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# Element abundances in cool white dwarfs

## 1 Introduction

At the cool end of the white dwarf sequence traces of heavier elements can be found in several objects with hydrogen- and helium-rich atmospheres. The presence of metals is usually attributed to accretion from denser parts of the interstellar medium combined with diffusion into deeper layers. This idea has been put on a sound theoretical basis by Dupuis et al. (Dupuis92 (1992), 1993a , 1993b ) whose two-phase accretion model assumes that accretion of metals is low ($`\dot{M}510^{20}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$) most of the time and is larger ($`\dot{M}510^{15}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$) only during rare and short passages through interstellar clouds. Since the accreted elements diffuse downwards on time scales of typically $`10^6`$ years they are only visible during or shortly after such encounters.

Empirical tests of the accretion model benefit from different diffusion time scales of the elements so that photospheric abundances and abundance ratios vary in a characteristic way with time after the encounter. Dupuis et al. (1993b ) concluded that – within the large observational uncertainties – the two-phase accretion model can account for the observed abundances and their ratios. The most notable remaining problem for the helium-rich objects (spectral types DZ and DBZ) is the accretion of hydrogen. As the lightest element, hydrogen is not subject to downward diffusion and should be accumulated in the upper atmospheric layers. However, hydrogen is only rarely observed in DZ stars and the measured abundances are usually rather low.

A general problem of previous comparisons is the uncertainty arising from observations with low signal-to-noise ratios and model atmospheres not including recent advances in input physics. In Paper I (Koester & Wolff KW (2000)), we have concluded that it is worthwhile to study the abundance patterns in DZ white dwarfs again using new or newly calibrated observations and the latest improvements in model atmosphere calculations. The ultimate goal is a homogeneous data base of element abundances for the comparison with the two-phase accretion model.

We started in Paper I with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of the DZA white dwarfs L 745-46A and Ross 640. Both objects show weak Balmer lines in addition to metals and are therefore interesting with regard to the hydrogen problem mentioned above. We have used the high quality HST spectra to test our analysis methods and to study the remaining uncertainties of the model atmospheres. In comparison with previous investigations, we were able to determine more accurate element abundances, especially for carbon and iron. Major improvements were possible for the modeling of the broad L$`\alpha `$ lines in both stars which could be reproduced for the first time without any unphysical assumptions. This provides new means for the analysis of the hydrogen content in cool white dwarfs.

In this paper, we analyze all available ultraviolet observations of white dwarfs with spectral types DZ and DBZ. The ultraviolet is very suited for the study of metal abundances because the relevant elements have in general much stronger lines in this part of the electromagnetic spectrum than in the optical part – with the exception of the Ca II H and K lines. We use for most stars observations with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) which have been newly calibrated (NEWSIPS) and which show significant improvements compared to older versions. HST/FOS observations could also be used for three stars.

## 2 Model atmospheres

A general description of the procedures used for the calculation of our LTE model atmospheres and synthetic spectra has been given by Finley et al. (FKB (1997)). Further details can be found in Paper I. We only explain briefly the effects of different equations of states (EOS) and the treatment of L$`\alpha `$ absorption.

We use for our models a version of the Hummer-Mihalas-Däppen EOS (Mihalas et al. Mihalas90 (1990)) which predicts larger non-ideal effects and larger ionization than the EOS by Saumon & Chabrier (SC94 (1994)) and Saumon et al. (SCVH95 (1995)). In Paper I, we have compared the results of our standard models with models were non-ideal effects are switched off and the ionization fraction is determined only by thermal effects using the unmodified Saha equation. For models with effective temperatures of about 8000 K non-ideal effects are negligible but the situation may be different at the lower temperatures of some of the stars in this paper. We therefore test the influence of non-ideal effects in these cases.

Of importance for the analysis of the HST spectra of L 745-46A and Ross 640 has been the L$`\alpha `$ wing which dominates the UV spectra of both stars. Since model calculations using van-der-Waals broadening by neutral helium result in a L$`\alpha `$ wing extending far into the optical region we have developed in Paper I a new approach to model this line. Since we are only interested in the far wings we use the quasistatic limit of the broadening theory (see e.g. Allard & Kielkopf AKi91 (1991)) but take into account two effects which are important at high perturber densities: the variation of the transition probability with distance between emitter and perturber and the strongly repulsive potential at close distances. With this procedure we were able to reproduce the L$`\alpha `$ wings in both stars at the same abundances as derived from optical Balmer lines.

## 3 Observations

Three of our objects have been observed with the Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS) onboard HST. For the remaining six DZ/DBZ white dwarfs we have used low dispersion IUE spectra. The IUE data were retrieved from the IUE final archive and have been calibrated with the NEWSIPS calibration (Nichols et al. Nichols94 (1994)). In addition to these data, we have also used optical observations and optical photometric scans. A list of the observations can be found in Table LABEL:tabobs.

## 4 Analysis

### 4.1 Van Maanen 2

Van Maanen 2 (WD 0046+051) is one of the three classic white dwarfs. It is a cool and very metal-rich DZ star, the optical spectrum exhibiting, besides the typical Ca II H+K lines, Ca I at 4227 Å, Fe I at 4384 Å, and several Fe I lines on the blue wing of Ca II. Analysis of this star, using model atmospheres, has been pioneered by Weidemann (Weidemann60 (1960)) and later by Wegner (Wegner72 (1972)) and Grenfell (Grenfell74 (1974)). The ultraviolet spectrum is dominated by the strong Mg I line at 2852 Å. Also important are the Mg II lines at 2796/2803 Å and several weak lines of Fe I and Fe II. Until now, the ultraviolet spectrum has not been analyzed in detail. Bergeron et al. (Bergeron97 (1997), Bergeron01 (2001)) have recently determined $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=6770`$ K from $`BVRIJHK`$ photometry using a pure helium atmosphere. Combining this result with the trigonometric parallax they also derived $`\mathrm{log}g=8.40`$.

We use the photometry together with the co-added IUE LWR spectra to define the flux distribution of van Maanen 2. An optical spectrum (3730–5075 Å) obtained at the Calar Alto observatory complements the observations for the determination of metal abundances. We started the analysis with a pure helium atmosphere of $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=6700`$ K. Fig. 1 shows the fit of this model to the flux distribution. To account for the solid angle of the star the model has been scaled to reproduce the infrared J magnitude. It fits the photometric data well but fails to reproduce the overall flux level at ultraviolet wavelengths where the absorption from metals is important. Then we calculated model atmospheres and spectra with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=6700`$ K and several chemical compositions to determine the abundances of magnesium, calcium, and iron from optical and ultraviolet lines by a visual comparison. It turned out that the backwarming effect from the ultraviolet absorption – especially from the strong Mg I line – and the effect of increased electron density significantly alter the flux distribution. The effective temperature has to be reduced and, consequently, the abundances have to be determined again. In an iterative process we finally derived $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=5700`$ K, about 1000 K lower than the original result from Bergeron et al.

Fig. 1 shows that the new model can account for the complete observed flux distribution. At optical and infrared wavelengths both model spectra are virtually identical. Our effective temperature is similar to previous results from e.g. Wegner (Wegner72 (1972)), Grenfell (Grenfell74 (1974)), and Liebert et al. (Liebert87 (1987)) who considered the contributions of metals as electron donators in their calculations. This shows the importance of an accurate chemical composition for determining effective temperatures of DZ white dwarfs and related objects – a result which is also found and discussed in more detail by Provencal et al. (Provencal (2002)) in their analysis of Procyon B.

From a visual comparison of the fits to the flux distribution with different models we estimate the error of $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ to about $`\pm `$ 200 K. The solid angle necessary to reproduce the photometry together with the trigonometric parallax from Hipparcos ($`\pi =226.95\pm 5.35`$ mas; ESA ESA (1997)) and the mass-radius relation from Wood (Wood94 (1994); without hydrogen) implies a surface gravity of $`\mathrm{log}g=7.9`$. The uncertainties in $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ and $`\pi `$ translate into $`\pm `$ 0.2 for the log of the gravity. The higher value of $`\mathrm{log}g=8.4`$ derived by Bergeron et al. (Bergeron97 (1997), Bergeron01 (2001)) is due to the higher effective temperature which gives a higher intrinsic flux and therefore a smaller radius and a larger mass for the star.

The absorption from magnesium, calcium, and iron alone cannot reproduce the ultraviolet flux completely. As illustrated in Fig. 2, there is a significant discrepancy at $`\lambda 2300`$ Å. We have included in the model calculations all lines from the identified metals and have also determined an upper limit for silicon. One may speculate that other unidentified metals may be responsible for the absorption. However, we do not think this to be plausible since, for example, the absorption from C I at 1930 Å would result in a competely different shape and other metals than the ones considered here have not been observed so far in DZ white dwarfs. With regard to the experience with absorption from L$`\alpha `$ in L 745-46A and Ross 640 (Paper I) we would rather attribute the missing opacity to hydrogen. Fig. 2 shows that adding an abundance of $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}=5.0`$ improves the fit considerably. The Balmer lines are too weak at this abundance to be detected in existing optical spectra so that the analysis of the hydrogen content must rely entirely on L$`\alpha `$.

The results for van Maanen 2 are summarized in Table LABEL:tabres. For the abundances, we include three different error sources: uncertainties from effective temperature, gravity, and from the choice of the equation of state. These systematic effects dominate the total error whereas pure statistical contributions are of minor importance. Formal statistical errors are comparitively low and do not reflect the true uncertainties. Therefore, we have determined the individual contributions from the systematic error sources using visual comparisons to models with different parameters and have added the contributions quadratically. As mentioned in Sect. 2, non-ideal effects are not important in the somewhat hotter stars L 745-46A and Ross 640. However, a weak influence can be observed in van Maanen 2. If we use the Saha equation instead of our standard EOS, then the gas pressure increases whereas the electron density decreases and the absorption lines – especially the wings – are in general somewhat broader. The abundances have to be changed by about 0.1 to 0.2 dex to account for this effect.

