falls close to a strong C IV 1550.78 at $`z=1.234266`$. The corresponding wavelength of Ly$`\alpha `$ is significantly offset from the main component, and the H I column density at $`z=2.339260`$ is very uncertain. The strongest neighboring H I components are included in Table 3.

(Fig. 3.1.2):
Two components are measured at $`z=2.352160`$ and 2.352695. At each redshift the O VI 1037.62 line is sufficiently far from the nearest contaminant, a weak Ly$`\alpha `$ in each case, that blending does not significantly affect them. At the lower redshift the O VI 1031.93 line appears as an extended wing of C IV 1548.20 at $`z=1.234266`$. From the corresponding C IV 1550.78 it is clear that this extended wing cannot be due to C IV, even if the blended O VI 1037.62 at $`z=2.339257`$ is absent there. At $`z=2.352695`$ O VI 1031.93 is blended with Ly$`\alpha `$ at $`z=1.846002`$ ($`b=18.1`$, $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=13.00`$).

## 4. Overall trends

One of the features of the O VI search is that in nearly all cases it is the high H I column density systems which show these lines. If $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})14.5`$ then O VI is normally clearly present. This may be the explanation for the most obvious difference between the two sight lines; towards HE1122–1648 there are 10 distinct redshift systems with $`z>2`$ showing O VI in some component, while towards HE2217–2818 there are only two. The numbers are too small for this difference to be statistically significant, but it does correspond to the relative numbers of the high H I column density systems (14 and 6 respectively with $`z>2`$ and $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})>14.5`$).

The Doppler parameters for HI and OVI are correlated, as one would expect from the way the data were analyzed. The turbulence dominated systems have $`b`$(O VI)$`b`$(H I), and for those where thermal broadening dominates $`b`$(O VI)$`\frac{1}{4}b`$(H I). It appears from 4 that both types of system are present, and that either turbulence dominates strongly or thermal broadening does. For thermal broadening at temperature of $`3\times 10^4`$K $`b`$(H I)$`=22`$ km s-1 and $`b`$(O VI)$`=5.5`$ km s-1. The group of systems with low O VI Doppler parameters have temperatures close to this value.

Otherwise, it is hard to find any correlations at all. The O VI/H I column density ratio does appear to have an inverse correlation with the H I column density (see Fig. 4), so one might conclude that, as expected, the ionization level is linked with the inferred density. However, the O VI systems have to be quite prominent to be detected deep in the Lyman forest region of the spectrum and so most are near the detection limit. The apparent correlation may therefore arise simply because O VI lines corresponding to absorption systems in the lower part of the diagram are too weak to be detected.

There are some correlations worth seeking since they could provide clues to the nature of the systems. We caution that the number of data points is small, so the absence of a significant correlation does not mean that the underlying reasons for an expected trend are incorrect. One possibility is the O VI Doppler parameter against the O VI column density (Fig. 4). Here a trend could arise in several ways, such as undetected velocity structure in higher column density systems, cooling rates linked to metallicity, collisional ionization linking high ionization column densities and the temperature, or just a selection effect since broad weak lines tend to be lost in the noise. No correlation is seen. Another is the inferred temperature vs H I column density, which might be expected if the temperature depended strongly on density. There is no such correlation discernible with the available data (Fig. 4).

## 5. Modeling the O VI systems

We have run CLOUDY111http://www.pa.uky.edu/$``$gary/cloudy/ (version 94.00) Ferland (1999) models for various forms of the ionizing flux using four example systems from HE$`11221648`$ where the C IV and O VI appear to have the same velocity structure. These were chosen to cover a range of H I column densities and O VI/H I ratios and they are not necessarily the ones with the most reliable or accurately determined parameters. The details are given in Table 4. In this table the row containing the redshift identifies the system being considered, and gives the measured parameters from Table 3, along with a density estimate based on the H I column density using a prescription from Schaye (2001), as detailed below.

Subsequent lines in the table give the results of models for which the heavy element abundances and hydrogen density were the model parameters varied to give the best fit to the observed H I, C IV (where measured) and O VI column densities. The models were chosen to have all heavy elements present with solar relative abundances, but the heavy element/hydrogen ratio was allowed to vary to obtain a best fit to the data, using the OPTIMIZE command in CLOUDY. The log of the best fit C/H value relative to solar is given in the \[C/H\] column in the table. The other parameter which was allowed to vary to obtain a best fit is the hydrogen number density, $`n_\mathrm{H}`$. Since there are at most two independent ion ratios constraining the model parameters, and two model parameters, a satisfactory fit is always possible. If C IV is undetected or unmeasurable then there are insufficient constraints to allow an estimation of both the metallicity and the hydrogen density.

The ionizing backgrounds chosen for these calculations are the Haardt-Madau model for the ultraviolet background radiation at $`z=2`$ from quasars Haardt and Madau (1996), and simplified power law models. We have generally chosen a power law slope of $`1.8`$ Zheng et al. (1997) as the best estimate for a quasar background ionizing spectrum, and in some cases a power law slope of $`1.5`$ has been used to see how sensitive the results are to this choice. The effects of He II absorption are dealt with in a simple way by inserting a break so that the flux just above 4 Rydbergs is $`10^B\times `$ the flux just below, with the same power law on either side of the break. For $`B`$ we chose the values 0 (no break), 1, and 2. Note that for a spectral index $`\alpha `$, a break $`B`$ corresponds to a softness parameter $`S\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HI}}/\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HeII}}4^{\alpha +1}10^B`$, where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HI}}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HeII}}`$ are the ionization rates of H I and He II respectively. The $`z=2`$ Haardt-Madau model has a softness parameter $`S92`$, intermediate between the $`B=0`$ and $`B=1`$ power law models. The model designation in the table gives the power law and break strength. For example, model “P1.8B1” has a power law slope of $`1.8`$, and a break of 1 (i.e., a factor 10 in flux) at the He II Lyman limit. If the break is large (3, and occasionally 2 for the steeper power laws) there is very little high energy ionizing radiation and O VI is effectively suppressed. In those cases the O VI column density is close to zero and a fit to the data cannot be obtained within the operational range of the CLOUDY program. Such cases are omitted from the tables. In §5.3 we will show that photoionization by spectra with $`S10^2`$ results in absorber sizes that are inconsistent with the data.

The flux normalization was chosen to be $`\mathrm{log}F_\nu =20.31`$ (erg cm-2 s-1 Hz-1) at 1 Rydberg in all power law cases. This corresponds to $`\mathrm{log}J_\nu =21.41`$ (erg cm-2 s-1 Hz-1 sr-1) and the photoionization rate for neutral hydrogen, $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HI}}12.02`$, matches the Haardt-Madau value if the power law slope is $`1.8`$. If a different $`F_\nu `$ value is preferred, then the results in the tables still apply, now for hydrogen densities rescaled so that the ionization parameter remains constant.

We may transform the H I column densities to densities if we assume photoionization and (local) hydrostatic equilibrium Schaye (2001). This transformation is a function of the ionizing background, but we can use it here to estimate the background if we believe the models, or test the models if we believe the background, or use it to estimate the oxygen/carbon ratio compared with the solar value. For temperatures of $`5\times 10^4`$ K, and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HI}}10^{12.02}`$, and choosing his default value for the fraction of the mass in gas ($`f_g=0.16`$), Schaye’s equation (8) linking the H I column density $`N_{\mathrm{HI}}`$ with the hydrogen density $`n_\mathrm{H}`$ becomes

$$\mathrm{log}n_\mathrm{H}\frac{2}{3}\mathrm{log}N_{\mathrm{HI}}13.8.$$
(1)
We have used these density estimates to provide “observed” densities in tables 4 and 6 for comparison with those given by the best fit models to the ion ratios. Assuming $`\mathrm{\Omega }_bh^2=0.02`$, the mean hydrogen number density at $`z=2`$ is $`5\times 10^6\mathrm{cm}^3`$, with a corresponding $`N_{\mathrm{HI}}6\times 10^{12}`$, so in all the cases considered here the regions have a significant over-density.

### 5.1. Constraints based on H I, C IV and O VI

For a given background ionizing flux the errors in the hydrogen density and heavy element abundances given in Table 4 depend on the precision with which the column densities are determined. Given the assumption that the relative heavy element abundances are solar, changing the heavy ion/H I ratio effectively determines the heavy element abundances, while the C IV/O VI ratio determines the ionization parameter and so the hydrogen density. For example, for the $`z=2.101764`$ system in HE1122–1648 the error estimate of $`0.17`$ in $`\mathrm{log}N_{\mathrm{HI}}`$ becomes an uncertainty of about $`0.17`$ in the heavy element abundances. The errors of $`0.02`$ in $`\mathrm{log}N_{\mathrm{CIV}}`$ and $`\mathrm{log}N_{\mathrm{OVI}}`$ translate to an error of about $`0.03`$ in $`\mathrm{log}n_\mathrm{H}`$. Thus, for a given background flux the hydrogen density can be quite precisely determined with the model assumptions we have made. However, the formal errors in the column densities and other quantities given in Tables 2 and 3 are based on the assumption that the Voigt component model is correct in all respects, including in particular the number of H I components blended with the O VI lines. It is quite possible in the $`z=2.101764`$ case that the O VI column density is lower if there is additional H I blended with the O VI lines. If we choose, for example, to reduce the O VI column density arbitrarily by a factor of two so $`\mathrm{log}N_{\mathrm{OVI}}`$ becomes 13.83 without changing the C IV column density, then, for the Haardt-Madau background flux, the the best fit hydrogen density becomes $`\mathrm{log}n_\mathrm{H}=4.00`$ and \[C/H\]$`=1.99`$.

