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# References

footnotetext:  Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 51M05
The Beckman-Quarles theorem for continuous

mappings from $`^n`$ to $`^n`$

Apoloniusz Tyszka

## Abstract

Let $`\phi _n:^n\times ^n`$, $`\phi _n((x_1,\mathrm{},x_n),(y_1,\mathrm{},y_n))=(x_1y_1)^2+\mathrm{}+(x_ny_n)^2`$. We say that $`f:^n^n`$ preserves distance $`d0`$ if for each $`x,y^n`$ $`\phi _n(x,y)=d^2`$ implies $`\phi _n(f(x),f(y))=d^2`$. We prove that if $`x,y^n`$ ($`n3`$) and $`|xy|=(\sqrt{2+2/n})^k(2/n)^l`$ ($`k,l`$ are non-negative integers) then there exists a finite set $`\{x,y\}S_{xy}^n`$ such that each unit-distance preserving mapping from $`S_{xy}`$ to $`^n`$ preserves the distance between $`x`$ and $`y`$. It implies that each continuous map from $`^n`$ to $`^n`$ ($`n3`$) preserving unit distance preserves all distances.

The classical Beckman-Quarles theorem states that each unit-distance preserving mapping from $`^n`$ to $`^n`$ ($`n2`$) is an isometry, see ,  and . Author’s discrete form of this theorem (,) states that if $`x,y^n`$ ($`n2`$) and $`|xy|`$ is an algebraic number then there exists a finite set $`\{x,y\}S_{xy}^n`$ such that each unit-distance preserving mapping from $`S_{xy}`$ to $`^n`$ preserves the distance between $`x`$ and $`y`$.

Let $`\phi _n:^n\times ^n`$, $`\phi _n((x_1,\mathrm{},x_n),(y_1,\mathrm{},y_n))=(x_1y_1)^2+\mathrm{}+(x_ny_n)^2`$. We say that $`f:^n^n`$ preserves distance $`d0`$ if for each $`x,y^n`$ $`\phi _n(x,y)=d^2`$ implies $`\phi _n(f(x),f(y))=d^2`$. Our goal is to prove that each continuous map from $`^n`$ to $`^n`$ ($`n3`$) preserving unit distance preserves all distances. It requires some technical propositions.

Proposition 1 (cf. , ). The points $`c_1=(z_{1,1},\mathrm{},z_{1,n}),\mathrm{},c_{n+1}=(z_{n+1,1},\mathrm{},z_{n+1,n})^n`$ are affinely dependent if and only if their Cayley-Menger determinant

$$det\left[\begin{array}{ccccc}0& 1& 1& \mathrm{}& 1\\ 1& \phi _n(c_1,c_1)& \phi _n(c_1,c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_1,c_{n+1})\\ 1& \phi _n(c_2,c_1)& \phi _n(c_2,c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_2,c_{n+1})\\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}\\ 1& \phi _n(c_{n+1},c_1)& \phi _n(c_{n+1},c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_{n+1},c_{n+1})\end{array}\right]$$

equals $`0`$.

Proof. It follows from the equality

$$\left(det\left[\begin{array}{ccccc}z_{1,1}& z_{1,2}& \mathrm{}& z_{1,n}& 1\\ z_{2,1}& z_{2,2}& \mathrm{}& z_{2,n}& 1\\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}\\ z_{n+1,1}& z_{n+1,2}& \mathrm{}& z_{n+1,n}& 1\end{array}\right]\right)^2=$$

$$\frac{(1)^{n+1}}{2^n}det\left[\begin{array}{ccccc}0& 1& 1& \mathrm{}& 1\\ 1& \phi _n(c_1,c_1)& \phi _n(c_1,c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_1,c_{n+1})\\ 1& \phi _n(c_2,c_1)& \phi _n(c_2,c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_2,c_{n+1})\\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}\\ 1& \phi _n(c_{n+1},c_1)& \phi _n(c_{n+1},c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_{n+1},c_{n+1})\end{array}\right].$$

Proposition 2 (cf. , ). For each points $`c_1,\mathrm{},c_{n+2}^n`$ their Cayley-Menger determinant equals $`0`$ i.e.

$$det\left[\begin{array}{ccccc}0& 1& 1& \mathrm{}& 1\\ 1& \phi _n(c_1,c_1)& \phi _n(c_1,c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_1,c_{n+2})\\ 1& \phi _n(c_2,c_1)& \phi _n(c_2,c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_2,c_{n+2})\\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}\\ 1& \phi _n(c_{n+2},c_1)& \phi _n(c_{n+2},c_2)& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(c_{n+2},c_{n+2})\end{array}\right]=0.$$