### 4.2 LHS 1126, LP 658-2, and BPM 4729

The analysis of van Maanen 2 shows the importance of the ultraviolet region for the temperature determination and the question of the hydrogen abundance. It seems, therefore, worthwhile to investigate the ultraviolet spectra of other white dwarfs with similar effective temperature. In this section, we present HST/FOS observations of LHS 1126, LP 658-2, and BPM 4729, the coolest white dwarfs in our sample. The observations have been obtained in guaranteed time but have not been published so far since the fluxes differed decisively from the predictions of preexisting models raising some doubts about the accuracy of the FOS calibration. However, without going into details, we consulted with Ronald Downes of the Space Telescope Science Institute and other members of the FOS team and have concluded that the data reduced with the standard FOS pipeline are – to the best of our knowledge – calibrated correctly.

LHS 1126 (WD 0038$``$226) is one of the few $`\mathrm{C}_2\mathrm{H}`$ stars, a spectral class introduced by Schmidt et al. (Schmidt95 (1995)). These objects exhibit broad optical absorption features which have at first been interpreted as blueshifted $`\mathrm{C}_2`$ Swan bands. Schmidt et al., however, showed that $`\mathrm{C}_2\mathrm{H}`$ is the most probable carbon and hydrogen compound to be formed under the conditions in LHS 1126. The strong infrared flux deficiency reported by Wickramasinghe et al. (Wick82 (1982)) could be explained by Bergeron et al. (Bergeron94 (1994)) using collision-induced absorption of $`\mathrm{H}_2`$ with He.

Bergeron et al. (Bergeron97 (1997), Bergeron01 (2001)) have determined $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=5400\pm 170`$ K, $`\mathrm{log}g=7.91\pm 0.17`$, and $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{He}/\mathrm{H}=1.86`$ from optical/infrared photometry together with the trigonometric parallax. In Fig. 3 we present a model calculation (dashed line) using the parameters from Bergeron et al. and compare it with the HST/FOS spectrum and the photometry. The model flux is significantly too high at infrared wavelengths. This could be expected since we do not include collision-induced absorption in our calculations. More severe is, however, the failure in the ultraviolet. We have included absorption by L$`\alpha `$ in the same way as for L 745-46A and Ross 640 (see Sect. 2 and Paper I). The high hydrogen abundance of LHS 1126 results in an extremely strong absorption.

The observed L$`\alpha `$ profile can be fitted much better if the abundance is reduced to $`\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}=310^6`$ (solid line in Fig. 3). L$`\alpha `$ absorption is still significant as can be seen from the comparison with a pure helium atmosphere (dotted line). The low hydrogen abundance implied by the ultraviolet flux poses a severe problem since a high value is required to explain the infrared flux deficiency by collision-induced absorption. Our approach to model the L$`\alpha `$ wing has been tested successfully at about 2000 K higher effective temperatures. It is possible that this approach fails at lower temperatures although the observed profile can be fitted very well. It could nevertheless be expected that L$`\alpha `$ absorption must be strong for an abundance of $`\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}10^2`$. However, the observations do not show a strong UV flux deficiency.

A much simpler atmospheric composition is found in LP 658-2 (WD 0552$``$041) which is classified DZ due to the presence of sharp Ca II lines (Eggen & Greenstein EG (1965)). Bergeron et al. (Bergeron01 (2001)) have fitted the optical and ultraviolet photometry using a pure helium atmosphere with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=5060\pm 60`$ K and $`\mathrm{log}g=8.31\pm 0.02`$. In Fig. 3 we compare a model (dotted line) with these parameters to the observed flux distribution. The optical and infrared photometry can be reproduced but the ultraviolet part is again unsatisfactory. If the flux deficiency is attributed to the absorption from L$`\alpha `$ then about $`\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}=510^4`$ would be necessary (solid line in Fig. 3). In contrast with LHS 1126, the shape of the absorption feature cannot be reproduced in detail. Higher hydrogen abundances seem to be necessary for $`\lambda <3000`$ Å but the absorption at longer wavelengths would then be too strong. Our approach for L$`\alpha `$ seems to overestimate the absorption in the outermost wing.

The third cool object with FOS observations is BPM 4729 (WD 0752$``$676). Wickramasinghe & Bessell (Wick79 (1979)) have detected weak H$`\alpha `$ and H$`\beta `$ lines. Bergeron et al. (Bergeron97 (1997), Bergeron01 (2001)) could fit the optical/infrared photometry and H$`\alpha `$ with $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=5730\pm 110`$ K, $`\mathrm{log}g=8.21\pm 0.09`$, and a pure hydrogen atmosphere. We compare in Fig. 3 a pure hydrogen model (dotted line) to the observed flux distribution. Again, the ultraviolet part where L$`\alpha `$ is important cannot be reproduced. The predicted profile for L$`\alpha `$ in a hydrogen atmosphere is completely at odds with the observation. The ultraviolet part looks more like a helium-dominated atmosphere similar to LHS 1126 or LP 658-2. It is indeed possible to fit this region with $`\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}=310^5`$ at about $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=5500`$ K. However, optical hydrogen lines are not visible under these conditions raising doubts on the validity of this solution.

All three objects presented here show problems if the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the electromagnetic spectrum are to be fitted simultaneously. In LP 658-2, additional absorption, most probably from L$`\alpha `$, seems to be present which would not affect severely the solution from the optical/IR photometry. In LHS 1126 and BPM 4729, however, the ultraviolet and infrared observations require completely different atmospheric compositions. We should note that the HST observations are consistent with existing photometry in the $`B`$ and $`U`$ bands which is plotted as filled circles in Fig. 3. Therefore, the discrepancies between the observations and some models cannot be attributed to remaining uncertainties in the FOS calibration.

Bergeron et al. (Bergeron97 (1997), Bergeron01 (2001)) have also noted difficulties in fitting the blue energy distribution. They have tried to explain this with a missing opacity, attributed to a pseudocontinuum originating from the Lyman edge, for which no physical discription exists. However, one source of opacity which necessarily is present and which is very strong at cool temperatures is the L$`\alpha `$ line. The ultraviolet part of the spectrum is therefore essential for a determination of the H/He ratio. We have shown with our new theoretical discription that at least in He-rich objects the wing extends into the blue part of the optical spectrum. Under these extreme conditions our line profile calculations may be only a first approximation and we cannot yet present satisfactory fits. It seems to be important, however, to consider the whole energy distribution of these objects from the UV to the IR to achieve a correct interpretation.

Bergeron et al. (Bergeron97 (1997), Bergeron01 (2001)) draw far-reaching conclusions based on their findings of H/He ratios in cool white dwarfs, e.g. the absence of He atmospheres between 5000 and 6000 K, and their re-appearance below 5000 K. With our demonstration in this paper that the parameters from Bergeron et al. fail to explain the UV flux distribution of several objects it is clear that we have currently not reached a consistent interpretation of these objects. The question of H vs. He atmospheres or the H/He ratio in mixed atmospheres needs further study.

### 4.3 L 119-34 and K 789-37

L 119-34 (WD 2216$``$657) and K 789-37 (WD 1225$``$079) have similar effective temperatures of about 10 000 K. IUE spectra are available for both objects, for K 789-37 we can also use an optical spectrum (3600–5000 Å) obtained with the 1.9m telescope of the South African Astronomical Observatory (Koester et al. Koester90 (1990)). K 789-37 exhibits H$`\alpha `$, H$`\beta `$, Mg I, and Ca II in optical spectra. The IUE spectrum adds Mg II, Si I, Fe I, and Fe II. We use the IUE spectrum, the visual magnitude ($`V=14.79`$) and the Strömgren colors ($`by=0.05`$, $`ub=0.16`$) from Kilkenny (Kilkenny86 (1986), Kilkenny87 (1987)) to define the overall flux distribution.

We start the analysis of K 789-37 by investigating the effective temperature and the hydrogen abundance. Since L$`\alpha `$ determines the spectral shape at the shortest UV wavelengths both quantities have to be analyzed simultaneously. However, only a rough estimate of the hydrogen abundances is necessary for the temperature determination because L$`\alpha `$ depends only weakly on the exact value of the abundance. If we assume $`\mathrm{log}g=8`$ we derive $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=\mathrm{10\hspace{0.17em}500}`$ K from a fit to the $`V`$ magnitude and the IUE spectrum; a visual inspection of H$`\beta `$ gives $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}=3.8`$. The Strömgren colors are also compatible with these values: $`by=0.09`$ and $`ub=0.16`$ for $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=\mathrm{10\hspace{0.17em}500}`$ K. They would, however, favor a somewhat higher temperature of about 11 000 K. We can determine the surface gravity only very inaccurately with the existing data. An estimate is possible due to the different sensitivity of H$`\beta `$ and L$`\alpha `$ to changes in $`\mathrm{log}g`$ and hydrogen abundance. The effect of a lower or higher gravity on H$`\beta `$ can be compensated to some extent by the hydrogen abundance but this leads eventually to an incompatible flux at the shortest IUE wavelengths. We estimate a possible range of $`\mathrm{log}g=8.0\pm 0.5`$. The uncertainty of the gravity implies errors of $`\pm `$ 300 K for $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ and $`\pm `$ 0.5 for $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}`$.

The new effective temperature is about 1000 K higher than the previous results from Liebert et al. (Liebert87 (1987); $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=9700`$ K) using multichannel spectrophotometry and Koester et al. (Koester90 (1990); $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=9500\pm 500`$ K) using IUE and optical spectra. The latter could reproduce the optical spectrum with 10 000 K whereas the UV flux of the model was too high with this temperature. We attribute these problems to the missing L$`\alpha `$ opacity in their models.