Collisional ionization models were also attempted, and the results for these are given the model designation “Coll” in Table 4. The value in the temperature column is then the best fit temperature for the model. In no cases are the temperatures inferred from the line widths high enough to produce any significant collisionally ionized O VI.

A further possibility is that different absorption lines arise in different parts of the cloud model, so our assumption of velocity agreement may not be valid. For the CLOUDY models we have checked this point by examining the ion fractions through the cloud model, and find that the ionization fractions of the species we are modeling, H I, O VI and C IV, vary by at most 10% through the cloud. This does, however, not preclude the possibility that different ionization levels come from different regions in a system with substructure. This point needs further investigation, but the fact that there is general agreement between the ion redshifts when fitted independently suggests this is not a very important concern.

There is also no guarantee that the C/O ratio in these systems is close to the solar value of $`\mathrm{log}(\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{O})=0.37`$, as assumed for the models. Since the enrichment is likely to have occurred from massive stars, the C/O ratio may well be smaller than the solar value. With examples of oxygen-rich supernova remnants as a guide (see e.g. Blair et al., 2000) suggesting that the C/O ratio can be about an order of magnitude smaller, we have run power law cases with oxygen enhanced so that $`\mathrm{log}(\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{O})=1.37`$ while all other heavy elements have solar abundance ratios with respect to carbon. These are the models labeled “OP….” in Table 4, and the number in the “metals” column is then \[C/H\]. The net effect is an increase in the hydrogen density to give the change in ionization then required to reproduce the observed O VI/C IV ratio.

### 5.2. Temperature comparisons

We now have temperature and density parameters inferred from the data for each system, and the same quantities, together with the element abundances, are predicted by the models. Before exploring the agreement, or otherwise, between the two, it is worth examining the uncertainties in the two quantities inferred from the data in a little more detail.

An important first question is: could the O VI arise from collisional ionization? As can be seen from a comparison of the temperatures inferred from the Voigt profile fits (Tables 2 and 3) and those needed for collisionally ionized models (Table 4), the temperatures inferred from the line widths are generally much too low to allow this as a possibility. However, the formal errors in the temperature estimates are based on the assumption that the decomposition into velocity components as separate clouds, each with a single temperature, is correct, and we know from models of the evolution of structure that this is an oversimplified picture. And even if it were not, the decomposition into Voigt profile components is not unique. Since the components are optically thin the CLOUDY models based on the the relative column densities will still be broadly applicable, provided there are no large relative abundance variations between the components of what we treat as a single entity. However, the temperatures based directly on the line widths could be seriously affected. This is particularly true where there is a large turbulent component in the fit to the line widths, or when the lines are significantly blended.

Temperatures $`T2.3`$-$`2.5\times 10^5`$ K are required if collisional ionization dominates, so these temperatures were imposed on each system. Acceptable Voigt profile fits to the O VI lines were found in all four of the test cases in Table 4, either because the Doppler parameters for the heavy elements are in any case large enough to accommodate such temperatures or, in the exceptional case of the $`z=2.206460`$ system in HE1122–1648, because other lines blended with the O VI adjusted to accommodate the constraint and C IV is too weak to provide much additional information. The results are given in Table 5. Where the column density value is blank the error column gives the log of the $`1\sigma `$ upper limit.

The common feature to all of these high temperature models is that the Lyman lines associated with the O VI are too broad to be significant contributors to the observed H I line profiles. Additional, cooler H I components which contain the bulk of the H I column density are invariably required because the H I column density associated with the C IV and O VI must be low. Strictly speaking this new system would require remodeling to estimate abundances and collisional temperature, and then we should redo the fit and so on until the process converges, but we have not done this. The temperature is effectively set by the C IV/O VI ratio, and this can change somewhat when the H I constraint on redshift and Doppler parameter is changed. However, the observed range is satisfied by a narrow range of temperatures $`T2.2`$-$`2.5\times 10^5`$ K, so the predicted line widths will not be very different. The reduced H I column density then requires a model with higher heavy element abundances in the collisionally ionized component. If we require that the O VI is collisionally ionized, then each system showing O VI must have associated with it a cooler system with higher H I column density and no detected heavy elements. Note also that in some of the cases given in Table 3 the C IV and O VI Doppler parameters are significantly less than 15 km s-1, and so do not allow the high temperatures required.

At first sight even some of the photoionized models have temperatures which are too high. For example, for the $`z=2.101764`$ system the best-fit temperature is $`1.3\pm 1.9\times 10^4`$ km s-1, while the modeled temperatures are in excess of $`4\times 10^4`$ K, which appears to rule out those models at roughly the $`2\sigma `$ level. However a look at the independently determined Doppler parameters for each ion in that system gives a hint to what may be happening. They are all much larger than the thermal Doppler parameters, and so bulk motion dominates the line widths. The best-fit turbulent component has a Doppler width of $`29.1\pm 1.2`$ km s-1, while even the H I thermal Doppler parameter is $`15`$ km s-1. If we demand that the temperature for this O VI absorber is 50,000 K, for example, then a satisfactory fit to the data is obtained by introducing two velocity components at this temperature. Therefore, the temperature constraint is not one which is a significant concern for this system.

The pair of systems at $`z=2.080162`$ and $`2.080527`$ cannot be dealt with in this way since the H I lines are themselves too narrow to accommodate two components at a much higher temperature than about 20,000 K. It is possible to add a third, dominant H I component without associated heavy elements and obtain a satisfactory fit. However, the CLOUDY photoionization model equilibrium temperatures may not be the ones we should be attempting to match. In the hydrodynamic simulations adiabatic cooling as the universe expands is still important at these column densities. This cooling process is not included in the CLOUDY models, so temperatures they give are too high.

### 5.3. Density comparisons

If the absorbers are photoionized and in approximate, (local) hydrostatic equilibrium, then the densities predicted by the CLOUDY models should roughly agree with those predicted by the density/H I column density relation \[equation (1)\]. From Table 4 we can see that generally the models with harder far ultraviolet flux are preferred, i.e., those with no or a small change in intensity at 4 Rydbergs, and those with a flatter power law spectrum. The Haardt-Madau (1996) background spectrum produces models with densities to within about a factor two of the Schaye (2001) estimate. The pure power law models with no break and slope $`1.8`$ also give density estimates in reasonable agreement, and for power law models with a slope $`1.5`$ a break at the He II edge of a factor less than 10 is preferred. Any strong break in a power law spectrum gives densities that are significantly lower than expected.

We can place a lower limit on the density from the bulk motion component, $`b_{\mathrm{turb}}`$, of the line widths. The velocity width across an absorber of characteristic size $`\mathrm{}`$ due to the Hubble flow is

$$b_{}H(z)\mathrm{}/2=H(z)N_\mathrm{H}/2n_\mathrm{H}=H(z)N_{\mathrm{HI}}/2n_{\mathrm{HI}}.$$
(2)
Using equation 6 from Schaye (2001) for the neutral/total hydrogen fraction of a highly ionized, optically thin plasma gives

$$b_{}11h\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\left(\frac{N_{\mathrm{HI}}}{10^{15}\mathrm{cm}^2}\right)\left(\frac{n_\mathrm{H}}{10^4\mathrm{cm}^3}\right)^2T_4^{0.76}\mathrm{\Gamma }_{12},$$
(3)
where $`T_4`$ is the temperature in units of $`10^4`$ K, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{12}`$ is the H I ionization rate in units of $`10^{12}`$ s-1, and we assumed $`(z,\mathrm{\Omega }_m,\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda })=(2.2,0.3,0.7)`$.

For systems with $`N_{\mathrm{HI}}10^{15}`$ cm-2 and densities less than $`10^{4.5}`$ cm-3, the velocities involved are $`100\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ or more. Peculiar velocities can change this somewhat, but the Hubble velocity width is so sensitive to density that the upper limit $`b_{\mathrm{turb}}40\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ (Tables 2 and 3) effectively precludes the soft spectra models (..B1 and ..B2) given in Table 4.

Note that both the Schaye (2001) and CLOUDY model densities have the same dependence on the normalization of the ionizing flux, so the agreement between the two does not constrain this quantity in any way. The comparison is, as we have seen, sensitive to the shape of the ionizing background. So what we have shown is that, to obtain a consistent picture, the ionizing background at $`z2`$ could have, from the choices we have explored, the Haardt-Madau form or a power law with a small jump at the He II edge.