Proof. Assume that $`c_1=(z_{1,1},\mathrm{},z_{1,n}),\mathrm{},c_{n+2}=(z_{n+2,1},\mathrm{},z_{n+2,n})`$. The points $`\stackrel{~}{c}_1=(z_{1,1},\mathrm{},z_{1,n},0),\mathrm{},\stackrel{~}{c}_{n+2}=(z_{n+2,1},\mathrm{},z_{n+2,n},0)^{n+1}`$ are affinely dependent. Since $`\phi _n(c_i,c_j)=\phi _{n+1}(\stackrel{~}{c}_i,\stackrel{~}{c}_j)`$ $`(1ijn+2)`$ the Cayley-Menger determinant of points $`c_1,\mathrm{},c_{n+2}`$ is equal to the Cayley-Menger determinant of points $`\stackrel{~}{c}_1,\mathrm{},\stackrel{~}{c}_{n+2}`$ which equals $`0`$ according to Proposition 1.

From Proposition 1 we obtain the following Propositions 3a and 3b.

Proposition 3a. If $`d>0`$ and points $`c_1,\mathrm{},c_{n+1}^n`$ satisfy $`\phi _n(c_i,c_j)=d^2`$ ($`1i<jn+1`$), then points $`c_1,\mathrm{},c_{n+1}`$ are affinely independent.

Proposition 3b. If $`d>0`$ and points $`c_1,\mathrm{},c_n,c^n`$ satisfy $`\phi _n(c_i,c_j)=(2+2/n)d^2`$ ($`1i<jn`$) and $`\phi _n(c_i,c)=d^2`$ ($`1in`$), then points $`c_1,\mathrm{},c_n,c`$ are affinely independent.

Proposition 4 (cf.  p. 127 in the real case). If points $`c_0,c_1,\mathrm{},c_n^n`$ are affinely independent, $`x,y^n`$ and $`\phi _n(x,c_0)=\phi _n(y,c_0)`$, $`\phi _n(x,c_1)=\phi _n(y,c_1)`$,…,$`\phi _n(x,c_n)=\phi _n(y,c_n)`$, then $`x=y`$.

Proof. Computing we obtain that the vector $`\stackrel{}{xy}:=[s_1,\mathrm{},s_n]`$ is perpendicular to each of the $`n`$ linearly independent vectors $`\stackrel{}{c_0c_i}`$ ($`i=1,\mathrm{},n`$). Thus the vector $`\stackrel{}{xy}`$ is perpendicular to every linear combination of vectors $`\stackrel{}{c_0c_i}`$ ($`i=1,\mathrm{},n`$). In particular, the vector $`\stackrel{}{xy}=[s_1,\mathrm{},s_n]`$ is perpendicular to the vector $`[\overline{s_1},\mathrm{},\overline{s_n}]`$, where $`\overline{s_1},\mathrm{},\overline{s_n}`$ denote numbers conjugate to the numbers $`s_1,\mathrm{},s_n`$. Therefore $`\stackrel{}{xy}=0`$ and the proof is complete.

Proposition 5. For each $`n\{3,4,5,\mathrm{}\}`$ there exists $`k(n)\{0,1,2,\mathrm{}\}`$ such that $`1/2(2/n)(\sqrt{2+2/n})^{k(n)}<1`$.

Proposition 6. If $`n\{3,4,5,\mathrm{}\}`$ then the set $`\{(\sqrt{2+2/n})^k(2/n)^l:k,l\{0,1,2,\mathrm{}\}\}`$ is a dense subset of $`(0,\mathrm{})`$.

Proof. Equivalently, our statement says that the set $`\{\mathrm{ln}_{\sqrt{2+2/n}}((\sqrt{2+2/n})^k(2/n)^l):k,l\{0,1,2,\mathrm{}\}\}`$ is a dense subset of $``$. Computing we obtain the set $`\{k+l\mathrm{ln}_{\sqrt{2+2/n}}(2/n):k,l\{0,1,2,\mathrm{}\}\}`$ which is a dense subset of $``$ due to Kronecker’s theorem () because $`\mathrm{ln}_{\sqrt{2+2/n}}(2/n)`$ is irrational and negative.

Theorem 1. If $`x,y^n`$ ($`n3`$) and $`|xy|=(\sqrt{2+2/n})^k(2/n)^l`$ ($`k,l`$ are non-negative integers), then there exists a finite set $`\{x,y\}S_{xy}^n`$ such that each unit-distance preserving mapping from $`S_{xy}`$ to $`^n`$ preserves the distance between $`x`$ and $`y`$.