For the analysis of the metal lines, we use $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=\mathrm{10\hspace{0.17em}500}`$ K, $`\mathrm{log}g=8.0`$, and $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}=3.8`$. The derived abundances are listed in Table LABEL:tabres. The errors represent the uncertainties in effective temperature and gravity. For magnesium, there are additional uncertainties due to the line profile of the Mg II lines at 2796/2803 Å. The observed profile cannot be reproduced exactly, a problem which is also known from the analysis of Ross 640 (Paper I). The broadening of the magnesium lines is determined by van-der-Waals interaction with neutral helium. To reproduce the observed profile, we have increased the broadening parameter for van-der-Waals interaction ($`\gamma _6`$) by a factor of five (see also Zeidler-K.T. et al. Zeidler (1986)). We added (quadratically) an additional error of 0.5 dex to account for the uncertainty due to the line profile. The error of the iron abundance represents also the small differences if the abundances are derived from Fe I or Fe II, respectively. The silicon abundance has to be taken with caution because Si I cannot be identified clearly. The same is true for aluminum ($`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{Al}/\mathrm{He}=7.75\pm 0.5`$, not listed in Table LABEL:tabres). From the non-detection of the C I line at 1931 Å, we determine an upper limit of $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{C}/\mathrm{He}=7.5`$.

Contrary to K 789-37, hydrogen lines could not be detected in existing optical spectra of L 119-34, until now (see Zeidler-K.T. et al. Zeidler (1986)). However, the shorter wavelength part of the IUE spectrum indicates strongly the presence of L$`\alpha `$. We, therefore, determine simultaneously effective temperature and hydrogen abundance from the overall flux distribution as given by the IUE spectrum and the visual magnitude ($`V=14.43`$, Eggen Eggen (1969)). This is possible due to the different influence of $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ and L$`\alpha `$ on the ultraviolet spectrum. The situation is illustrated in Fig. 4. From a visual comparison we derive $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=9200\pm 300`$ K and $`\mathrm{log}\mathrm{H}/\mathrm{He}=4.0_{1.0}^{+0.5}`$. Since the surface gravity cannot be determined with existing observations we have assumed $`\mathrm{log}g=8.0\pm 0.5`$. This is not critical because the shape of the ultraviolet spectrum depends only weakly on the gravity. The Strömgren colors $`by`$ and $`ub`$ (Zeidler-K.T. et al. Zeidler (1986)) can also be used for a temperature estimate. They give $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=9200_{300}^{+1000}`$ K, in agreement with the above value.

The element abundances, as determined from the IUE spectrum, are listed in Table LABEL:tabres. The errors reflect the uncertainties in effective temperature and gravity. For silicon, an additional error of $`\pm `$ 0.2 is added because of the difficulty to reproduce all Si I lines with the same abundance. An additional error of $`\pm `$ 0.25 has also been taken into account for iron because of abundance differences between Fe I and Fe II lines.

### 4.4 GD 408, GD 378, and GD 303

GD 408 (WD 0002+729), GD 378 (WD 1822+410), and GD 303 (WD 1011+570) are three DBZ stars with effective temperatures well above 10 000 K. Photospheric Ca II lines could be detected in all three objects but other metal determinations do not exist in the literature. We examine the IUE spectra and the optical observations of Sion et al. (Sion88 (1988)).

Weidemann & Koester (WK (1991)) have determined $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ from multichannel spectrophotometry and $`\mathrm{log}g`$ with the help of the trigonometric parallax for GD 408. Oke et al. (Oke84 (1984)) used multichannel data to determine $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ and $`\mathrm{log}g`$ for GD 378 and GD 303. We have used the results for the gravity in our analysis but have tested the previous temperature determinations using the IUE spectra and the visual magnitudes. Our results for GD 408 and GD 303 (see Table LABEL:tabres) are compatible with the previous values; for GD 378 we determine a temperature about 1500 K hotter than Oke et al. (Oke84 (1984)).

The IUE spectra of all three stars reveal weak lines from Mg II and Fe II (Fig. 5). Since these features are present in all three spectra we are confident that they are not observational artifacts. The derived abundances are listed in Table LABEL:tabres. The errors include uncertainties due to errors in effective temperature and gravity. We have also analyzed the optical spectra of Sion et al. (Sion88 (1988)) again. Our new values for the calcium abundance are about two orders of magnitude higher than the values derived by Dupuis et al. (1993b ) because the scaling of the equivalent width by the square root of the abundance, as used by Dupuis et al. in their analysis, does not give reliable results here.

## 5 Discussion

We have analyzed effective temperatures, gravities, and surface abundances for six DZ/DBZ white dwarfs. For the following discussion, we add the results from Paper I and the two DBZ white dwarfs from Friedrich et al. (Friedrich (1999)). These ten stars span virtually the complete range of temperatures of DZ/DBZ white dwarfs. They are the only objects with ultraviolet observations which provide the best possibility to investigate the whole spectrum of metals; in optical observations, only Ca II is found in general. We collect the parameters for all stars in Table LABEL:tabres.

We start with a comparison of the observed abundances with the predicted ranges from the model of Dupuis et al. (1993b ) in Fig. 6. The two continuous curves in each panel represent the lowest and highest possible abundances at each effective temperature. The lower curves correspond to the equilibrium abundances reached in the low accretion phase ($`\dot{M}510^{20}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ for 49 million years in the model of Dupuis et al.) whereas the upper curves correspond to the maximum abundance reached during passages through interstellar clouds ($`\dot{M}510^{15}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ for one million years). Both curves should be taken with some caution since the actual values of the accretion rates are not known exactly. Moreover, the upper curve depends also partly on the duration of the cloud encounter since an equilibrium between accretion and diffusion is not reached at all temperatures during the assumed passage value of $`10^6`$ years.

The comparison shows that the model assumptions can account in general for the observed metal abundances since most observed values are well between the two limits of the model predictions. Only the observations of GD 40 and HS 2253+8023 (numbers 7 and 8 in Fig. 6) are in part above the upper limits but this can be attributed to the mentioned uncertainties. The data in Fig. 6 seem also to indicate a correlation of the abundances with effective temperature. This is, however, a selection effect since at higher temperatures only high metal abundances can be detected in the low resolution and low signal-to-noise observations normally used to identify DZ white dwarfs (see e.g. Zeidler-K.T. et al. Zeidler (1986) for quantitative estimates of the visibility ranges).

Further information about the accretion process can be extracted from the ratios of the metal abundances. Fig. 7 shows the values for the six independent combinations of the four observed metals. Again, the continuous curves define the allowed ranges from the model of Dupuis et al. (1993b ). The straight line is the solar abundance ratio which is reached in the first moments of a cloud encounter if the accreted material has solar composition. Afterwards, the ratio is altered due to diffusion and approaches the equilibrium value (not shown in Fig. 7) which is always within 0.5 dex of the solar ratio. The second curve in Fig. 7 corresponds to the maximum (or minimum) value reached shortly after a cloud encounter when the abundance of the element with the shorter diffusion time scale is again near the value during low accretion. Afterwards, the ratio turns back to the equilibrium value. At any time, the observed abundance ratio must be between the two curves shown in Fig. 7. The difference between them depends on the diffusion time scales of the two elements.

Most individual abundance ratios fall into the predicted range. They are also often near the solar value (and the equlibrium value) which can be seen well in the Mg/Ca and Fe/Mg diagrams. This implies that we observe the DZ stars mostly during the high accretion phase – in agreement with the observation that the abundances in Fig. 6 are near the upper curve. The deviations from the predicted regions could be attributed to individual variations of the chemical composition of the accreted material which could be different from star to star. However, we follow here the discussion of Dupuis et al. (1993b ) who explained these differences by the same changes of the composition for all stars. This conclusion is supported by systematic tendencies which were not clearly present in previous studies: Several observed values especially of the Si/Ca and Si/Fe ratios are below the allowed range.

If the abundance of one element in the accreted material is changed then the whole region of possible ratios in Fig. 7 is shifted by that amount. If we want virtually all measured values to fall into the predicted range then the silicon abundance must be changed by a factor of $``$ 0.2 ($``$0.7 dex) and the calcium abundance by a factor of $``$ 2 (0.3 dex). Similar values were also determined by Dupuis et al. (1993b ).

The underabundance of silicon is interesting in connection with the assumption that metals are accreted onto white dwarfs in the form of grains. Silicon has the lowest condensation temperature of the four metals usually found in DZ spectra (see e.g. Spitzer Spitzer (1978), Fig. 9.1). During the formation of grains for example in the winds of cool giants it condenses later than the other elements. It has, therefore, a lower depletion factor in the gas phase of the interstellar medium and may be underabundant in the grains accreted onto white dwarfs. During the infall onto the white dwarf silicon could be evaporated earlier than other metals and may partly not reach the surface. Other elements with higher condensation temperatures would survive the accretion process better. Note that calcium, which is probably overabundant, has the highest condensation temperature of the four metals.

In contrast to heavier elements, hydrogen is not accreted in the form of grains. As mentioned in the introduction, it can only be observed in DZ white dwarfs at unexpectedly low abundances. Nine of our objects exhibit hydrogen, in two of them we could show for the first time its presence through absorption by L$`\alpha `$. The distribution of hydrogen abundances against the effective temperatures of the stars is shown in Fig. 8. As in previous investigations, a correlation with effective temperature cannot be observed. We show as a comparison also the expected hydrogen abundance for continuous accretion of $`\dot{M}=10^{18}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ (Dupuis et al. 1993b ). The calculation assumes solar composition of the accreted material and a start of the accretion at $`T_{\mathrm{eff}}=\mathrm{20\hspace{0.17em}000}`$ K. The exact choice of the starting point is not critical because of the rapidly increasing cooling ages towards lower temperatures. Fig. 8 shows that the actual average accretion rate of hydrogen must be lower than $`\dot{M}=10^{18}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$ for our sample objects. On the other hand, the accretion rate for metals – averaged over $`510^7`$ years – in the model of Dupuis et al. is about $`\dot{M}=10^{16}M_{}\mathrm{yr}^1`$. Therefore, the hydrogen accretion rate is at least two orders of magnitude lower than the metal accretion rate, even for those objects with the highest hydrogen abundances.