The density estimates of both the photoionization models and Schaye (2001) assume that the absorbers are illuminated only by the mean background radiation. If local sources of UV photons are significant, then the density will be underestimated. The $`2.007`$ system in HE$`11221648`$ illustrates the possible range well. The O VI is in a noisy region, so it was not selected for detailed analysis, but the presence of O VI in one system and Si IV in another with comparable H I column density suggests that the densities in the two components must be very different if the ionization source is the same for both. Table 6 shows that for power law ionization the density difference is at least $`1.5`$ orders of magnitude and large abundance differences are also required. Attempts to fit this complex as a single cloud fail. Unless there are large abundance anomalies it is not possible for O VI and Si IV to coexist in a cloud with H I column density $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})15.5`$.

### 5.4. The high ionization system at $`z=2.030096`$ in HE$`11221648`$

The system at $`z=2.030096`$ system in HE$`11221648`$ shows C IV, N V, and possibly O VI absorption, while Ly$`\alpha `$ is very weak ($`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})=11.7\pm 0.3`$). This contrasts with most of the reliable systems we have found, where Ly$`\alpha `$ is strong and N V is not detected. The line widths are such that a high temperature is possible, and so collisional ionization could be important.

The density inferred from the photoionization models ($`\mathrm{log}n_\mathrm{H}=4.11`$ for model HM96, see Table 7) is higher than one would expect for a photoionized, gravitationally confined cloud with the low H I column density seen. The neutral hydrogen fraction $`\mathrm{log}(n_{\mathrm{HI}}/n_\mathrm{H})=4.59`$, so with this density the cloud is very small: $`10^2`$ pc, and has a characteristic mass of only $``$1 M. Using equation (8) of Schaye (2001), we see that for the cloud to be self-gravitating, the gas fraction would have to be extremely small, $`f_g10^7(n_H/10^{4.11}\mathrm{cm}^3)^3\mathrm{\Gamma }_{12}^2T_4^{0.52}`$, and the total mass would thus be of order $`10^7`$ M. If the gas fraction is significantly greater than this, then an external pressure of $`P/k1\mathrm{cm}^3\mathrm{K}`$ would be required to confine the gas. This system may thus be a high redshift analogue of the low redshift system of Tripp et al. (2002) or the weak Mg II systems studied by Rigby, Charlton, & Churchill (2002).

Since the ionization balance of a collisionally ionized plasma depends only on the temperature, we cannot constrain the density if the system is collisionally ionized. Nevertheless, we can check whether the cloud can be self-gravitating by using the constraint that the differential Hubble flow across the absorber must be smaller than the observed line width. Combining equation (2) with equation (4) of Schaye (2001), which gives $`n_H(N_H,T,f_g)`$ for a self-gravitating cloud, yields the Hubble flow velocity across the system,

$$b_{}1.3h\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\left(\frac{N_\mathrm{H}}{10^{20}\mathrm{cm}^2}\right)^1T_4\left(\frac{f_g}{0.16}\right).$$
(4)
For collisional ionization at a temperature $`T=2.35\times 10^5`$ K the neutral hydrogen fraction is $`10^{5.7}`$, so for this system $`N_\mathrm{H}=10^{17.4}\mathrm{cm}^2`$. Then $`b_{}1.2\times 10^4h\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1(f_g/0.16)`$. Thus, such a collisionally ionized system can only be self-gravitating if the gas fraction is extremely small. Note that if $`b_{}`$ is much greater than the sound speed ($`80\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ in this case), the absorber size exceeds the sound horizon, thermal pressure is irrelevant and the cloud cannot be in local, hydrostatic equilibrium (see Schaye 2001).

Both collisional and photoionization models (see Table 7) require that the heavy element abundances be high – somewhere in the range 0.5 to 5 $`\times `$ solar. This system is also interesting in that the nitrogen abundance is high, and may even be enhanced relative to that of carbon and oxygen.

In summary, regardless of whether the system is photoionized or collisionally ionized, its metallicity is high and it can only be self-gravitating if it has a negligible gas fraction. Alternatively, it could be confined by external pressure or it could be a freely expanding transient.

## 6. Cosmological Implications

An estimate the redshift evolution of the number of O VI systems between $`z0`$ and $`z2`$ may be made by using the Tripp et al. (2000) low redshift results in conjunction with the data presented here. Tripp et al. find that the number per unit redshift $`\frac{d𝒩}{dz}48`$ for those systems in which the rest equivalent width $`W_r>30`$ mA for both OVI lines in the redshift range $`0.17z0.27`$. With 90% confidence they set $`\frac{d𝒩}{dz}17`$. The systems with redshifts $`z=2.101764`$ and 2.352695 in HE1122-1648, and 2.074740 and 2.075446 in HE2217-2818 satisfy their equivalent width criterion. This gives $`\frac{d𝒩}{dz}=5.7\pm 2.9`$, which is considerably lower than Tripp et al’s value. The spectral resolution is comparable, but the S/N in the Tripp et al. data is not as high, so some of the blends separated in tables 2 and 3 might have been detected as single systems. Likely candidates are the close pairs at $`2.080`$ and at $`z=2.2145`$ in HE1122-1648, and the complex at z=2.180-2.182 in 2217 would provide two systems above the threshold, as blends of the lowest two and highest two redshifted OVI’s in the complex. Then there are a possible 8 O VI systems above the threshold, so $`\frac{d𝒩}{dz}=11.4\pm 4.0`$. This is consistent with the number density of such systems found in the redshift range $`1.21z1.67`$ by Reimers et al. (2001), and strengthens the suggestion that the number density of O VI systems decreases with increasing redshift. However, there are large uncertainties in the number densities in the samples so further investigation is needed.

It is interesting to check whether the identified O VI systems contain a cosmologically significant fraction of metals and/or baryons. The O VI density relative to the critical density is given by

$`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{OVI}}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{8\pi Gm_\mathrm{O}}{3H_0c}}{\displaystyle \frac{d^2n}{dN_{\mathrm{OVI}}dz}\frac{H(z)}{H_0(1+z)^2}𝑑N_{\mathrm{OVI}}}`$
$``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{8\pi Gm_\mathrm{O}}{3H_0^2c}}{\displaystyle \frac{H(z)}{(1+z)^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Sigma }N_{\mathrm{OVI}}}{\mathrm{\Delta }z}}.`$
For two redshift ranges centered on $`z=2.2`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }z=0.365`$ and 0.360, we have a mean total O VI column density per unit redshift $`\mathrm{\Sigma }N_{\mathrm{OVI}}/\mathrm{\Delta }z=1.26\times 10^{15}`$, and so $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{OVI}}=6\times 10^8/h`$. For the photoionization models $`\mathrm{log}\frac{\mathrm{O}}{\mathrm{OVI}}0.75`$, so the cosmic metallicity at $`z=2.2`$ due to O VI systems is

$`[\mathrm{O}/\mathrm{H}]`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{OVI}}}{\mathrm{\Omega }_b}}{\displaystyle \frac{N_\mathrm{O}}{N_{\mathrm{OVI}}}}{\displaystyle \frac{m_\mathrm{H}}{m_\mathrm{O}(1Y)}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(\mathrm{O}/\mathrm{H})_{}}},`$
$``$ $`1.6\times 10^3h,`$
where we used $`\mathrm{\Omega }_m=0.3`$, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\mathrm{\Lambda }=0.7`$, and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_bh^2=0.02`$. The baryon density associated with the detected O VI systems is

$$\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{g},\mathrm{OVI}}\frac{8\pi Gm_\mathrm{H}}{3H_0^2c(1Y)}\frac{n_\mathrm{H}}{n_{\mathrm{HI}}}\frac{H(z)}{(1+z)^2}\frac{\mathrm{\Sigma }N_{\mathrm{HI}}}{\mathrm{\Delta }z}.$$
(6)
The CLOUDY models give the total hydrogen/H I ratio $`n_\mathrm{H}/n_{\mathrm{HI}}10^5`$. We do not have H I measurements directly associated with the O VI component for two of the systems in HE$`22172818`$, so we base the estimate on the systems towards HE$`11221648`$. Then over a redshift range $`\mathrm{\Delta }z=0.365`$ the total H I column density in systems for which O VI has been identified is $`N(\mathrm{HI})=6.6\times 10^{15}`$ cm-2, and so at $`z=2.2`$,

$$\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{g},\mathrm{OVI}}6\times 10^3h^1$$
(7)
For HE$`22172818`$ the total H I column density which may be associated with O VI systems is $`1.9\times 10^{16}`$ cm-2. If this quantity is more appropriate, then $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{\mathrm{g},\mathrm{OVI}}`$ is three times higher than the estimate above. Also, if the lower H I column density systems also contain O VI below the detection limit, then the value will be higher. In any case this is a significant fraction of the total baryon density $`\mathrm{\Omega }_b=0.02h^2`$ inferred from big bang nucleosynthesis O’Meara et al. (1997). Hence, we conclude that at $`z2`$ the O VI systems contain a cosmologically significant fraction of both the metals and the baryons in the universe.