Proof. Let $`D_n`$ denote the set of all positive numbers $`d`$ with the following property: if $`x,y^n`$ and $`|xy|=d`$ then there exists a finite set $`\{x,y\}S_{xy}^n`$ such that any map $`f:S_{xy}^n`$ that preserves unit distance preserves also the distance between $`x`$ and $`y`$.

Obviously $`1D_n`$.

Lemma 1. If $`n\{2,3,4,\mathrm{}\}`$ and $`dD_n`$, then $`\sqrt{2+2/n}dD_n`$.

Proof. Let $`x,y^n`$, $`|xy|=\sqrt{2+2/n}d`$. There exist points $`p_1,\mathrm{},p_n,\stackrel{~}{y},\stackrel{~}{p}_1,\mathrm{},\stackrel{~}{p}_n^n`$ such that:
$`|xp_i|=|yp_i|=d`$ ($`1in`$),
$`|p_ip_j|=d`$ ($`1i<jn`$),
$`|x\stackrel{~}{y}|=\sqrt{2+2/n}d`$,
$`|y\stackrel{~}{y}|=d`$,
$`|x\stackrel{~}{p}_i|=|\stackrel{~}{y}\stackrel{~}{p}_i|=d`$ ($`1in`$),
$`|\stackrel{~}{p}_i\stackrel{~}{p}_j|=d`$ ($`1i<jn`$).

Let

$$S_{xy}:=\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{xp_i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{yp_i}\underset{1i<jn}{}S_{p_ip_j}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{x\stackrel{~}{p}_i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{\stackrel{~}{y}\stackrel{~}{p}_i}\underset{1i<jn}{}S_{\stackrel{~}{p}_i\stackrel{~}{p}_j}S_{y\stackrel{~}{y}}$$

and $`f:S_{xy}^n`$ preserves unit distance. Since

$$S_{xy}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{xp_i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{yp_i}\underset{1i<jn}{}S_{p_ip_j}$$

we conclude that $`f`$ preserves the distances between $`x`$ and $`p_i`$ ($`1in`$), $`y`$ and $`p_i`$ ($`1in`$), and all distances between $`p_i`$ and $`p_j`$ ($`1i<jn`$). Hence for all $`1in`$ $`\phi _n(f(x),f(p_i))=\phi _n(f(y),f(p_i))=d^2`$ and for all $`1i<jn`$ $`\phi _n(f(p_i),f(p_j))=d^2`$. Since $`S_{xy}S_{y\stackrel{~}{y}}`$ we conclude that $`\phi _n(f(y),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=d^2`$. By Proposition 2 the Cayley-Menger determinant of points $`x`$, $`p_1,\mathrm{},p_n,y`$ equals $`0`$ i.e.

$$det\left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}0& 1& 1& \mathrm{}& 1& 1& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(x),f(x))& \phi _n(f(x),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(x),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(x),f(y))& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(x))& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(y))& \\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(x))& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(y))& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(y),f(x))& \phi _n(f(y),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(y),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(y),f(y))& \end{array}\right]=0.$$

Denoting $`t=\phi _n(f(x),f(y))`$ we obtain

$$det\left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}0& 1& 1& \mathrm{}& 1& 1& \\ 1& 0& d^2& \mathrm{}& d^2& t& \\ 1& d^2& 0& \mathrm{}& d^2& d^2& \\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \\ 1& d^2& d^2& \mathrm{}& 0& d^2& \\ 1& t& d^2& \mathrm{}& d^2& 0& \end{array}\right]=0.$$

Computing this determinant we obtain

$$(1)^{n1}d^{2n2}t\left(nt(2n+2)d^2\right)=0.$$

Therefore

$$t=\phi _n(f(x),f(y))=\phi _n(f(y),f(x))=(\sqrt{2+2/n}d)^2$$

or

$$t=\phi _n(f(x),f(y))=\phi _n(f(y),f(x))=0.$$

Analogously we may prove that

$$\phi _n(f(x),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=\phi _n(f(\stackrel{~}{y}),f(x))=(\sqrt{2+2/n}d)^2$$

or

$$\phi _n(f(x),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=\phi _n(f(\stackrel{~}{y}),f(x))=0.$$

If $`t=0`$ then the points $`f(x)`$ and $`f(y)`$ satisfy:

$`\phi _n(f(x),f(x))=0=\phi _n(f(y),f(x))`$,

$`\phi _n(f(x),f(p_1))=d^2=\phi _n(f(y),f(p_1))`$,

$`\mathrm{}`$

$`\phi _n(f(x),f(p_n))=d^2=\phi _n(f(y),f(p_n))`$.