In this context, the ratio of hydrogen to other metals is also interesting. Fig. 9 shows the observed calcium-to-hydrogen ratios. The weak tendency in temperature which might be observed in the data is due to a similar effect visible in the calcium abundances (see above). Fig. 9 shows also the maximum value of Ca/H which can be expected for accretion of material with solar composition within the model of Dupuis et al. (1993b ). All observed values are significantly higher than the theoretical upper limit. This shows again that hydrogen is not accreted at solar abundance ratios relative to metals.

## 6 Conclusions

The element abundances of the ten DZ and DBZ white dwarfs presented in this paper form a homogeneous set of data which has been compared to the two-phase accretion model of Dupuis et al. (1993b ). The absolute values are in the expected range for accretion from the interstellar medium. Most metal abundance ratios are also compatible with the predictions. Small deviations could be an indication of non-solar metal-to-metal ratios in the accreted material. This tendency is more clearly visible in our improved data set than in the previous investigation of Dupuis et al. (1993b ). Hydrogen is present in virtually all of our objects. However, the average accretion rate of hydrogen must be more than two orders of magnitude lower than the average accretion rate of the metals – even in those objects with the highest hydrogen abundances. Therefore, the fate of hydrogen remains unclear.

Our success in modeling L$`\alpha `$ absorption in L 745-46A and Ross 640 (Paper I) provides a new means of detecting hydrogen in those cases where the Balmer lines are already very weak. This method has been used to determine the hydrogen abundance in L 119-34 and van Maanen 2. This is important especially for the latter object because H$`\alpha `$ is not visible at this combination of effective temperature and hydrogen abundance. In three other white dwarfs with temperatures similar to van Maanen 2 the ultraviolet region of the spectrum indicates a completely different chemical composition than that implied by the optical and infrared photometry. However, we are at the moment not in the position to solve this discrepancy. The analysis of van Maanen 2 shows also that the analysis of optical and infrared photometry can lead to wrong effective temperatures if the absorption by metals in the ultraviolet is not considered. The temperature would be about 1000 K higher without appropriate blanketing in the UV.

###### Acknowledgements.

We are grateful to Jay Holberg (Tucson) who additionally processed some of the IUE spectra used in this paper and to the referee Martin Barstow (Leicester) for valuable comments. JL acknowledges the contributions of Roger Angel and Richard Allen (Steward Observatory) to obtain the FOS data and the help of Ronald Downes (STScI) to ascertain that the data reduced with the standard FOS pipeline is – to the best of our knowledge – calibrated correctly. This work has been supported by the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) under grant 50 OR 96173. We have made use of the Simbad data base, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France.


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# London’s Equation from Abelian Projection

## I Introduction

One of the difficult aspects of QCD is that it is a nonlinear theory. At the classical level one writes down the field equations of the nonlinear theory, and by inspiration or numerically solves the field equations. For non-Abelian gauge theories this leads to interesting classical field configurations such as monopoles, merons, instantons etc. In the quantized version of these theories there are suggestions of interesting configurations like those listed above. For example, the chromoelectric flux tubes that are hypothesized to exist between quarks in the dual, color superconductivity picture of confinement.

Quantizing nonlinear field theories presents additional challenges and questions. In the case of general relativity no complete quantum version of the theory exists. In the case of QCD a quantum version of the theory exists, but because the QCD coupling constant is large, the standard perturbative quantum field theory techniques do not apply in the low energy regime. This means that getting numerical predictions out of QCD is difficult. At present there is no universal analytical technique for handling detailed questions about QCD (this is in contrast with QED and the theory of the electroweak theory where the techniques of perturbative quantum field theory supply a general method for calculating results analytically). The nonperturbative aspects of QCD are dealt with using numerical techniques chernodub .

In the 1950’s Heisenberg and co-workers proposed a scheme for investigating quantum, nonlinear spinor fields heisenberg , which yielded interesting results concerning the spin and charge of the electron. This nonperturbative quantization technique distinguished between field operators of interacting fields and field operators of noninteracting fields (Heisenberg’s ideas were developed before the widespread adoption of the path integral techniques for quantizing field theories and as such are given in terms of field operators). The algebra obeyed by the noninteracting field operators is just the standard canonical commutation relationships (see for example pg. 86 of ref. mandl ). The algebra for the interacting fields, on the other hand, is determined from the Green’s functions for the field operators of the nonlinear fields, $`𝒢(x_1,x_2\mathrm{},x_n)=Q|\widehat{A}(x_1),\widehat{A}(x_2),\mathrm{}\widehat{A}(x_n)|Q`$, where $`\widehat{A}(x_i)`$ is the field operator at position $`x_i`$; $`𝒢(x_1,x_2\mathrm{},x_n)`$ is the Green’s function; $`|Q`$ is a quantum state. Conversely if the $`𝒢(x_1,x_2\mathrm{},x_n)`$s are known then this gives the quantum states $`|Q`$. The Green’s functions are determined from the field equations in the following way: one starts with the classical field equations and turns the classical fields into field operators. One uses these operator field equations to determine the lowest order Green’s functions. Next one applies various order derivative operators on these operator field equations to obtain equations which have higher order powers of the field operators, and which yield the higher order Green’s functions. In this way an infinite set of coupled, differential equations are constructed which connect all orders of Green’s functions. In general it is not possible to solve this system of differential equations analytically, so approximation techniques must be used.

Here we apply a version of Heisenberg’s method to non-Abelian gauge theory. In our treatment we assume that the non-Abelian gauge fields can be separated into two classes: stochastic, disordered fields and ordered fields. This is similar to Abelian Projection ideas hooft  where the diagonal gauge fields associated with the Abelian subgroup are ordered (an example of this ordering would be a non-zero expectation, $`A_z^{diag}0`$, inside a flux tube stretched between quarks) and with the off-diagonal gauge fields being disordered so that $`A_\mu ^{off}=0`$ outside of the flux tube (but $`(A_\mu ^{off})^20`$ outside the flux tube). This picture also has some common points with the work of Nielsen, Olesen and others no1  \- amb  on the response of the QCD vacuum to a homogeneous color magnetic field, $`H`$. In ref. no1  it was shown that a homogeneous SU(2) magnetic field lowered the energy of the vacuum, but was unstable. This instability was removed by the formation of domains no2 . These domains took the form of SU(2) magnetic flux tubes which formed a random SU(2) magnetic quantum liquid amb  with the property that $`H=0`$ and $`H^20`$. The difference with our approach outlined above is that we assume the expectation values are in terms of the gauge potentials rather than the magnetic field – $`A_\mu ^{off}=0`$ and $`(A_\mu ^{off})^20`$. Also, in line with the ideas of Abelian Projection, the diagonal, Abelian potentials ($`A_z^{diag}`$) and the off-diagonal, non-Abelian potentials ($`A_\mu ^{off}`$) play different roles in the present paper.

In applying these ideas to an SU(2) gauge theory we assume that the off-diagonal components form a condensate which can be described by an effective scalar field similar to that in Ginzburg-Landau theory gl . This is also related to work by Cornwall cw  cw1  where a connection is established between a scalar field and the expectation of the Yang-Mills field strength tensor squared – $`\varphi (x)TrG_{\mu \nu }^2`$. In the present work we follow the Abelian Projection ideas and assign different roles to the Abelian and the off diagonal, non-Abelian gauge potentials. Only the off-diagonal gauge potentials are assumed be involved in the condensate. With respect to this condensate the field equation for the Abelian component then takes the form of the London equation, so that the Abelian field develops a mass as it penetrates into regions characterized by the a non-zero value for off-diagonal condensate. The mass of the Abelian field and the assumed effective mass of the condensate are not the same, which is in contrast to refs. cw  cw1  where all the SU(2) gauge potentials play an equivalent role, leading to a single common effective mass for all the gluons.

## II Separation of Components

In this section we follow the conventions of Ref. kondo . Starting with the SU(N) gauge group with generators $`T^B`$ we define the SU(N) gauge fields, $`𝒜_\mu =𝒜_\mu ^BT^B`$. Let $`G`$ be a subgroup of SU(N) and $`SU(N)/G`$ is a coset. Then the gauge field $`𝒜_\mu `$ can be decomposed as

$`𝒜_\mu `$ $`=`$ $`𝒜_\mu ^BT^B=a_\mu ^aT^a+A_\mu ^mT^m,`$ (1)
$`a_\mu ^a`$ $``$ $`G\text{and}A_\mu ^mSU(N)/G`$ (2)
where the indices $`a,b,c\mathrm{}`$ belongs to the subgroup G and $`m,n,\mathrm{}`$to the coset SU(N)/G; $`B`$ are SU(N) indices. Based on this the field strength can be decomposed as

$$_{\mu \nu }^BT^B=_{\mu \nu }^aT^a+_{\mu \nu }^mT^m$$
(3)
where

$`_{\mu \nu }^a`$ $`=`$ $`\varphi _{\mu \nu }^a+\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mu \nu }^aG,`$ (4)
$`\varphi _{\mu \nu }^a`$ $`=`$ $`_\mu a_\nu ^a_\nu a_\mu ^a+f^{abc}a_\mu ^ba_\nu ^cG,`$ (5)
$`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mu \nu }^a`$ $`=`$ $`f^{amn}A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^nG,`$ (6)
$`_{\mu \nu }^m`$ $`=`$ $`F_{\mu \nu }^m+G_{\mu \nu }^mSU(N)/G,`$ (7)
$`F_{\mu \nu }^m`$ $`=`$ $`_\mu A_\nu ^m_\nu A_\mu ^m+f^{mnp}A_\mu ^nA_\nu ^pSU(N)/G,`$ (8)
$`G_{\mu \nu }^m`$ $`=`$ $`f^{mnb}\left(A_\mu ^na_\nu ^bA_\nu ^na_\mu ^b\right)SU(N)/G`$ (9)
where $`f^{ABC}`$ are the structural constants of SU(N). The SU(N) Yang-Mills field equations can be decomposed as