## 7. Conclusions

Specific O VI absorption systems in the $`2z2.35`$ Lyman absorption forests of QSOs HE$`11221648`$ and HE$`22172818`$ were identified by self-consistently Voigt profile fitting the whole of the available spectral range (with all higher order Lyman lines included). If these two QSO sight lines are typical, then at redshifts $`z2.5`$ O VI is usually present in absorption systems for which $`\mathrm{log}N(\mathrm{HI})14`$, This is similar to the column density range for which C IV is detectable in spectra of $`z>3`$ QSOs (e.g., Songaila & Cowie 1996; Ellison et al. 2000). Weak O VI lines associated with lower column density Ly$`\alpha `$ systems may also be present (Schaye et al. 2000), but are too difficult to detect directly. These observations indicate that O VI systems contain a significant fraction of the baryons (and metals) in the universe.

For most systems the observed line widths, particularly those of the Lyman lines, do not allow temperatures high enough that O VI may be produced through collisional ionization. It is possible to contrive a situation where the H I in collisionally ionized O VI regions is almost invariably blended with a cooler system with higher H I column density and no detected heavy elements, but even then collisional ionization would require that all systems have nearly the same unnatural temperature.

For most systems photoionization models with a substantial hard ultraviolet flux reproduce the observations for expected densities and heavy element abundances generally in the range $`10^3`$-$`10^2`$ solar. These models give density estimates which are in good agreement with those from the photoionized, local hydrostatic equilibrium model of Schaye (2001). Assuming a hydrogen ionization rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HI}}10^{12}\mathrm{s}^1`$ at $`2z2.3`$, the hydrogen densities are generally within 0.5 dex of $`n_\mathrm{H}=10^4`$.

Photoionization by a UV spectrum much softer than that of Haardt & Madau (1996) ($`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HI}}/\mathrm{\Gamma }_{\mathrm{HeII}}10^2`$) would yield lower densities than would be expected for self-gravitating clouds. However, this possibility is ruled out because it would result in such large absorbers that the differential Hubble flow across the absorbers would far exceed the observed line widths.

For some systems the interpretation is less straightforward. For example, a high ionization system towards HE1122–1648 at redshift $`z=2.030`$ appears to have heavy element abundances close to solar, so is likely to be close to a metal-enriched galaxy. Intriguingly, regardless of whether the system is photoionized or collisionally ionized, it can only be self-gravitating if its gas fraction is negligible. Alternatively, it could be confined by external pressure or it could be freely expanding. In addition there are some absorption systems for which the C IV and O VI redshifts clearly do not agree well, and so there is some velocity separation of the components in which these ions dominate. The system with the highest H I column density, at $`z=2.180`$ towards HE2217–2818, is the best example. Similar systems with high H I column density have been found by Simcoe et al. (2002). The relative frequency of occurrence of the various systems remains a topic for further investigation.

## 8. Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the UVES P.I. Sandro D’odorico and the UVES team for the excellent quality of the data delivered by the instrument from the start of operation, and to Gary Ferland for making freely available and supporting CLOUDY. Part of this work was undertaken while RFC was supported by the ESO visitor program. JS is supported by a grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation. This work has been supported by the “Physics of the Intergalactic Medium” network set up by the European Commission.


text:
# High-order inertial phase shifts for time-domain atom interferometers

## Abstract

High-order inertial phase shifts are calculated for time-domain atom interferometers. We obtain closed-form analytic expressions for these shifts in accelerometer, gyroscope, optical clock and photon recoil measurement configurations. Our analysis includes Coriolis, centrifugal, gravitational, and gravity gradient-induced forces. We identify new shifts which arise at levels relevant to current and planned experiments.

Atom interferometric measurements have growing applications in basic and applied science. For example, atom interferometric techniques have been recently used to measure rotations Gustavson\_2000 , gravity gradients Snadden\_1998 , $`\mathrm{}/m_{\text{Cs}}`$ Weiss\_x993  and accelerations Peters\_x999  with unprecedented precision. Future applications range from tests of General Relativity to the development of next generation inertial navigation systems. The accuracy of atom interferometric instruments, however, hinges on the accuracy of the theory used to connect the measured interferometric phase shift to the physically relevant quantities.

In this paper, we develop analytic expressions for the response of commonly used atom interferometer measurement configurations to experimentally relevant combinations of rotation, gravity and gravity gradient-induced forces. We identify new classes of high-order phase shifts which are observable in current experiments, and which seem to be of vital importance for proposed future experiments. In particular, we show below that current acceleration measurements need to be corrected at the part per billion (ppb) level for high-order rotation effects, that measurements of the photon recoil need a 10 ppb correction for gravity gradients, and that next generation optical time standards will need gravity gradient corrections to achieve fractional frequency accuracies of $`\delta \nu /\nu `$ below $`10^{17}`$. Related theoretical work in this area has treated simple (one-dimensional) models Peters\_x999 ; gg\_1998  or provided general frameworks Borde\_2001 .

For simplicity we confine our discussion to the case of time-domain light-pulse atom interferometers Kasevich\_1991 . However, with minor modification our results can be applied to other de Broglie wave interferometry approaches Berman\_1998 . For light-pulse atom interferometers, coherent division, redirection and recombination of atomic wavepackets is accomplished via momentum exchange with an external driving laser field Borde\_x989 . Complete descriptions of experimental realizations based on this principle are given in Ref. Berman\_1998 . In brief, an optical pulse of area $`\pi /2`$, coupling two stable internal atomic states $`|1`$ and $`|2`$, serves to coherently divide an incident atomic wavepacket: an atom initially in state $`|1`$ is driven into a coherent superposition of internal states $`|1`$ and $`|2`$, with the momenta of the wavepackets associated with these states differing by the momentum of the photon used to drive the transition. Pulses of area $`\pi `$ induce stimulated transitions which exchange the internal states associated with the atomic wavepackets, while changing their momenta by the photon recoil momentum. Atom interferometers are realized from sequences of these pulses. For example, $`\pi /2\pi \pi /2`$ pulse sequences have been used to build atomic interferometers analogous to optical Mach-Zehnder interferometers, as illustrated in Fig. 1 Kasevich\_1991 .

The total phase shift between interfering paths, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{total}}`$, can be broken into three contributions:

$$\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{total}}=\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{prop}}+\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{laser}}+\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{sep}},$$

where $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{prop}}`$ is the phase shift due to wavepacket propagation between the interrogating optical pulses, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{laser}}`$ is the shift acquired during the laser-atom interactions used to manipulate the atomic wavepackets, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{sep}}`$ is the shift due to the (possible) final spatial separation of the interfering wavepackets at the interferometer output port Storey\_1994 . Our approach neglects terms originating in the spatial extent of the wavepackets Borde\_2001  and invokes the short-pulse (high Rabi frequency) limit for the optical interactions in order to clarify contributions arising from inertial forces. We briefly summarize expressions for $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{prop}}`$, $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{laser}}`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{sep}}`$ below.

The $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{prop}}`$ term is obtained using the Feynman path integral approach Feynman\_Hibbs , which involves calculation of the difference between the classical actions associated with the interfering wavepacket trajectories. This is illustrated in Fig. 1 for the case of the accelerometer implementation. The actions $`S`$ are obtained by integrating the Lagrangian $`L`$ over the classical trajectories $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ associated with the mean positions of each wavepacket, e.g. $`S=_\mathrm{\Gamma }L(𝐫(t),𝐯(t))𝑑t`$, with the path $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ determined by the classical trajectory $`(𝐫(t),𝐯(t))`$. This approach is formally correct when $`L`$ is at most second order in position $`𝐫(t)`$ and velocity $`𝐯(t)`$ (see Ref. Heller\_1975 ). We find the classical trajectories $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ through integration of the Euler-Lagrange equations for $`L`$.

The phase difference resulting from laser interactions $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{laser}}`$ is discussed in detail in Ref. Berman\_1998 . This shift is obtained from solution of the Schrödinger equation for a resonantly driven two-level quantum system. In the limit of impulse excitations, this solution reduces to the following rules for the evolution of the probability amplitudes of states $`|1`$ and $`|2`$:

$$|1i\mathrm{exp}[i𝐤𝐫(t_p)]|2;|2i\mathrm{exp}[i𝐤𝐫(t_p)]|1.$$
(1)
Here $`𝐤`$ is the propagation vector associated with the coupling laser field(s) and $`𝐫(t_p)`$ is the mean position of the atomic wavepacket at the interaction time $`t_p`$. Time dependent terms associated with the frequency of the driving fields have been suppressed (as they cancel for the time symmetric pulse sequences considered here), and we assume the initial laser phase to be constant during the interferometer sequence. As an example, for the pulse sequence of Fig. 1, the resulting laser-induced phase difference for an ensemble initially prepared in state $`|1`$ and detected in state $`|1`$ is:

$$\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{laser}}=𝐤(𝐫_\text{A}𝐫_\text{C}𝐫_\text{D}+𝐫_{\text{B}_\mathrm{𝟐}}).$$
(2)
The shift $`\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{sep}}`$ arises when the classical positions of the two interfering trajectories do not coincide at the exit beamsplitter (as illustrated in Fig. 1). This shift is adequately approximated by

$$\mathrm{\Delta }\varphi _{\text{sep}}=𝐩\mathrm{\Delta }𝐫/\mathrm{},$$
(3)
where $`𝐩`$ is the mean momentum of the wavepackets in a given output port, and $`\mathrm{\Delta }𝐫`$ is the spatial separation between the centers of each wavepacket at the time of the last optical pulse momentum . In certain special cases – for example, that of uniform gravity – this contribution is zero.