By Proposition 3a the points $`f(x),f(p_1),\mathrm{},f(p_n)`$ are affinely independent. Therefore by Proposition 4 $`f(x)=f(y)`$ and consequently

$$d^2=\phi _n(f(y),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=\phi _n(f(x),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))\{(\sqrt{2+2/n}d)^2,0\}.$$

Since $`d^2(\sqrt{2+2/n}d)^2`$ and $`d^20`$ we conclude that the case $`t=0`$ cannot occur. This completes the proof of Lemma 1.

By Lemma 1 if $`dD_n`$ ($`n2`$) then all distances $`(\sqrt{2+2/n})^md`$ ($`m=0,1,2,\mathrm{}`$) belong to $`D_n`$.

Lemma 2. If $`n\{3,4,5,\mathrm{}\}`$, $`\epsilon ,dD_n`$ and $`\epsilon /2(2/n)d\epsilon `$, then $`(2/n)dD_n`$.

Proof. Let $`x,y^n`$, $`|xy|=(2/n)d`$. There exist points $`p_1,\mathrm{},p_n,\stackrel{~}{y}`$, $`\stackrel{~}{p}_1,\mathrm{},\stackrel{~}{p}_n^n`$ such that:

$`|xp_i|=|yp_i|=d`$ ($`1in`$),
$`|p_ip_j|=\sqrt{2+2/n}d`$ ($`1in`$),
$`|x\stackrel{~}{y}|=(2/n)d`$,
$`|y\stackrel{~}{y}|=\epsilon `$,
$`|x\stackrel{~}{p}_i|=|\stackrel{~}{y}\stackrel{~}{p}_i|=d`$ ($`1in`$),
$`|\stackrel{~}{p}_i\stackrel{~}{p}_j|=\sqrt{2+2/n}d`$ ($`1i<jn`$).
Let

$$S_{xy}:=\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{xp_i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{yp_i}\underset{1i<jn}{}S_{p_ip_j}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{x\stackrel{~}{p}_i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{\stackrel{~}{y}\stackrel{~}{p}_i}\underset{1i<jn}{}S_{\stackrel{~}{p}_i\stackrel{~}{p}_j}S_{y\stackrel{~}{y}}$$

and $`f:S_{xy}^n`$ preserves unit distance. Since

$$S_{xy}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{xp_i}\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}S_{yp_i}\underset{1i<jn}{}S_{p_ip_j}$$

we conclude that $`f`$ preserves the distances between $`x`$ and $`p_i`$ ($`1in`$), $`y`$ and $`p_i`$ ($`1in`$), and all distances between $`p_i`$ and $`p_j`$ ($`1i<jn`$). Hence for all $`1in`$ $`\phi _n(f(x),f(p_i))=\phi _n(f(y),f(p_i))=d^2`$ and for all $`1i<jn`$ $`\phi _n(f(p_i),f(p_j))=(\sqrt{2+2/n}d)^2`$. Since $`S_{xy}S_{y\stackrel{~}{y}}`$ we conclude that $`\phi _n(f(y),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=\epsilon ^2`$. By Proposition 2 the Cayley-Menger determinant of points $`x`$, $`p_1,\mathrm{},p_n,y`$ equals $`0`$ i.e.

$$det\left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}0& 1& 1& \mathrm{}& 1& 1& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(x),f(x))& \phi _n(f(x),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(x),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(x),f(y))& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(x))& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(p_1),f(y))& \\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(x))& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(p_n),f(y))& \\ 1& \phi _n(f(y),f(x))& \phi _n(f(y),f(p_1))& \mathrm{}& \phi _n(f(y),f(p_n))& \phi _n(f(y),f(y))& \end{array}\right]=0.$$

Denoting $`t=\phi _n(f(x),f(y))`$ we obtain

$$det\left[\begin{array}{ccccccc}0& 1& 1& \mathrm{}& 1& 1& \\ 1& 0& d^2& \mathrm{}& d^2& t& \\ 1& d^2& 0& \mathrm{}& (2+2/n)d^2& d^2& \\ \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \mathrm{}& \\ 1& d^2& (2+2/n)d^2& \mathrm{}& 0& d^2& \\ 1& t& d^2& \mathrm{}& d^2& 0& \end{array}\right]=0.$$