$`d_\nu \left(\varphi ^{a\mu \nu }+\mathrm{\Phi }^{a\mu \nu }\right)`$ $`=`$ $`f^{amn}A_\nu ^m\left(F^{n\mu \nu }+G^{n\mu \nu }\right),`$ (10)
$`D_\nu \left(F^{m\mu \nu }+G^{m\mu \nu }\right)`$ $`=`$ $`f^{mnb}\left[A_\nu ^n\left(\varphi ^{b\mu \nu }+\mathrm{\Phi }^{b\mu \nu }\right)a_\nu ^b\left(F^{n\mu \nu }+G^{n\mu \nu }\right)\right]`$ (11)
where $`d_\nu [\mathrm{}]^a=_\nu [\mathrm{}]^a+f^{abc}a_\nu ^b[\mathrm{}]^c`$ is the covariant derivative on the subgroup G and $`D_\nu [\mathrm{}]^m=_\nu [\mathrm{}]^m+f^{mnp}A_\nu ^n[\mathrm{}]^p`$

Specializing to the SU(2) case we let $`SU(N)SU(2)`$ , $`GU(1)`$, and $`f^{ABC}ϵ^{ABC}`$. Setting the indices as $`a=3`$ and consequently $`m,n=1,2`$, our classical equations become

$`_\nu \left(\varphi ^{\mu \nu }+\mathrm{\Phi }^{\mu \nu }\right)`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ^{3mn}A_\nu ^m\left(F^{n\mu \nu }+G^{n\mu \nu }\right),`$ (12)
$`D_\nu \left(F^{m\mu \nu }+G^{m\mu \nu }\right)`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ^{3mn}\left[A_\nu ^n\left(\varphi ^{\mu \nu }+\mathrm{\Phi }^{\mu \nu }\right)a_\nu \left(F^{n\mu \nu }+G^{n\mu \nu }\right)\right]`$ (13)
Since $`G=U(1)`$ we have $`d_\nu =_\nu `$.

## III Heisenberg Quantization

In quantizing the classical system given in Eqs. (12) - (13) via Heisenberg’s method one first replaces the classical fields by field operators $`a_\mu \widehat{a}_\mu `$ and $`A_\mu ^m\widehat{A}_\mu ^m`$. This yields the following differential equations for the operators

$`_\nu \left(\widehat{\varphi }^{\mu \nu }+\widehat{\mathrm{\Phi }}^{\mu \nu }\right)`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ^{3mn}\widehat{A}_\nu ^m\left(\widehat{F}^{n\mu \nu }+\widehat{G}^{n\mu \nu }\right),`$ (14)
$`D_\nu \left(\widehat{F}^{m\mu \nu }+\widehat{G}^{m\mu \nu }\right)`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ^{3mn}\left[\widehat{A}_\nu ^n\left(\widehat{\varphi }^{\mu \nu }+\widehat{\mathrm{\Phi }}^{\mu \nu }\right)\widehat{a}_\nu \left(\widehat{F}^{n\mu \nu }+\widehat{G}^{n\mu \nu }\right)\right]`$ (15)
These nonlinear equations for the field operators of the nonlinear quantum fields can be used to determine expectation values for the field operators $`\widehat{a}_\mu `$ and $`\widehat{A}_\mu ^m`$ (e.g. $`\widehat{a}_\mu `$, where $`\mathrm{}=Q|\mathrm{}|Q`$ and $`|Q`$ is some quantum state). One can also use these equations to determine the expectation values of operators that are built up from the fundamental operators $`\widehat{a}_\mu `$ and $`\widehat{A}_\mu ^m`$. For example, the “electric” field operator, $`\widehat{E}_z=_0\widehat{a}_z_z\widehat{a}_0`$ giving the expectation $`\widehat{E}_z`$. The simple gauge field expectation values, $`𝒜_\mu (x)`$, are obtained by average Eqs. (14) (15) over some quantum state $`|Q`$

$`Q|_\nu (\widehat{\varphi }^{\mu \nu }+\widehat{\mathrm{\Phi }}^{\mu \nu })+ϵ^{3mn}\widehat{A}_\nu ^m(\widehat{F}^{n\mu \nu }+\widehat{G}^{n\mu \nu })|Q`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$ (16)
$`Q|D_\nu (\widehat{F}^{m\mu \nu }+\widehat{G}^{m\mu \nu })+ϵ^{3mn}[\widehat{A}_\nu ^n(\widehat{\varphi }^{\mu \nu }+\widehat{\mathrm{\Phi }}^{\mu \nu })\widehat{a}_\nu (\widehat{F}^{n\mu \nu }+\widehat{G}^{n\mu \nu })]|Q`$ $`=`$ $`0`$ (17)
One problem in using these equations to obtain expectation values like $`A_\mu ^m`$, is that these equations involve not only powers or derivatives of $`A_\mu ^m`$ (i.e. terms like $`_\alpha A_\mu ^m`$ or $`_\alpha _\beta A_\mu ^m`$) but also contain terms like $`𝒢_{\mu \nu }^{mn}=A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^n`$. Starting with Eqs. (16)– (17) one can generate an operator differential equation for the product $`\widehat{A}_\mu ^m\widehat{A}_\nu ^n`$ thus allowing the determination of the Green’s function $`𝒢_{\mu \nu }^{mn}`$. However this equation will in turn contain other, higher order Green’s functions. Repeating these steps leads to an infinite set of equations connecting Green’s functions of ever increasing order. This construction, leading to an infinite set of coupled, differential equations, does not have an exact, analytical solution and so must be handled using some approximation.

Operators are only well determined if there is a Hilbert space of quantum states. Thus we need to ask about the definition of the quantum states $`|Q`$ in the above construction. The resolution to this problem is as follows: There is an one-to-one correspondence between a given quantum state $`|Q`$ and the infinite set of quantum expectation values over any product of field operators, $`𝒢_{\mu \nu \mathrm{}}^{mn\mathrm{}}(x_1,x_2\mathrm{})=Q|A_\mu ^m(x_1)A_\nu ^n(x_2)\mathrm{}|Q`$. So if all the Green’s functions – $`𝒢_{\mu \nu \mathrm{}}^{mn\mathrm{}}(x_1,x_2\mathrm{})`$ – are known then the quantum states, $`|Q`$ are known, i.e. the action of $`|Q`$ on any product of field operators $`\widehat{A}_\mu ^m(x_1)\widehat{A}_\nu ^n(x_2)\mathrm{}`$ is known. The Green’s functions are determined from the above, infinite set of equations (following Heisenberg’s idea).

Another problem associated with products of field operators like $`\widehat{A}_\mu ^m(x)\widehat{A}_\nu ^n(x)`$ which occur in Eq. (15) is that the two operators occur at the same point. For non-interacting field it is well known that such products have a singularity. In this paper we are considering interacting fields so it is not known if a singularity would arise for such products of operators evaluated at the same point. Physically it is hypothesized that there are situations in interacting field theories where these singularities do not occur (e.g. for flux tubes in Abelian or non-Abelian theory quantities like the “electric” field inside the tube, $`E_z^a<\mathrm{}`$, and energy density $`\epsilon (x)=(E_z^a)^2<\mathrm{}`$ are nonsingular). Here we take as an assumption that such singularities do not occur.

We now enumerate our basic assumptions:

1. After quantization the components $`\widehat{A}_\mu ^m(x)`$ become stochastic. In mathematical terms we write this assumption as

$$A_\mu ^m(x)=0\text{and}A_\mu ^m(x)A_\nu ^n(x)=\phi (x)\delta ^{mn}\eta _{\mu \nu }$$
(18)
where $`\phi (x)`$ is some scalar field, $`\eta =\{+1,1,1,1\}`$. This would give a problem with the time components in that $`A_0^mA_0^m<0`$. Thus to deal with this we also assume that the fields are static and have no time component, i.e. $`A_0^m=0`$.
2. The components $`a_\mu ^a`$ of the subgroup G can have some order so that certain expectation values can have non-zero values, for example

$$H_z^a=(\times \stackrel{}{a})_z0.$$
(19)
Such conditions are meant to imply that $`a_\mu `$ (or certain quantities derived from it) develops a non-zero expectation value for some non-trivial, non-vacuum boundary conditions (e.g. the presence of external quarks). Such conditions are not connected with vacuum states since this would imply a violation of the Lorentz symmetry of the QCD vacuum.
3. The gauge potentials $`a_\mu ^a`$ and $`A_\mu ^m`$ are not correlated. Mathematically this means that

$$f(a_\mu ^a)g(A_\nu ^m)=f(a_\mu ^a)g(A_\mu ^m)$$
(20)
where $`f,g`$ are any functions

These assumptions are a variation of the Abelian Projection ideas, since there the SU(N)/G components of the gauge fields are suppressed. The characterization of the off-diagonal fields as stochastic is a result of the first part of Eq. (18), $`A_\mu ^m(x)=0`$. The second part of Eq. (18) is related to some recent work gubarev  kondo2  which demonstrates the physical importance of the expectation value of the square of the non-Abelian gauge potential to the dynamics of non-Abelian field theory. The surprising thing about this is that the non-Abelian gauge potential (and its square) is gauge variant, and one would think that physical quantities should only be constructed from gauge invariant quantities. In previous work amb  cw  cw1  one had conditions similar to the first assumption above, but in terms of the expectation values of the Yang-Mills field strength tensor and its square – $`G_{\mu \nu }=0`$ and $`G_{\mu \nu }^20`$. One way of looking at the condition, $`A_\mu ^m(x)A_\nu ^n(x)=\phi (x)\delta ^{mn}\eta _{\mu \nu }`$, is that it represents the condensation of the off-diagonal SU(2) gluons into effective scalar fields, $`\phi (x)`$. This provides a physical motivation for a connection of the present work to the Ginzburg-Landau model of superconductivity. In Ginzburg-Landau theory the scalar field represents a condensation of electrons i.e. the Cooper pairs. This association between the expectation of the square of the off-diagonal gauge potentials with a scalar field is also similar to ref. cw  except there the association was between $`G_{\mu \nu }^20`$ and the scalar field.