The above phase shifts were evaluated in a geocentric reference frame fixed to the surface of the Earth, as shown in Fig. 2. In this frame, the Lagrangian can be written as:

$`L(𝐫,𝐯)`$ $`=`$ $`m({\displaystyle \frac{𝐯^2}{2}}+𝐠𝐫+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}r_iT_{ij}r_j+𝛀((𝐫+𝐑)\times 𝐯)`$ (4)
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(𝛀\times (𝐫+𝐑))^2),`$
where $`m`$ is the atomic mass, $`𝐑`$ is the displacement from the center of the Earth, $`𝛀`$ the Earth rotation rate, $`𝐠`$ the acceleration due to gravity and $`T_{ij}`$ is the gravity gradient tensor.

Analytic solutions were obtained in a perturbative approach Storey\_1994 , where the action was evaluated for the full Lagrangian $`L`$ over trajectories determined by the Lagrangian $`\stackrel{~}{L}`$ which neglected gravity gradients, it e.g.:

$`\stackrel{~}{L}(𝐫,𝐯)`$ $`=`$ $`m({\displaystyle \frac{𝐯^\mathrm{𝟐}}{2}}+𝐠𝐫+𝛀((𝐫+𝐑)\times 𝐯)`$ (5)
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(𝛀\times (𝐫+𝐑))^2).`$
This approximation was validated numerically as discussed below.

We evaluated accelerometer Kasevich\_1991 ; Peters\_x999 , gyroscope Gustavson\_2000 , photon recoil Weiss\_x993 , and optical clock interferometer Borde\_x989  configurations, as summarized in Tables 1-4. Each configuration is discussed briefly below. We tabulate only the most significant terms in Taylor expansions of the total phase shifts. In order to give a quantitative measure for the different phase contributions, the tabulated expressions were evaluated for parameters corresponding to current experiments. In particular, $`m=2.2110^{25}`$kg (Cs atomic mass), $`\lambda _{\text{eff}}=426`$nm (effective wavelength for two-photon Raman transitions), latitude $`41^{}`$, Earth radius $`R=6.7210^6`$m, gravity $`g_z=9.8`$ m/sec2 and gravity gradient $`2T_{xx}=2T_{yy}=T_{zz}=2g_z/R`$ with all other gravity gradient terms being zero (for a spherically symmetric Earth). The coordinate system origin is taken as the mean wavepacket position at the time of the first optical pulse, and the phase shift is determined just after the final pulse.

Gravimeter. Phase shifts for an atomic fountain gravimeter/accelerometer, based on a $`\pi /2\pi \pi /2`$ sequence of vertically propagating optical pulses, are presented in Table 1. For the numerical estimates we used a time $`T=0.4`$ s between the pulses (corresponding to a fountain height of $`78`$ cm) and a vertical launch velocity $`v_z=g_zT`$. Note that in a satellite microgravity experiment the first two terms would cancel, such that the gravity gradient contribution would dominate. Recent terrestrial experiments have demonstrated the capability to resolve phase shifts at or below the $`10^9`$ g level Peters\_x999 .

Optical clock. The optical Ramsey pulse sequence, $`\pi /2\pi /2\pi /2\pi /2`$ (arrows indicate propagation directions of the interrogating pulses) is presented in Table 2. Results are shown for pulses propagating along a vertical axis, with $`T=0.4`$s between the first and second and the third and fourth pulse, infinitesimal time between the second and third pulse and initial vertical velocity $`v_z=g_zT`$. Atomic clocks based on this sequence offer the prospect of pushing the accuracy of the definition of the second below the $`10^{18}`$ level and are a longstanding goal in frequency metrology. For an operational time standard, terms linear in $`k_z`$ can be suppressed by pulse reversal techniques Trebst\_2001  ($`k_zk_z`$, for example), leaving terms quadratic in $`k_z`$ as possible systematic shifts. The largest of these tabulated is the well-known recoil-shift. The smaller term, which is linear in $`T_{zz}`$, depends on the location of the measurement, and represents a possible systematic offset at the $`\delta \nu /\nu 10^{17}`$ level. This term exists for both horizontal and vertical interrogation geometries.

Photon recoil measurement. Chu and coworkers have shown that a modified form of the optical Ramsey method can be used for precise determination of the quantity $`\mathrm{}/m_{\text{Cs}}`$ Weiss\_x993 . The modification involves insertion of a series of $`N1`$ $`\pi `$ pulses, of alternating propagation direction, between the second and third $`\pi /2`$ pulses, and has the effect of enhancing the photon recoil phase shift terms. Following Refs. Weiss\_x993 ; Chu\_2001 , we calculate the phase difference between the two possible closed interferometer branches (see Table 3). The phase terms are evaluated using the following parameters (chosen to correspond to the experiment in Ref. Chu\_2001 ): $`T=0.13`$s for the time between the first pair as well as the second pair of $`\pi /2`$ pulses, $`T_{\text{rec}}=`$ (1/3000) s between the second $`\pi /2`$ pulse and the first $`\pi `$ pulse, $`T_{\text{rec}}=`$ (1/3000) s between each of the subsequent $`N1`$ $`\pi `$ pulses, and $`N1=`$ 30 $`\pi `$ pulses. The second correction term due to gravity gradients is at the anticipated level of precision achieved in recent $`\mathrm{}/m_{\text{Cs}}`$ measurements.

Gyroscope. A $`\pi /2\pi \pi /2`$ sequence with optical propagation vectors nominally perpendicular to the mean atomic velocity can be viewed as a Sagnac-type rotation sensor Berman\_1998 . In Table 4 we estimate the phase shifts for a time-domain interferometer with parameters which correspond to the precision gyroscope of Ref. Gustavson\_2000 . In particular, the light pulses are chosen to propagate horizontally in the west-east direction, with the atomic velocity $`v_y=290`$m/s in the north-south direction and $`T=1/290`$s time between pulses (corresponding to a $`1`$m spatial separation of the laser interaction regions). The largest correction to the well known Sagnac shift (the leading term) is near the resolution limit of current instruments, and is compensated by atomic beam reversal techniques.

It is interesting to compare the above results with those from a perturbative treatment of gravity gradients and rotations, i.e. using the Lagrangian $`\stackrel{~}{\stackrel{~}{L}}=m\left(𝐯^2/2+𝐠𝐫\right)`$ to determine the classical trajectories, but evaluating the action with respect to the full Lagrangian $`L`$ above. As an example, Table 5 shows these terms for the gravimeter configuration. Comparison with Table 1 indicates that the phase shift error associated with this commonly used approximation Storey\_1994  is $`510^3`$ rad or $`210^{10}`$ g, which might be resolved by current experiments. In contrast, using $`\stackrel{~}{L}`$ to estimate the classical trajectories, we obtain agreement at the $``$ 1 $`\mu `$rad level between our analytic calculations and numeric calculations which use the full Lagrangian $`L`$ to determine the classical trajectories. $`\mu `$rad level agreement is also obtained for the optical clock (Table 2) and photon recoil (Table 3) configurations, while 200 picorad agreement is obtained for the gyroscope configuration (Table 4).

In conclusion, we have analyzed accelerometer, gyroscope, photon recoil and optical clock interferometer configurations. We have identified new phase shift terms which have their origin in cross-couplings between rotation, acceleration and gravity gradient perturbations on wavepacket motion.

This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research, Army Research Office, National Science Foundation and NASA. K. Bongs thanks the DFG (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) for financial support. We thank Neelima Sehgal for technical assistance and acknowledge valuable conversations with C. Bordé and S. Chu.


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# Thermal quenching of electronic shells and channel competition in cluster fission

## Abstract

Experimental and theoretical studies of fission of doubly-charged Li, Na, and K clusters in the low fissility regime reveal the strong influence of electronic shell effects on the fission products. The electronic entropy controls the quenching of the shell effects and the competition between magic-fragment channels, leading to a transition from favored channels of higher mass symmetry to the asymmetric channel involving the trimer cation at elevated temperatures.