Computing this determinant we obtain

$$\frac{(2n2)^{n1}}{n^n}d^{2n2}t\left(n^2t4d^2\right)=0.$$

Therefore

$$t=\phi _n(f(x),f(y))=\phi _n(f(y),f(x))=((2/n)d)^2$$

or

$$t=\phi _n(f(x),f(y))=\phi _n(f(y),f(x))=0.$$

Analogously we may prove that

$$\phi _n(f(x),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=\phi _n(f(\stackrel{~}{y}),f(x))=((2/n)d)^2$$

or

$$\phi _n(f(x),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=\phi _n(f(\stackrel{~}{y}),f(x))=0.$$

If $`t=0`$ then the points $`f(x)`$ and $`f(y)`$ satisfy:

$`\phi _n(f(x),f(x))=0=\phi _n(f(y),f(x))`$,

$`\phi _n(f(x),f(p_1)=d^2=\phi _n(f(y),f(p_1)`$,

$`\mathrm{}`$

$`\phi _n(f(x),f(p_n))=d^2=\phi _n(f(y),f(p_n))`$.

By Proposition 3b the points $`f(x),f(p_1),\mathrm{},f(p_n)`$ are affinely independent. Therefore by Proposition 4 $`f(x)=f(y)`$ and consequently

$$\epsilon ^2=\phi _n(f(y),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))=\phi _n(f(x),f(\stackrel{~}{y}))\{((2/n)d)^2,0\}.$$

Since $`\epsilon ^2((2/n)d)^2`$ and $`\epsilon ^20`$ we conclude that the case $`t=0`$ cannot occur. This completes the proof of Lemma 2.

By Proposition 5 for each $`n\{3,4,5,\mathrm{}\}`$ there exists $`k(n)\{0,1,2,\mathrm{}\}`$ such that if $`rD_n`$ then $`\epsilon :=r`$ and $`d:=(\sqrt{2+2/n})^{k(n)}r`$ satisfy assumptions of Lemma 2 and moreover $`\rho (n):=(2/n)(\sqrt{2+2/n})^{k(n)}<1`$. Therefore, by Lemma 2 if $`rD_n`$ then $`\rho (n)rD_n`$. Since $`1D_n`$ we conclude that all distances $`\rho (n)^m`$ ($`m=0,1,2,\mathrm{}`$) belong to $`D_n`$. For each $`dD_n`$ there exists $`m\{0,1,2,\mathrm{}\}`$ such that $`\epsilon :=\rho (n)^m<(2/n)d`$. Applying Lemma 2 for such $`\epsilon `$ we obtain the following lemma.

Lemma 3. If $`n\{3,4,5,\mathrm{}\}`$ and $`dD_n`$, then $`(2/n)dD_n`$.

From Lemma 1 and Lemma 3 we obtain that for each non-negative integers $`k,l(\sqrt{2+2/n})^k(2/n)^lD_n`$. This completes the proof of Theorem 1.

As a corollary of Theorem 1 and Proposition 6 we obtain our main theorem.

Theorem 2. Each continuous map from $`^n`$ to $`^n`$ ($`n3`$) preserving unit distance preserves all distances.

Remark. By an endomorphism of $``$ we understand any map $`f:`$ satisfying:

$`x,yf(x+y)=f(x)+f(y)`$,

$`x,yf(xy)=f(x)f(y)`$,

$`f(0)=0`$,

$`f(1)=1`$.

If $`f:`$ is an endomorphism then $`(f_|,\mathrm{},f_|):^n^n`$ preserves unit distance. Bijective endomorphisms are called automorphisms. There are two trivial automorphisms of $``$: identity and conjugation. It is known that there exist non-trivial automorphisms of $``$ and each such automorphism $`f:`$ satisfies: $`_{x0}^xf(x)`$ (). From this $`\phi _n((0,0,\mathrm{},0),(x,0,\mathrm{},0))=|x|^2`$ and $`\phi _n((f(0),f(0),\mathrm{},f(0)),(f(x),f(0),\mathrm{},f(0)))=(f(x))^2|x|^2`$. Therefore $`(f_|,\mathrm{},f_|)`$ preserves unit distance, but does not preserve the distance $`|x|`$ $`>`$ $`0`$.