## IV London’s equation

In this section we want to show how London’s equation emerges from Eqs. (14)-(15) under the setup outlined above. London’s equation describes the Meissner effect in ordinary superconductivity. Showing that the same equation emerges from a quantized non-Abelian gauge theory gives support to the dual superconducting picture of the QCD vacuum. Because of the stochastic assumption above we will not be interested in the off-diagonal components of the gauge fields, $`A_\mu ^m`$. Thus we will not worry about Eq. (15) which is the equation that determines these off-diagonal components. The Abelian field $`a_\mu `$ is determined from Eq. (14) which is linear in $`a_\mu `$. Because of this we take the Abelian gauge field as classical dzhsin . This leads to the following equation

$$_\nu \left(\varphi ^{\mu \nu }+\mathrm{\Phi }^{\mu \nu }\right)=ϵ^{3mn}\left(A_\nu ^mF^{n\mu \nu }+A_\nu ^mG^{n\mu \nu }\right).$$
(21)
Note the Abelian term, $`\varphi ^{\mu \nu }`$, is treated classically while the remaining terms which involve combinations of the off-diagonal fields are treated as quantum degrees of freedom via the expectation values. To calculate these expectation values we take, as a first approximation, the scalar function of Eq. (18) as a constant, i.e. $`\phi (x)=\phi _0`$

$$A_\mu ^m(x)A_\nu ^n(x)=\phi _0\delta ^{mn}\eta _{\mu \nu }$$
(22)
Then this gives

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ^{3mn}A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^n=0,`$ (23)
$`A_\nu ^mG^{n\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`ϵ^{np3}\left(A_\nu ^mA^{p\mu }a^\nu A_\nu ^mA^{p\nu }a^\mu \right)=3\phi _0ϵ^{3mn}a^\mu .`$ (24)
The next term is

$$A_\nu ^mF^{n\mu \nu }=A_\nu ^m^\mu A^{n\nu }A_\nu ^m^\nu A^{n\mu }+ϵ^{npq}A_\nu ^mA^{p\mu }A^{q\nu }.$$
(25)
For the disordered, non-diagonal components we will set $`A_{\mu _1}^{m_1}(x)A_{\mu _2}^{m_2}(x)\mathrm{}A_{\mu _n}^{m_n}(x)0`$ if $`n`$ is odd. For the other terms in the right-hand-side of Eq. (25) we note that

$`_\alpha A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^n=_\alpha A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^n+A_\mu ^m_\alpha A_\nu ^n=0,`$ (26)
$`_\alpha A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^n=A_\mu ^m_\alpha A_\nu ^n.`$
For these stochastic, non-diagonal components the last expression should not depend on the order of the indices $`(m,n)`$ and $`(\mu ,\nu )`$ i.e. $`_\alpha A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^n=_\alpha A_\nu ^nA_\mu ^m=A_\mu ^m_\alpha A_\nu ^n`$. Using this with Eq. (26) gives

$$_\alpha A_\mu ^mA_\nu ^n=A_\mu ^m_\alpha A_\nu ^n=0.$$
(27)
Putting all this together gives from Eq. (21)

$$_\nu \varphi ^{\mu \nu }=6\phi _0a^\mu .$$
(28)
applying the Lorentz gauge condition, $`_\nu a^\nu =0`$, then yields

$$_\nu ^\nu a^\mu =6\phi _0a^\mu .$$
(29)
This is London’s equation for the U(1) ordered phase in the presence of disordered SU(2)/U(1) phase. To demonstrate how this leads to a Meissner-like effect for the U(1) gauge field, $`a_\mu `$, we take half of all space as being filled by the stochastic phase (e.g. $`\phi (x)=\phi _00`$ for $`y>0`$ and $`\phi (x)=0`$ for $`y<0`$). In this case the Abelian gauge field has only a dependence on $`y`$, $`a_\mu (y)`$, and Eq. (29) becomes

$$\frac{d^2a_\mu }{dy^2}=6\phi _0a_\mu $$
(30)
which has the solution

$$a_\mu =a_{0\mu }e^{\sqrt{6\phi _0}y}.$$
(31)
Thus the magnetic field $`H_z=H_{0z}e^{\sqrt{6\phi _0}y}`$ is exponentially damped as it penetrates the region with the stochastic phase.

From eqs. (30)-(31) the effective mass of the Abelian field is $`m_{eff}=\sqrt{6\phi _0}`$. On the other hand eq. (22) (up to a group factor of $`2/3`$) is similar to the relationship given in ref. cw1  (see eq. (32) of that reference) between the effective gluon mass and the expectation of the square of all the gauge potentials. Thus from eq. (22) we find that in our model the effective mass of the SU(2) gluons associated with the off-diagonal gauge potentials is different from the effective mass of the gauge boson associated with the Abelian gauge potential. The difference in masses between the condensate represented by the scalar field and the gauge boson is also found in spontaneous symmetry breaking of a gauge symmetry. For example, consider the Ginzburg-Landau Lagrangian with an Abelian gauge field, $`A_\mu `$, and a complex scalar field, $`\phi `$, describing the condensate

$$_{GL}=(D_\mu \phi )(D_\mu \phi )^{}m^2|\phi |^2\lambda |\phi |^4$$
(32)
where $`D_\mu =_\mu +ieA_\mu `$. The condensate has a mass of $`m`$ while the gauge boson $`A_\mu `$ will acquire a mass of $`\sqrt{\frac{e^2m^2}{2\lambda }}`$. In our case the condensate comes from the same set of SU(2) gauge fields as the Abelian gauge field. The different behavior/roles of the Abelian and off-diagonal, non-Abelian gauge fields results from using ideas similar to Abelian Projection through our first assumption given in eq. (18) above.

## V Conclusions

In this paper we have shown how the London equation emerges from a non-Abelian gauge theory by combining ideas of a nonperturbative quantization technique pioneered by Heisenberg and co-workers, with ideas similar to Abelian Projection. The importance of this is that the London equation gives a phenomenological description of the Meissner effect in superconductors, and the vacuum of some non-Abelian gauge theories (e.g. QCD) is often modeled as a dual superconductor in order to explain confinement. In our approach we split the gauge group (SU(2) in our case) into a subgroup (U(1) in our case) and the coset space (SU(2)/U(1) in our case). The gauge bosons associated with the coset SU(2)/U(1) were taken to be in an disordered, stochastic phase, $`A_\mu ^m(x)=0`$. Mathematically this statement was contained in Eq. (18) where the scalar field can be compared to the scalar field in the Ginzburg-Landau treatment of superconductivity. In the Ginzburg-Landau model the scalar field represents a condensation of electrons into Cooper pairs. In our work the scalar field can be thought of as a condensation of gluons. Just as the E&M field is excluded from the superconductor, so in our example the diagonal, Abelian gauge field is excluded from the disordered phase.

There is a difference between Abelian Projection and the treatment in the present paper. In Abelian Projection the off-diagonal components are constructed by applying gauge fixing, but in our case they emerge from applying the three assumptions given in section III to the dynamical equations. In the first approximation we have neglected the dynamical behavior of the stochastic phase, by setting $`\phi (x)=\phi _0`$. In this way we obtained an equation for the Abelian components of the gauge field which was similar to London’s equation for the vector potential in superconductivity theory. Higher order approximations in the above procedure would result in higher order powers and derivatives of $`\phi `$. This would hopefully lead to dynamical equations for $`\phi (x)`$ similar to the field equations which result from the Ginzburg-Landau Lagrangian given in eq. (32). (Note in this regard that there are two scalar fields in eq. (32), since there $`\phi `$ is complex, and in eq. (18) there are also effectively two scalar fields coming from $`m=n=1`$ and $`m=n=2`$). In this case one would be able to construct Nielsen-Olesen flux tube solutions no , which would be very suggestive toward making a firm connection with the dual superconducting model of QCD. Such a construction of an effective Ginzburg-Landau equation for $`\phi `$ would be important in bolstering the claim of a connection between our approach and the dual superconducting model of the QCD vacuum.

## VI Acknowledgment

VD is grateful ISTC grant KR-677 for the financial support and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for the support of this work.


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# The very local Hubble flow Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS 5–26555.

## 1 Introduction

Until quite recently the behaviour of the Hubble flow in the immediate vicinity of the Local Group (LG) remained practically unknown because of the lack of reliable data on distances to many nearest galaxies. Lynden-Bell (1981) and Sandage (1986) demonstrated that the velocity-distance relation for galaxies around the LG should be non-linear due to gravitational deceleration produced by the LG mass. Being determined from observational data, the effect of deceleration permits calculation of the total mass of the LG independently from mass estimates based on virial/orbital motions. In the distance range of $`(1÷3)`$ Mpc, where the expected non-linearity of the Hubble relation is significant, Sandage (1986) used velocities and distances of seven galaxies: Leo A (1.58 Mpc), IC 5152 (1.58), NGC 3109 (1.58), NGC 300 (1.66), Sex A (1.74), Sex B (1.74), and Pegasus (2.51 Mpc) and estimated the LG mass to be $`410^{11}M_{\mathrm{}}`$. As became clear later, the distances of two of these seven galaxies (Leo A and Pegasus) were incorrect by more than a factor of 2. Based on largely the same observational data, Giraud (1986, 1990) obtained a three times higher mass for the LG. Karachentsev & Makarov (2001) used accurate distance measurements for 20 galaxies in the vicinity of the LG and determined the radius of the zero-velocity sphere, $`R_0`$, which separates the LG from the total cosmological expansion. From their data $`R_0`$ is of $`0.96\pm 0.05`$ Mpc. According to Lynden-Bell (1981), this radius corresponds to the total LG mass, $`M_{LG}=(\pi ^2/8G)H_0^2R_0^3`$, where $`H_0`$ is the local Hubble parameter and $`G`$ is the gravitational constant. For $`H_0`$ = 70 km s-1 Mpc-1 the radius of 0.96 Mpc yields a total mass of $`1.210^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$. Karachentsev & Makarov (2001) also noted that the dispersion of peculiar radial velocities of galaxies around the LG is surprisingly small, only $``$25 km s-1.