Explorations of factors controlling the stability and the collapse or fragmentation of finite systems range from early studies of hydrodynamical instabilities and droplet formation  to studies of fission and fragmentation of atomic nuclei , and of atomic and molecular free clusters and supported nanostructures . Here we focus on the charge instability and fission of doubly charged cationic metal clusters, that is $`\text{M}_N^{2+}\text{M}_P^++\text{M}_{NP}^+`$. Such instabilities in macroscopic fluid systems have been studied by Rayleigh , and adaptations of Rayleigh’s model (RM) for the description and analysis of nuclear  and cluster fission  are referred to as the Liquid Drop Model (LDM). In the LDM, the clusters are viewed as charged classical liquid drops whose shape and dynamics are controlled by the competition between the repulsive Coulomb $`(E_{\text{Coulomb}})`$ and the binding surface ($`E_{\text{surface}}`$) energies .

Various fission regimes may be classified by the fissility parameter $`X=E_{\text{Coulomb}}^{\text{sph}}/2E_{\text{surface}}^{\text{sph}}`$, where the superscript “sph” indicates that the equilibrium shapes of the LDM are spherical. For $`X1`$, spontaneous barrierless fission is predicted and observed ; this is also the regime studied originally by Rayleigh who predicted a mass-symmetric fission mode (see also Ref. ). In the $`X<1`$ regime, which is the focus of our paper, the fissioning system must overcome a barrier. For atomic clusters in this regime, tunneling is suppressed, unlike the case of nuclei, and fission requires thermal activation. From $`X_{\text{cr}}=1`$, the RM critical size for barrierless fission is $`N_{\text{cr}}^{\text{RM}}=z^2e^2/(16\pi r_s^3\sigma )`$, where $`r_s`$ is the Wigner-Seitz radius and $`\sigma `$ is the surface-energy; for doubly charged $`(z=2)`$ Li, Na, and K clusters, one has $`N_{\text{cr}}^{\text{RM}}10`$. Thus, with the exception of the smallest ones, fissioning clusters must be hot  in order to overcome the fission barrier.

For the low fissility $`X<1`$ regime, the LDM predicts the dominance of a strongly mass asymmetric fission process, as deduced from the finite-temperature  $`Q_P^T=F_P^++F_{NP}^+F_N^{2+}`$ values, that express the free-energy balance for the possible $`(P,NP)`$ fission channels. Such asymmetric fission has been observed in experiments for Na$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{N}{}^{}`$ with $`N24`$ (i.e., near the appearance size, see below), where the preferred fission channel involved the “magic” Na$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ fragment . The prevalence of this channel, compared to other asymmetric ones in the neighborhood of the LDM minimum, originates from quantum mechanical shell effects .

In this paper we present experimental and theoretical results, pertaining to cluster fission for $`X<<1`$, which cannot be described by the classical RM, demonstrating instead the dominance of quantum-size effects, i.e., electronic shell contributions . In particular, we study alkali-metal (Li, Na, and K) clusters with $`N=24`$, 26, 28, and 30. These systems correspond to the lowest observable fissility regime with $`N>>N_{\text{cr}}^{\text{RM}}`$; e.g., for $`N=30`$ one has $`X0.25`$ for the doubly charged alkali clusters. Moreover, this range of sizes is particularly suitable for explorations of shell effects, since it includes cases where the clusters may fission into doubly “magic” fragments, i.e., $`\text{M}_{24}^{2+}\text{M}_{21}^++\text{M}_3^+\text{and}\text{M}_{30}^{2+}\text{M}_{21}^++\text{M}_9^+`$.

We find that, in addition to M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$, the more mass symmetric magic fission channels (involving the magic fragments M$`{}_{9}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{+}`$ and M$`{}_{21}{}^{}{}_{}{}^{+}`$) do appear and compete with the channel involving the trimer (even becoming the preferred channels in several instances). Furthermore, from comparisons between the experiments and calculations based on the finite-temperature shell-correction method (FT-SCM) , we find that the channel distributions are greatly influenced by thermal quenching of the shell effects due to the increase (compared to $`T=0`$) of the electronic entropy; this quenching results from thermal promotion of electrons to unoccupied single-particle levels which smears out the shell structure. The more mass-symmetric fission channels are favored at lower temperatures, whereas the asymmetric ones (e.g., involving the M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ fragment) dominate as $`T`$ increases. These trends reflect the more pronounced (quenching) effect of the electronic entropy on the shell-stabilization of the larger magic sizes (e.g., M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{9}{}^{}`$ and M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{21}{}^{}`$).

In the experiment , a distribution of relatively large neutral clusters is formed by a gas aggregation source. The clusters are ionized, photo-excited and warmed by a 15 ns laser pulse (Nd-YAG laser at $`h\nu =3.50`$ eV). A rapid sequential evaporation follows the warming of the clusters for about 1 $`\mu `$s (i.e., the residence time in the ionizing region). This results in a charged cluster distribution shifted down to smaller sizes, called an “evaporative ensemble” (EE) . The cluster temperature associated with the EE is determined  by the cluster dissociation energy and by the experimental time window, i.e., the residence time in the ionizing/heating region. Under our experimental conditions, the temperatures of the EE’s of lithium, sodium and potassium clusters are 700$`\pm `$100 K, 400$`\pm `$100 K and 300$`\pm `$100 K, respectively.

The EE of ionized clusters enters a tandem time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. Parents of interest are mass selected in the first TOF region. Because they are at a given temperature, subsequent unimolecular dissociation of these parents takes place and the resulting fragments are mass analyzed by the second TOF device. Enhanced optimization of the electrostatic potentials in the current experiments has led to significant increases in both the mass and energy resolutions. In particular, the latter allows us to resolve the kinetic energy released during the fission process (see the splitting of the peak of some of the fission fragments in Fig. 1).

For cluster sizes in the vicinity of the appearence size (see below), the unimolecular dissociation of doubly charged clusters portrays the competition between the fission (1a) and evaporation (1b) processes:

$`\text{M}_N^{2+}`$ $`\text{M}_P^++\text{M}_{NP}^+`$ (2)
$`\text{M}_P^{}^{2+}+\text{M}_{NP^{}},P^{}=1\text{or}\mathrm{\hspace{0.33em}2}.`$ (3)
We focus here on the fission decay channels. The explored size domain is bounded by two values, $`N_{}`$ and $`N_+`$. The lower value $`N_{}`$ is determined by the appearance size $`N^{\text{app}}`$ ($`N^{\text{app}}=24`$ for Li$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{N}{}^{}`$ and Na$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{N}{}^{}`$ clusters, and 19 for K$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{N}{}^{}`$ clusters ), below which fission is the dominant dissociation process \[see Eq. (1a)\]. Below this size no doubly charged clusters are present in the mass spectra, since their fast fission process prevents their observation during the experimental time window. $`N_+`$ is determined by the loss of the signal corresponding to the fission process, resulting from the increase of the inner part of the fission barrier with the size of the cluster relative to the essentially constant monomer evaporation energy. Fig. 1 summarizes the results obtained for the three alkali metals in the same size range.

Although we have recorded the fragmentation spectra for all the sizes $`24N30`$, only results for clusters with an even number of atoms are shown (due to pairing they exhibit simpler features). In our experimental setup, only the heavy fragments M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{P}{}^{}`$ with $`P>N/2`$ are detected. The main features are as follows: For the lowest parent size ($`N=24`$) and for all three elements, only one fission channel is present, i.e., the doubly magic $`M_3^++M_{21}^+`$. Increasing the parent size, however, results in differentiation between the three elements regarding the observed fission channels. A larger parent size (i.e., $`N26`$) opens the channels of heavier fragments and this trend is more pronounced for potassium than for lithium. In particular, the trimer appears to be the dominant product in the Li fission, while M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{21}{}^{}`$ is the dominant one for K, with Na exhibiting an intermediate behavior. That is, the asymmetry of the fission process is reduced for the K clusters as compared to the Na and Li ones.

We have performed FT-SCM calculations of the $`Q^T`$-values for the various fission channels for all three alkali-metal sequences at the corresponding experimental temperatures. Since for each species the Coulomb repulsion (QR) at the scission point (measured by the energy release) is approximately constant for all fission channels in the size-range considered here $`(X<<1)`$, the effective inner part of the fission barrier can be approximated by adding the calculated $`Q^T`$-values to the QR term. Thus the ordering of the fission channels can be directly inferred from the $`Q^T`$-values.

The theoretical zero-temperature $`Q`$-values provide an inadequate description of the experimental data. For example, the $`Q`$-values for Li$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{N}{}^{}`$ (plotted in Fig. 2) cannot explain the observed trend (see Fig. 1, left column) of strong asymmetric fission, with the Li$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ being the preferred channel for all parents $`N=24`$, 26, 28, and 30 . In particular, the $`T=0`$ theoretically deduced preferred fission channels for $`N=26`$ and $`N=30`$ are (5,21) and (9,21), respectively, in contradiction with the measurements (see Fig. 1). In contrast, the theoretical $`Q^T`$-values (Fig. 3) agree well with the experiment. Specifically, for Lithium the calculations at $`T`$ $`=`$ 700 K show that Li$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ is indeed the preferred channel for all parents; only for Li$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{30}{}^{}`$, the Li$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{21}{}^{}`$ channel becomes competitive, remaining however less abundant than the one involving the trimer.