Technical Faculty
Hugo Kołła̧taj University
Balicka 104, 30-149 Kraków, Poland
E-mail: rttyszka@cyf-kr.edu.pl


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# Discovery of an Edge-On Disk in the MBM 12 Young Association

## 1 Introduction

Planets form out of circumstellar disks. While a vast majority of very young stars show indirect evidence of disks, such as excess emission in the infrared (IR) (e.g., Lada et al. 2000), only a handful have been imaged directly. Spatially-resolved images are extremely valuable for investigating the structure and physical properties of protoplanetary disks as well as their subsequent evolution into planetary systems. Therefore, scattered light disk images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have been the subject of intense scrutiny (e.g., O’Dell, Wen, & Hu 1993; Stapelfeldt et al. 1998; Padgett et al. 1999). Large ground-based telescopes equipped with adaptive optics (AO) systems are now able to achieve angular resolution and sensitivity comparable to that from space. Taking advantage of these new capabilities, we have initiated AO observations of nearby young star environs. Here we report the discovery of an edge-on disk in the MBM 12 young association.

MBM 12 (=L1457; Magnani, Blitz, & Mundy 1985) is one of the few clouds at high Galactic latitude known to harbor young stellar objects. Until recently, it was also considered to be the nearest molecular cloud to the Sun, at a distance of 50-100 pc (Hobbs Blitz, & Magnani 1986; Hearty et al. 2000). However, a recent distance estimate by Luhman (2001), based on an alternate analysis of the data from those studies and a new comparison of M dwarfs in the foreground and background of the cloud with local field dwarfs, places MBM 12 at $``$ 275 pc. A dozen young stars have been found in projection against the cloud and are believed to comprise a young association (MBM 12A; Luhman 2001, references therein). The strengths of photospheric lithium absorption as well as the positions of MBM 12A stars on the H-R diagram suggest an age of $``$2 Myr for the group. Mid-IR photometry of the original eight members reveal that six of them are surrounded by optically-thick accretion disks (Jayawardhana et al. 2001). The disk fraction found in MBM 12A –$``$75%– falls in the middle of the range reported for other star-forming regions like Taurus and Trapezium (Lada et al. 2000 and references therein), but is significantly higher than in $``$10-Myr-old nearby groups such as the TW Hydrae Association (Jayawardhana et al. 1999). Given their relative proximity, MBM 12A stars are suitable targets for high-resolution studies of disks and close companions.

## 2 Observations and Data Analysis

### 2.1 Adaptive Optics Imaging

The young stars LkH$`\alpha `$ 262 (MBM 12A 2) and LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 (MBM 12A 3), which form a wide binary system ($`15\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}5`$), were observed during the nights of 2001 October 8 and 2000 December 25, respectively, with the University of Hawaii Hokupa’a AO system in conjunction with the 1024$`\times `$1024 array near-IR camera (Graves et al. 1998) on the Gemini North telescope. The $`H`$-band plate scale of QUIRC was $`0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}01998\pm 0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}0008`$ pixel-1 (F. Rigaut 2001, private communication), corresponding to a total field of $`20\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}46\times 20\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}46`$. Short and long exposures were obtained for LkH$`\alpha `$ 262 at $`K\mathrm{}`$ and for LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 at $`J`$, $`H`$, and $`K\mathrm{}`$. The observing and data reduction procedures will be described in a later study. The unsaturated point sources in the final images of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 exhibited FWHM$`=\text{0}\stackrel{}{_{}}\text{1}1`$ in $`J`$, $`\text{0}\stackrel{}{_{}}\text{0}96`$ in $`H`$, and $`\text{0}\stackrel{}{_{}}\text{0}9`$ in $`K^{}`$, and are used to estimate the point spread function (PSF) for the disk modeling later in this work.

Gemini AO images of LkH$`\alpha `$ 262 and LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 are shown in Figure 1. Only one point source was found in the data for LkH$`\alpha `$ 262. LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 is resolved into a close binary ($`0\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}4`$) with a fainter, extended companion ($`4\mathrm{}`$). Henceforth, we refer to the southwest and northeast components of the binary and the extended source as LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 A, B and C (MBM 12A 3A, 3B, and 3C), in order of $`K\mathrm{}`$-band brightness.