Over the last few years, rapid progress has been made in accurate distance measurements for nearby galaxies beyond the Local Group. At present, the number of galaxies with known distances within $`(1÷3)`$ Mpc, is approaching $``$40. As a result of searching for new nearby objects on the POSS-II/ESO-SERC plates (Karachentseva et al. 1998, 1999; Karachentsev et al. 2001a), a number of low surface brightness dwarf galaxies have just recently been found. The local galaxy complex candidates included in the program of our snapshot survey with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST; programs GO-8192, GO-8601, Seitzer et al. 1999). We have reported the discovery of two very nearby dwarf galaxies, KK 3 and KKR 25, situated within 2 Mpc (Karachentsev et al. 2000, 2001b). Below we present new distance measurements for 18 more nearby galaxies observed in the snapshot survey.

## 2  WFPC2 photometry and data reduction

The galaxies were imaged with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC2) during 1999 October 15 to 2001 July 28 as part of our HST snapshot survey of nearby galaxy candidates (Seitzer et al. 1999). The objects were usually centered on the WF3 chip, but for some bright galaxies the WFPC2 position was shifted towards the galaxy periphery to decrease the stellar crowding effect. 600-second exposures were taken in the F606W and F814W filters for each object. Digital Sky Survey images (DSS-II, red) of the eighteen galaxies are shown in Figure 1 with the HST WFPC2 footprints superimposed. The field size of the DSS images is 10$`\mathrm{}\times 10\mathrm{}`$.

The photometric reduction was carried out using the HSTphot stellar photometry package described by Dolphin (2000a). After removing cosmic rays with the HSTphot cleansep routine, simultaneous photometry was performed on the F606W and F814W frames using multiphot, with aperture corrections for an aperture of radius $`0\stackrel{}{.}5`$. Charge-transfer efficiency (CTE) corrections and calibrations were then applied, which are based on the Dolphin (2000b) formulae, producing $`VI`$ photometry for all stars detected in both images. Because of the relatively small field of the Planetary Camera (PC) chip, very few bright stars are available for the computation of the aperture correction. Thus the PC photometry was omitted in further analysis. Additionally, stars with the signal-to-noise ratio $`S/N<5`$, $`\chi >2.0`$, or $``$ sharpness $`>0.4`$ in each exposure were eliminated from the final photometry list. We estimate the uncertainty of the photometric zeropoint to be within $`0\stackrel{m}{.}05`$ (Dolphin 2000b).

The WFPC2 images of the galaxies are presented in upper panels of Figure 2, where both filters are combined. The compass in each field indicates the North and East directions.

## 3 Color-Magnitude Diagrams and distances

The middle panels of Figure 2 show $`I`$ versus $`(VI)`$ color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) for the eighteen observed galaxies. As demonstrated by Lee et al. (1993), the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) is a reliable distance indicator that is relatively independent of age and metallicity. In the I band the TRGB for low-mass stars is found to be stable within $`0.1`$ mag (Salaris & Cassisi, 1996; Udalski et al. 2001) for metallicities, \[Fe/H\], encompassing the entire range from -2.1 up to -0.7 represented by Galactic globular clusters. According to Da Costa & Armandroff (1990), for metal-poor systems the TRGB is located at $`M_I=4.05`$ mag. Also, Lee et al. (1993) derived the TRGB to be in the range of $`4.0\pm 0.1`$ mag. Ferrarese et al. (2000) calibrated a zero point of the TRGB from galaxies with Cepheid distances, and yielded $`M_I=4.06\pm 0.07(random)\pm 0.13(systematic)`$ mag. A new TRGB calibration $`M_I=4.04\pm 0.12`$ mag was determined by Bellazzini et al.(2001) based on photometry and a distance estimate from a detached eclipsing binary in the Galactic globular cluster $`\omega `$ Centauri. For this paper we use the calibration of $`M_I=4.05`$ mag.

To determine the TRGB location, we obtained a Gaussian-smoothed $`I`$-band luminosity function for red stars with colors $`VI`$ within $`\pm 0\stackrel{m}{.}5`$ of the mean $`<VI>`$ for expected red giant branch (RGB) stars. Following Sakai et al. (1996), we used a Sobel edge-detection filter. The position of the TRGB was identified with the peak in the filter response function. The resulting luminosity functions and the Sobel-filtered luminosity functions are shown in the bottom panels of Figure 2. The results are summarized in Table 1. The data listed in its columns are as follow: (1) galaxy name; (2) equatorial coordinates corresponding to the galaxy center; (3,4) apparent integrated magnitude and angular dimension from the NASA Extragalactic Database (NED); (5) heliocentric radial velocity; (6) morphological type in de Vaucouleurs notation; (7) position of the TRGB and its uncertainty derived with the Sobel filter; (8) Galactic extinction in the $`I`$\- band (Schlegel et al. 1998); (9) true distance modulus with its uncertainty, which takes into account the uncertainty in the TRGB detection, as well as uncertainties of the HST photometry zero point ($`0\stackrel{m}{.}05`$), the aperture corrections ($`0\stackrel{m}{.}05`$), and crowding effects ($`0\stackrel{m}{.}06`$) added in quadrature; the uncertainties in extinction and reddening are taken to be $`10\%`$ of their values from Schlegel et al.(1998); (more details on the total budget of internal and external systematic errors for the TRGB method see in Mendez et al.(2002)); and (10) linear distance in Mpc and its uncertainty. Some individual properties of the galaxies are discussed below.

ESO 294-010 = PGC 01641. The galaxy has a smooth regular shape and the integrated color $`(BR)_T=1.17`$ (Jerjen et al. 1998), typical of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. These authors also measured the distance to the galaxy, 1.71$`\pm `$0.07 Mpc, via fluctuations of surface brightness and found weak emission in \[O iii\] and H$`\alpha `$ with a radial velocity of +117$`\pm `$5 km s-1. Our CMD (Fig. 2) shows the presence of a small number of faint blue stars situated in the central and southern parts of the galaxy, which confirms the classification of the galaxy as a dwarf system of mixed type, like Phoenix, LGS 3, and KK 3. Judging by its velocity and distance, ESO 294-010 is a probable companion of the spiral galaxy NGC 55.

NGC 404. This compact lenticular galaxy with dusty patches in its central part is partially affected by the halo of a bright star. Tonry et al. (2001) determined its distance as 3.26$`\pm `$0.15 Mpc based on fluctuations of its surface brightness. NGC 404 is the nearest representative of the rare class of isolated S0 galaxies. There are no other known galaxies within 1.1 Mpc around it (Karachentsev & Makarov 1999). The origin of such an object is unclear. This galaxy may represent the final stage of consecutive merging of members of a former group of galaxies.

UGCA 105. This irregular galaxy probably belongs to the Maffei/IC342 group situated in a zone of strong Galactic extinction. Tikhonov et al. (1992) and Karachentsev et al. (1997) resolved it into stars and determined its distance from the luminosity of the brightest stars to be 3.3 Mpc and 3.2 Mpc, respectively. The distance, 3.15$`\pm `$0.32 Mpc, that we have derived agrees well with these estimates.

Sextans B. According to Sakai et al. (1997) the distance to this dIrr galaxy found from the luminosity of its RGB stars is 1.29$`\pm `$0.07 Mpc. Our estimate of its distance, 1.36$`\pm `$0.07 Mpc, agrees well with the previous one.

NGC 3109. Capaccioli et al. (1992) studied Cepheids in this galaxy and derived from them a distance of 1.26$`\pm `$0.10 Mpc. Our distance estimate from the TRGB, 1.33$`\pm `$0.08 Mpc, agrees within the uncertainties with the Cepheid distance. According to Tully et al. (2002), NGC 3109 together with three other dwarf galaxies, Sex A, Sex B, and Antlia, form a loose group of “squelched” galaxies in a common dark halo.

UGC 6817 = DDO 99. This dIrr galaxy has been resolved into stars for the first time by Georgiev et al. (1997), who determined its distance as 3.9$`\pm `$0.8 Mpc via the brightest stars. Our distance estimate from the TRGB yields a lower distance, 2.64$`\pm `$0.21 Mpc, which corresponds to the galaxy location on the front side of the Canes Venatici cloud.

K 90 = DDO 113 = UGCA 276. This dwarf galaxy of low surface brightness and of regular smooth shape was resolved into stars by Makarova et al. (1997). Jerjen et al. (2002) determined its integrated color $`(BR)`$ = 1.07 mag and the central surface brightness $`\mathrm{\Sigma }_B(0)=24.92\pm 0.08`$ mag arcsec-2. These authors estimated the galaxy distance as 3.1$`\pm `$0.3 Mpc from surface brightness fluctuations, which agrees well with our estimate, 2.86$`\pm `$0.14 Mpc, from the TRGB. As one can see from its CMD (Fig. 2), K 90 does not contain a significant number of blue stars, which favours this dwarf’s classification as a dSph system. However, the galaxy shows strong HI emission, which makes us regard it as a mixed dSph/dIrr system. Being situated 10$`\mathrm{}`$ away from the bright spiral galaxy NGC 4214, K 90 is a probable companion of the galaxy because their velocities differ from each other by only 9 km s-1. Like UGC 6817, K 90 is situated on the front side of the CVn cloud.

IC 3104 = ESO 20-004 = PGC 039573. As far as we know this irregular galaxy with a radial velocity of only $`V_{LG}`$ = 171 km s-1 has now been resolved into stars for the first time. The distance, 2.27$`\pm `$0.19 Mpc, derived by us is consistent with its low radial velocity. IC 3104 is a clear example of how poorly the immediate vicinity of the LG has so far been studied.