We reiterate that in Fig. 3 there is a clear tendency toward opening the channels involving the heavier magic fragments ($`P=9`$ and $`P=21`$), both when going up vertically from the lighter to the heavier parentss (from $`N=24`$ to $`N=30`$), as well as when going horizontally from left to right (i.e., from Li to K, with Na representing an intermediate case).

The physics underlying this agreement between the experiment and the FT-SCM results can be revealed by an examination of the influence of the electronic entropy on the various fission channels $`(P,NP)`$ as a function of $`P`$. For brevity, we limit our discussion to the case of the K$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{30}{}^{}`$ parent; the conclusions, however, extend to all three species and the other parent sizes. Figure 4 displays the FT-SCM $`Q^T`$-values for K$`{}_{}{}^{2+}{}_{30}{}^{}`$ at five temperatures ($`200`$ K to $`1000`$ K). At the lowest temperature, the $`(9,21)`$ channel is the preferred one; however, an increase in $`T`$ is accompanied by quenching of the shell effects; i.e., at high temperature (1000 K) the shell effects have almost vanished, and the $`Q^T`$ curve exhibits a smooth shape similar to that of the LDM (although with a steeper variation)

Most important for the competition between the various magic fragments, however, is the fact that the electronic-entropy quenching of the shell effects is non-uniform, with the higher occupied shells of the heavier fragments being influenced the most as $`T`$ increases, since the energy spacing between the major electronic shells, $`\mathrm{}\omega _0(N)=49\text{eV}a_0^2/(r_s^2N^{1/3})`$, decreases with larger $`N`$. Consequently, a higher $`T`$ favors the trimer (M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$) channel over those involving the magic M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{9}{}^{}`$ and M$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{21}{}^{}`$ fragments. This happens even in the case of $`N=30`$ where the competing $`(9,21)`$ channel is doubly magic. Note that, unlike the $`T=700`$ K experimental temperature of Li, the temperatures of 300 K for Potassium and 400 K for Sodium are low enough so that the heavier-fragment channels retain their $`T=0`$ original prevalence for all three parent sizes $`N=26`$, 28, and 30.

Further insight can be gained by examining the ratio $`f_{\text{sh}}(N)\mathrm{\Delta }F_{\text{sh}}(N,\tau )/|\mathrm{\Delta }F_{\text{sh}}(N,0)|`$ of the free-energy shell-correction term at $`\tau =2\pi ^2k_BT/\mathrm{}\omega _0(N)`$ over the shell correction term at $`\tau =0`$. For a schematic single-particle spectrum consisting of equally spaced major shells with the same degeneracy, it can be shown in the case of closed shells (see p. 608 of Ref.  and Ref. ) that $`f_{\text{sh}}(N)\tau \mathrm{exp}(\tau )`$ for $`\tau 1`$. Thus, because of the large prefactor $`2\pi ^2`$, the electronic-entropy effects manifest themselves even at the rather low temperatures of the cluster experiments. In Fig. 4 (bottom frame on the right), we compare the $`f_{\text{sh}}`$’s for K$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{9}{}^{}`$ and K$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ calculated with the realistic single-particle spectrum of our FT-SCM. Note that, as a function of $`T`$, the realistic spectrum suppresses the shell effect of the heavier-than-the-trimer magic fragments at a faster rate than the estimate above.

The controlling influence of the electronic entropy on the stabilization of electronic shells, discussed previously  in studies of ground-state properties of clusters, has been shown here to govern the fission patterns and their temperature dependence at the low-fissility regime . This provides the impetus for further temperature-controlled studies of charge instabilities in clusters.

This research is supported by the US D.O.E. (Grant No. FG05-86ER-45234).


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# Dynamical Confirmation of SDSS Weak Lensing Scaling Laws

## 1 Introduction

Mass clustered around galaxies distorts the local space-time, bending light rays which pass near them and inducing distortions in the images of more distant galaxies. Observation of these distortions enables weak lensing measurements of the projected-mass correlation function (PMCF: Brainerd, Blandford and Smail (1996); Fischer et al. (2000); Wilson, Kaiser, Luppino, & Cowie (2001); Hoekstra, Yee, & Gladders (2001)). Recent measurements of the PMCF in fields drawn from the Las Campanas Redshift Survey (Smith, Bernstein, Fischer, & Jarvis, 2001) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (McKay, et al. (2002): hereafter M02) reveal an approximately linear correlation between the luminosity of L $`>`$ L galaxies and the depth of the dark matter potential wells in which they reside. This close connection is not particularly surprising in a modern picture of galaxy formation (Seljak, 2000; Guzik & Seljak, 2001), though it requires rather uniform integrated star formation efficiency across halos of a range of masses.

The weak lensing effects induced by galaxies are very small; peak distortions of background galaxies in the SDSS are only 0.5%. In addition, quantitative interpretation of the lensing results requires an accurate understanding of lens geometries. It is important to quantitatively confirm these lensing results by independent methods.

In this work we briefly examine galaxy mass-to-light scalings with an independent dynamical method. We extract a sample of ‘host’ galaxies surrounded by systems of ‘satellites’ from data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Host galaxies typically have few satellites, making it impractical to measure their masses individually. By combining satellites from many hosts of similar luminosity, we measure the mean velocity field around the hosts. The method is analogous to the ‘stacking’ of galaxies used in lensing measurements of the PMCF. It is closely related to the satellite galaxy analyses of Zaritsky, Smith, Frenk, & White (1993) and Zaritsky & White (1994).

## 2 Data, and the Selection of Host and Satellite Galaxies

Data for this study are drawn from Sloan Digital Sky Survey111www.sdss.org: a combined imaging and spectroscopic survey of 104 deg2 in the North Galactic Cap, and a smaller, deeper region in the South. The imaging survey is carried out in drift-scan mode in five SDSS filters ($`u`$, $`g`$, $`r`$, $`i`$, $`z`$) to a limiting magnitude of r$`<`$22.5 (Fukugita et al., 1996; Gunn et al., 1998). The spectroscopic survey targets a ‘main’ sample of galaxies with $`r`$$`<`$17.8 and a median redshift of z$``$0.1 (Strauss, et al., 2001). Velocity errors in the redshift survey are $``$30 km/s. For more details of the SDSS see York et al. (2000) and Stoughton et al. (2002). For this study we extract from the SDSS main galaxy sample a catalog of 102,922 galaxies with accurately measured redshifts in a range from z=0.01 to z=0.2.

Potential host galaxies must pass an isolation cut: they must be at least two times more luminous than any galaxy within a projected distance of 2 $`h^1`$Mpc and a velocity window of $`\pm `$1000 km/s. Around each such host, we select as possible satellites all galaxies at least four times fainter than the host (1.5 magnitudes), within a projected distance of 500 $`h^1`$kpc, and within a velocity window of $`\pm `$1000 km/s. Combining the requirement of faint satellites with the magnitude limit of the SDSS spectroscopic survey limits our host galaxies to $`r`$$`<`$ 16.3.

There are 13,737 galaxies with $`r`$$`<`$16.3 in the sample. Of these, 618 are both isolated and have at least one faint satellite. Most of the remainder fail the isolation cut. The total number of satellites is 1225. While the mean number of satellites around each host is only two, there are host galaxies with as many as 19 satellites. An object with this many satellites is clearly more a group with a dominant central galaxy than a galaxy with a few satellites. We remove these by requiring that the combined luminosity of the satellites be less than the luminosity of the host. All but 5 of the host systems pass this cut. Absolute magnitude distributions of host and satellite galaxies are shown in Figure 1 . Many still fainter satellites exist; we are prevented from identifying them by the magnitude limit of the SDSS spectroscopic survey.

To reveal the mix of host galaxy types, we divide galaxies into early (redder) and late (bluer) types using $`u`$-$`r`$ color as described in Strateva, et al. (2001). The $`u`$-$`r`$ distribution for host and satellite galaxies is shown in the lower right panel of Figure 1. Overall the host galaxies are 75% early and 25% late types. It is important to stress that this division of early and late is luminosity dependent in a way which is strongly color dependent. In $`u`$, late types consitute 25% of galaxies at all luminosities, while in $`z`$, late types are $`>`$ 50% of low luminosity galaxies, and $`<`$ 5% of high luminosity galaxies. This variation in the morphological mix with luminosity complicates comparison of these results to the M02 lensing results in the bluer bands, where early and late type galaxies have substantially different mass-to-light ratios.

## 3 Dependence of Satellite Dynamics on Host Luminosity

To examine the relationship between satellite dynamics and host galaxy luminosity, we bin systems by host luminosity, then examine the host-satellite velocity difference histograms for each luminosity bin. All luminosities are based on SDSS Petrosian magnitudes, k-corrected in the manner described in Blanton et al. (2001). An increase in the dispersion of satellite motions with host luminosity is clearly detected.