Array coordinates and photometry for the A, B, and C components of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 were measured with the IRAF tasks IMEXAMINE and PHOT, respectively. Aperture photometry for LkH$`\alpha `$ 263A and LkH$`\alpha `$ 263B was extracted with a radius of 6 pixels, which was chosen to be small enough to avoid significant contamination by the other component of the binary. These measurements were used to compute the flux ratio of the two stars in each band. Photometric calibration was derived by combining the $`J`$, $`H`$, and $`K_s`$ measurements for LkH$`\alpha `$ 263A+B from the Two-Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS) with aperture photometry with a radius of 60 pixels for this system in Gemini short exposures. This calibration was then used to measure absolute photometry for LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C with an aperture radius of 40 pixels in the short and long exposures. The signal-to-noise of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C was low in the short exposures, but the photometric calibrator LkH$`\alpha `$ 263A+B was not saturated in those frames, allowing accurate (if not precise) photometry. Meanwhile, because the conditions were not photometric and the calibration was derived from the short exposures, the accuracy of the measurements from the long exposures was compromised. After comparing the measurements from the long and short exposures, we arrive at the photometry for LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C that is listed in Table 1.

### 2.2 Optical Spectroscopy

We obtained an optical spectrum of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C on 2001 November 13 with the Keck low-resolution imaging spectrometer (LRIS; Oke et al. 1995). The long-slit mode of LRIS was used with the 400 l mm-1 grating ($`\lambda _{\mathrm{blaze}}=8500`$ Å) and GG495 blocking filter. The slit width was $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}0`$, producing a spectral resolution of FWHM=6 Å. The exposure time was 600 s. After bias subtraction and flat-fielding, the spectrum was extracted and calibrated in wavelength with arc lamp data. The spectrum was then corrected for the sensitivity function, which was measured from observations of the spectrophotometric standard star Feige 110. The portion of the LRIS spectrum exhibiting spectral features is provided in Figure 2.

## 3 Results

As shown in the Gemini AO images in Figure 1, LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C is extended and not associated with a point source at near-IR wavelengths. Instead, there are two parallel, elongated nebulosities separated by a narrow dark lane. The two nebulosities are about $`1\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}1`$ (300 AU) in length. The southwest component is $``$20% brighter than its northeast counterpart in $`H`$-band peak brightness. The morphology of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C matches that expected for an optically thick circumstellar disk seen nearly edge-on. The central star is hidden behind the disk material, but its light is scattered by the upper and lower surfaces of the disk, producing the observed nebulosities. Similar nearly edge-on disks have been detected previously by HST, speckle, AO imaging around a number of young stars including HH30 (Burrows et al. 1996), HK Tau B (Stapelfeldt et al. 1998; Koresko 1998), and HV Tau C (Monin & Bouvier 2000).

The spectrum in Figure 2 is useful in constraining the physical properties of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C. Both photospheric absorption features (CaH, TiO, Na) and a variety of forbidden emission lines (\[O I\], \[O II\], \[N II\], \[S II\]) are detected. The continuum is well-matched by a spectral type of M0$`\pm `$0.5 with no reddening ($`A_V<1`$) and veiling that becomes detectable blueward of 7000 Å. Similar blue continuum excesses are commonly observed in active T Tauri stars (e.g., Hartigan, Edwards, & Ghandour 1995). Comparison of our derived spectral type with the temperature scale of Schmidt-Kaler (1982) yields $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=3850\pm 100`$ K for the star. The lack of reddening in the spectrum and the IR colors of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C indicates that all of the detected light is scattered, which is consistent with the lack of a point source in the images. For a spectral type of M0 and an age of $`<3`$ Myr, the evolutionary models of Baraffe et al. (1998) imply a mass of $`0.7`$ $`M_{}`$. Meanwhile, the composite of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263A+B exhibits a spectral type of M3 (Luhman 2001). Because these two objects have comparable brightnesses at IR wavelengths, they probably have similar spectral types and masses. If we assume each has a spectral type of M3 and correct the bolometric luminosity of the composite system (Luhman 2001) for the binarity, then they have masses of $`0.45`$ $`M_{}`$ by the models of Baraffe et al. (1998). Thus, 3C is more massive than 3A and 3B even though it is much fainter from our vantage point. The H$`\alpha `$ and forbidden emission lines found in LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C have also been observed for other edge-on systems, such as HH30 and HV Tau C (Kenyon et al. 1998; Magazzú & Martín 1994). Forbidden transitions are typical of Herbig-Haro objects, Class I sources, and some T Tauri stars, where the emission is believed to arise predominantly in jets (Kenyon et al. 1998, references therein).

Now that we have an estimate of the mass of the central star in LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C, we can use the absence a near-IR point source to arrive at a lower limit for the star’s line-of-sight reddening. After inserting artificial point sources of various brightnesses in the center of the dark lane in the deep $`K\mathrm{}`$ image, we find a detection limit of $`K\mathrm{}19`$. Given the unreddened brightness of $`K=9.5`$ for an M0 star at the age and distance of MBM 12A (e.g., LkH$`\alpha `$ 262), the unseen central star must have a reddening of $`A_K>9.5`$. On the other hand, Luhman (2001) derived an extinction of $`A_V0`$ for the LkH$`\alpha `$ 263A+B binary, just $`4\mathrm{}`$ away. Thus, the extinction toward the C component must be almost entirely local, i.e., due to an edge-on optically thick disk blocking light from the central star.

## 4 Disk Model

We have attempted to fit a physical model to the disk around LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C, following the methods described in D’Alessio et al. (2001). The model assumes complete mixing between dust and gas and solves for the vertical disk structure including the heating effects of stellar radiation as well as viscous dissipation in the disk itself. Fig. 3 shows the comparison of the observations to the images of a disk model with an accretion rate of $`5\times 10^{10}`$ $`M_{}`$, viscosity parameter $`\alpha =0.01`$, $`T_{}`$=3850 K, $`M_{}=0.7`$ $`M_{}`$, $`R_{}=2.2`$ $`R_{\mathrm{}}`$, a disk radius of 150 AU, and an inclination angle of 87 degrees. The aspect ratio in the $`J`$-band model image is 0.72, considering the lowest contour plotted. The dust grains are assumed to have a powerlaw size distribution with an index of -3.5, a maximum particle radius of 1 mm, and abundances of Pollack et al. (1994). The model disk has a mass of 0.0018 $`M_{}`$, though this estimate is highly sensitive to the assumed dust opacity. The model fit is by no means unique, and while the model shown here fits the disk shape reasonably well, its maximum brightness is about a magnitude higher than in the observed image.

We have explored a wide range of parameter space for the models, and find that the match between well-mixed models and observations is less than ideal. If one makes the model disk more massive or makes the grains smaller (so that opacity in the near-IR is higher) to increase its self absorption and decrease the maximum brightness, the width of the dark lane grows too large. On the other hand, if one makes the model disk less massive or the maximum grain size bigger, in order to make the disk less efficient at scattering stellar radiation, it is also less opaque and the maximum brightness becomes too high, because a larger fraction of direct stellar radiation can be transported through the disk. One plausible explanation for the discrepancy is dust settling to the midplane of the disk. In that case, the midplane dust contributes to the absorption of the stellar radiation in the dark lane, but not much to the emission of the nebulosities, above and below the dark lane. The present models, which assume that dust and gas are well-mixed, cannot self-consistently account for such an effect. Observations at millimeter wavelengths could provide a better mass estimate for the disk.

## 5 Discussion

LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C appears to be a member of a young quadruple system in the MBM 12 association, along with LkH$`\alpha `$ 263A+B and LkH$`\alpha `$ 262. The possibility of a chance alignment of these four young stars – particularly in a hierarchical fashion – within a $`20\mathrm{}\times 20\mathrm{}`$ region is extremely small considering the low stellar density of the association (0.002 arcmin-2). However, because the projected separation of $`4000`$ AU between LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 and LkH$`\alpha `$ 262 approaches the upper limit of stable binaries (see Duquennoy & Mayor 1991), the latter component may become unbound from the quadruple in the future. Nevertheless, LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C is the third edge-on disk found in a multiple system and the first in a possible quadruple system. Components LkH$`\alpha `$ 263A+B and LkH$`\alpha `$ 262 are also likely to harbor disks since they both show significant excess in the mid-infrared (Jayawardhana et al. 2001). It is not yet clear whether the dust in LkH$`\alpha `$ 263 A+B resides around one or both components or in a circumbinary configuration.

While a majority of T Tauri stars are binaries, higher order multiple systems appear to be relatively rare (Ghez et al. 1997 and references therein). The formation of multiple stellar systems is still poorly understood. Currently, the most promising mechanism appears to be fragmentation during the collapse of dense molecular cloud cores (Bodenheimer et al. 2000). High spatial resolution observations of pre-main-sequence multiple systems, like those presented here, help determine the stellar and disk configurations of young objects, and can lead to better constraints on models of multiple star formation and early evolution. The fact that the disk of LkH$`\alpha `$ 263C is clearly neither coplanar nor parallel with its orbital plane is a particularly useful test for such models.

We with to thank Kathy Roth, Francois Rigaut, Mark Chun, Olivier Guyon, and Dan Potter for their assistance in obtaining the observations at Gemini Observatory. We also thank Davy Kirkpatrick and the staff of Keck Observatory for their assistance in the Keck observations. We are grateful to Javier Ballesteros for his help with the modeling.