We quantify this variation by fitting the velocity difference histogram in each luminosity bin to the sum of a Gaussian plus a constant, where the constant term represents the contribution due to random interlopers not physically associated with the host galaxy. The Gaussian widths fit to these distributions ($`\sigma _r`$) are direct measures of the velocity dispersion characteristic of satellites for host galaxies in each luminosity bin. While models of satellite motions (White & Zaritsky, 1992) suggest that the line of sight velocity dispersion of satellites may be non-Gaussian, our measured profiles are well fit by these models. Errors quoted for these Gaussian fits include the degeneracy between peak height and width.

## 4 Mass modeling

To compare these results to the weak lensing results of M02, we need to determine model masses for each luminosity bin. The M02 lensing results quantify mass-to-light scalings by measuring $`M_{260}`$; the mass inferred by fitting a singular isothermal sphere model to the observed density contrast within a radius of 260 $`h^1`$kpc. We calculate here a very similar parameter, $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$.

To derive this parameter we adopt a Jeans approach. This approach is unlikely to represent the situation in detail, as the dynamical times for satellites at projected separations of 500 $`h^1`$kpc approach the Hubble time. We address this concern briefly by reference to N-body simulations in the following section. We begin with the relation (Binney and Tremaine, 1987):

$$\frac{GM(r)}{r}=\overline{v_r^2}\left(\frac{\mathrm{ln}\nu }{\mathrm{ln}r}+\frac{\mathrm{ln}\overline{v_r^2}}{\mathrm{ln}r}+2\beta \right)$$
(1)
where r is the radius at which we measure the mass, $`\overline{v_r^2}`$ is the average radial velocity of satellites squared, $`\nu (r)`$ is the number density of satellites as a function of radius, and $`\beta `$ is the velocity anisotropy

$$\beta =1.0\frac{\overline{v_\theta ^2}}{\overline{v_r^2}}$$
(2)
By measuring the projected number density of satellites as a function of radius we determine $`\nu (r)r^{2.1}`$. Measurements of $`\sigma _r`$ in apertures from 100 to 500 $`h^1`$kpc show no significant variation, implying that the second term in the parentheses of Equation 1 is zero. We assume that the velocity anisotropy $`\beta `$=0. If this is incorrect, the masses determined here will be biased by a factor of $``$(1.0 - $`\beta `$). Finally, we assume that our measured $`\sigma _r^2`$, the mean square line of site velocity of all satellites within a projected distance of 500 $`h^1`$kpc of the host, is equal to $`\overline{v_r^2}`$. These are significant assumptions, which we test below by simulation.

With these assumptions, our mass estimator reduces to the simple form:

$$M_{260}^{dyn}=\frac{2.1\times r\times \overline{v_r^2}}{G}$$
(3)
where r is the 260 $`h^1`$kpc radius to which we integrate the mass, and $`\overline{v_r^2}`$ is the one dimensional RMS satellite velocity.

## 5 Comparison to GIF simulations

A variety of assumptions were made to arrive at Equation 3. It is possible that one or more of these assumptions introduces systematic error. In addition, it is desirable to relate the mass esimator $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$ to theoretically favored quantities like $`M_{200}`$. As a first test, we conduct a parallel analysis within a simulated universe, extracting the observables used in our analysis from the simulation. By reconstructing masses in the simulation using $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$, and comparing these to $`M_{200}`$, it is possible to both test the validity of $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$and understand its relationship to $`M_{200}`$.

To conduct this test we turn to the GIF simulations of Kauffman, et al. (1999). GIF combines N-body simulations of the evolution of dark matter clustering with a semianalytic galaxy modeling scheme, including gas cooling, star formation, feedback from supernovae, and galaxy merging. The end result is a catalog of galaxies with B, V, R, I, and K magnitudes and stellar masses. Peculiar velocities for each galaxy are determined from the N-body simulations. As a result, these velocities have the full structure we might expect to find in the data. The most important limitation of the GIF simulations for this comparison is their relatively low mass resolution. They resolve only the most massive and luminous host galaxies.

To test our analysis of SDSS satellite motions, we conduct a parallel analysis within the GIF simulations. We define as isolated all galaxies which are at least two times brighter than any other galaxy within their halo. We then search these for cases with satellites at least four times fainter. We use the velocity differences between hosts and satellites to populate velocity difference histograms, and sort these by host luminosity, in the same manner used in the SDSS satellite study. As a first check of Equation 3, we use the simulations to check our assumptions about $`\beta `$ and the relationship between $`\sigma _r^2`$ and $`\overline{v_r^2}`$. We calculate the velocity anisotropy from the simulation, and find $`\beta =0.06\pm 0.03`$. We also find the LOS velocity dispersion $`\sigma _r^2=1.03\pm 0.03\times \overline{v_r^2}`$. While the GIF simulations are not a perfect match to our satellite sample, this provides some support for the assumptions we made in deriving Equation 3.

A more direct approach is to confirm that the data and simulations show a consistent relationship between the observables: $`\sigma _r`$ and luminosity. This comparison of the SDSS and GIF $`\sigma _r`$ vs. luminosity measurements is shown in Figure 2. The SDSS luminosity measurements are in $`i`$, and the GIF luminosities in Johnson I, but as both are converted to solar luminosities the comparison remains appropriate. Both the SDSS and GIF results are consistent with a simple model in which $`\sigma _rL^{0.5}`$.

Since the GIF simulations provide values for the $`M_{200}`$ associated with each halo, we can compare measures of $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$ derived from galaxy velocities to $`M_{200}`$ within the simulations. This comparison suggests that $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$$`0.7\times `$$`M_{200}`$. It is essential to note that this relation is determined only for the most luminous galaxies, and over only a factor of four in luminosity. While this comparison is limited, it provides some confidence that Equation 3 sensibly relates satellite velocities to masses. A more detailed understanding awaits simulations with higher mass resolution, in which more direct comparisons can be made.

## 6 Mass-to-light scalings and comparisons to lensing results

The measurements of $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$ derived from satellite motions are shown in Figure 3. The relationship between $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$ and light in each passband is well fit by a single power law. As observed in M02, these relations are consistent with a power law index of one (constant $`M/L`$) in all bands except $`u`$, where a flatter relation, with a best fit power law index $``$0.6 is observed.

To compare these results to the M02 lensing results, we fix the power law index to one, and fit the $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$ vs. luminosity data in each band to obtain values for $`M/L`$. Values for these $`M/L`$ ratios are given in Figure 3. The dynamical $`M/L`$ values are consistent with the lensing values at the 1$`\sigma `$ level in most bands. They differ most strongly in u and g, where M02 suggests results will be very sensitive to the mix of host types.

The masses of L galaxy halos are proportional to light, and $`M/L`$ values vary strongly with color. More detailed quantitative comparison of the lensing and dynamical results will only be possible when we can measure more identical samples of hosts and lenses. This is difficult. The magnitude limit of the SDSS spectroscopy biases dynamical studies toward hosts at z$`<`$0.05, while lens geometries prefer lenses at z$``$0.15. Still, the $`M/L`$ values derived by independent methods agree reasonably, especially in the redder bands, where differences between the host and lens samples are probably less important.

## 7 Conclusions

Recent SDSS weak lensing results (M02) revealed a linear relation between galaxy luminosity and mass on halo scales. To quantitatively test this result, we have measured the relationship between galaxy luminosity and satellite dynamics for a large sample of reasonably isolated host galaxies. We observe a highly significant increase in satellite velocity with host luminosity.

To make direct comparisons to the weak lensing results, we apply a simple mass estimator, $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$, which is closely analogous to the mass modeling used in M02. A first order test of the validity of this model is made by computing it within the GIF simulations. The relationship seen here between $`M_{260}^{dyn}`$ and luminosity matches reasonably the relation seen by entirely independent weak lensing methods. This confirms the essential conclusions reached in M02. The luminous and dark components of L galaxies are strongly coupled on $``$200 kpc scales.

It is unknown whether the scaling relations observed here for super-L galaxies apply at lower luminosity. Perhaps the most important future extension of these studies will be to less luminous galaxies. Additional comparison of lensing and dynamical mass estimates will require measurement of more closely related host and lens samples, and more detailed study of the extraction of mass from the observable PMCF and satellite velocity structure.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is a joint project of The University of Chicago, Fermilab, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Japan Participation Group, The Johns Hopkins University, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), the Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), New Mexico State University, Princeton University, the United States Naval Observatory, and the University of Washington. Apache Point Observatory, site of the SDSS telescopes, is operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium (ARC). Funding for the project has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the SDSS member institutions, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Japanese Monbukagakusho, and the Max Planck Society. The SDSS Web site is http://www.sdss.org/. Timothy McKay and Erin Sheldon gratefully acknowledge support from NSF PECASE grant AST 9708232. We thank the GIF team for making their simulations publically available, and acknowledge Simon White and the anonymous referee for constructive suggestions.