UGC 7577 = DDO 125. This dIrr galaxy was resolved into stars by Tikhonov & Karachentsev (1998), who estimated its distance to be 4.8$`\pm `$1.0 Mpc via the brightest stars. The TRGB position (Fig. 2) yields a much lower distance, 2.54$`\pm `$0.17 Mpc, and allows us to consider UGC 7577 to be situated on the front side of the CVn cloud.

UGC 8508 = I Zw 60. Karachentsev et al. (1994) resolved this dIrr galaxy into stars and determined a distance of 3.7$`\pm `$0.8 Mpc from the brightest stars. The TRGB position for UGC 8508 corresponds to a distance of 2.56$`\pm `$0.15 Mpc, placing the galaxy in front of the M 101 group.

UGC 8651 = DDO 181. The galaxy has a curved bow-like shape similar to DDO 165. Its distance, 3.4$`\pm `$0.7 Mpc, was estimated by Makarova et al. (1998) via the brightest stars. The distance from its TRGB position is 3.01$`\pm `$0.29 Mpc. Like some above mentioned galaxies, UGC 8651 apparently belongs to the near side of the CVn cloud.

KKH 86. This dwarf irregular galaxy of low surface brightness was found by Karachentsev et al. (2001a). Surface photometry of KKH 86 has been carried out by Makarova et al. (2002). The low TRGB distance of the galaxy, 2.61$`\pm `$0.16 Mpc, agrees with its low velocity, $`V_{LG}`$ = 205 km s-1.

UGC 9240 = DDO 190. The galaxy was studied in detail by Aparicio & Tikhonov (2000), who derived a TRGB distance of 2.9$`\pm `$0.2 Mpc. Our WFPC2 photometry yields almost the same distance, 2.79$`\pm `$0.26 Mpc. The galaxy is a probable member of the CVn cloud.

SagDIG. This dIrr galaxy is situated at a low Galactic latitude. Stellar photometry of SagDIG was made by Karachentsev et al. (1999) and Lee & Kim (2000), who found its TRGB distance to be 1.06$`\pm `$0.10 Mpc and 1.18$`\pm `$0.10 Mpc, respectively. Our determination of the distance, 1.04$`\pm `$0.05 Mpc, agrees well with both these estimates.

DDO 210 = Aquarius. Detailed stellar photometry of the galaxy was carried out by Lee et al. (1999), who derived the TRGB distance to be 0.95$`\pm `$0.05 Mpc. The WFPC2 photometry yields for DDO 210 the same distance, 0.94$`\pm `$0.04 Mpc.

IC 5152. This bright irregular galaxy contains a lot of blue stars and dusty patches. Zijlstra & Minniti (1998) detected its TRGB and determined the distance as 1.70$`\pm `$0.17 Mpc. Our distance estimate is 2.07$`\pm `$0.18 Mpc. The lower value from Zijlstra & Minniti may be caused by crowding effects, higher for a ground-based telescope, which tends to brighten the apparent TRGB position (e.g., Stephens et al. 2001).

UGCA 438 = ESO 407 -018. According to Lee & Byun (1999) the TRGB distance of this irregular galaxy is 2.08$`\pm `$0.12 Mpc. Our WFPC2 photometry gives a slightly higher value, 2.23$`\pm `$0.15 Mpc. The galaxy may be a member of the known loose group in Sculptor.

KKH 98. This galaxy was found by Karachentsev et al. (2001a) as a bluish low surface brightness object partially resolved into stars. Its distance derived from the TRGB is 2.45$`\pm `$0.13 Mpc. KKH 98 is a well-isolated galaxy. There are no other known objects within 1 Mpc around it.

## 4 The very local velocity field

In addition to the 18 above-mentioned galaxies, there are 20 more known galaxies which are situated (or may be situated) within $`D3`$ Mpc around the LG centroid. A summary of these objects is given in Table 2. Two galaxies from this list, KK 3, Cetus have no measured velocities yet. Another two southern galaxies, ESO 383-087 and IC 4662, have no distance estimates, but their radial velocities with respect to the LG centroid are less than 150 km s-1. For six more galaxies: SDIG, NGC 55, NGC 247, NGC 1569, UGCA 92 and UGC 8638 their distances have been determined with low accuracy. The data listed in the table columns are as follows: (1) galaxy name and cross-identification (lower line); (2) equatorial coordinates (B1950.0); (3) integrated apparent magnitude (upper line) and Galactic extinction from Schlegel et al. (1998) (lower line); (4) angular dimension in arcmin (upper line) and morphological type in de Vaucouleurs notation (lower line); (5) heliocentric radial velocity and its standard error in km s-1; (6) distance to the galaxy and its standard error in Mpc; (7) distance from the LG centroid, calculated as

$$D_{LG}^2=D^2+\mathrm{\Delta }^22D\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{cos}\theta ,$$

where $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ = 0.44 Mpc is the distance of the Milky Way from the LG centroid, and $`\theta `$ is the angle between the direction to the galaxy and that to M31; (8) radial velocity of the galaxy with respect to the LG centroid with the apex parameters $`V_\mathrm{a}=`$316 km/s, $`l_\mathrm{a}=`$93$`\mathrm{°}`$, $`b_\mathrm{a}=`$-4$`\mathrm{°}`$ derived by Karachentsev & Makarov (1996); (9) the above- mentioned angle $`\theta `$; and (10) integrated absolute magnitude of the galaxy. The data of columns (2) – (5) are taken from NED, and the sources of data on distances are given in footnotes to the table.

The all-sky distribution of the 38 galaxies listed in Table 2 is presented in equatorial coordinates in Figure 3. The distribution looks rather inhomogeneous, showing concentration of the objects towards two opposite directions: the CVn cloud and the loose Sculptor group, which confirms the location of the Local Group in a filament, extending from Canes Venatici to Sculptor (Tully, 1988). Another feature of the distribution is complete absence of galaxies in a wide area around the direction towards Orion ($`\alpha `$ =$`05^h40^m`$, $`\delta `$ = $`3\mathrm{°}`$). This empty region, occupying about a quarter of the entire sky, is indicated by the right-hand solid curve in Fig. 3. We nickname it as a Local Minivoid (LMV). Unlike the Local Void (Tully, 1988), which has the center position about $`\alpha `$ = $`18^h38^m`$, $`\delta `$ = $`+18\mathrm{°}`$, an angular diameter $`60\mathrm{°}`$ and a depth of 1500 km s-1 (Karachentseva et al. 1999), the LMV extends in depth to $`D5`$ Mpc. In the about 100 Mpc3, there is not a single known galaxy brighter than $`M_\mathrm{V}=11^m`$. An absence of galaxies in the direction of Orion may be partially due to extinction by the Milky Way. However, the presence of such a “perfect” empty volume can not be explained by Galactic extinction alone, because some more distant dwarf galaxies (”Orion”, A0554+07, UGC 3303, kk49) with radial velocities of $`V_{\mathrm{LG}}400`$ km/s are seen behind the LMV (Karachentsev & Musella, 1996). Velocities and distances of 34 galaxies from Table 2 with respect to the LG centroid are shown in Figure 4 with indication of their observational uncertainties. As was demonstrated by Sandage (1986, 1987), the deceleration of the cosmic expansion in the vicinity of the LG leads to a curvature of the Hubble relation, which intersects the line of $`V_{\mathrm{LG}}=0`$ at a non-zero distance $`R_0`$ from the LG centroid. The value of $`R_0`$ characterizes the radius of the zero-velocity surface that separates the LG from the total cosmic expansion. In the case of spherical symmetry with the cosmological parameter $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$ the LG mass depends on $`R_0`$ as $`M_{\mathrm{LG}}=(\pi ^2/8G)H_0^2R_0^3`$, which yields for $`H_0`$ = 70 km s-1 Mpc-1 a mass $`M_{\mathrm{LG}}/M_{\mathrm{}}=1.3910^{12}(R_0/\mathrm{Mpc})^3`$. In Fig. 4 the thick solid line shows the velocity-distance regression with two parameters, $`H_0`$ = 73 km s-1 Mpc-1 and $`M_{\mathrm{LG}}=1.2610^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$, derived as the least-square solution. The two thin solid lines correspond to the 95% confidence interval of the regression.

As one can see from these data, the majority of nearby galaxies follow the Hubble relation very well. However, a group of 7 galaxies with $`D_{\mathrm{LG}}2.8`$ Mpc and $`V_{\mathrm{LG}}`$270 km s-1 departs appreciably from the relation as a whole. All these objects are situated on the front side of the Canes Venatici cloud and, apparently, move from us toward the cloud center at an additional velocity of about 85 km s-1. Another galaxy, NGC 6789, has the radial velocity much lower than the expected velocity. This object is situated in front of the Local Void at a high Supergalactic latitude ($`+41.6\mathrm{°}`$). The low velocity of NGC 6789 may be caused by the gravitational action of the Local Void, which imparts a peculiar velocity of $``$80 km s-1 towards us on NGC 6789. Fitting the Hubble relation with its two dependent parameters, $`H_0`$ and $`M_{LG}`$, we omitted the seven probable members of the CVn cloud (indicated as asterisks) and also two galaxies, SDIG and NGC 247 (shown as triangles) due to their poorly determined distances. For the remaining 27 galaxies the least-squares method yields a radius of the zero-velocity surface of 0.94$`\pm `$0.10 Mpc. The mean-root-square dispersion of radial velocities for field galaxies relative to the Hubble regression with the indicated parameters is $`\sigma _v=34`$ km s-1. A significant part of the scatter of galaxies in Fig. 4 is caused by the uncertainties of the measured distances, $`\mathrm{\Delta }D/D`$ 10%, while measurement errors of the radial velocities are relatively small, $``$2%. Taking the errors of the observables into account, the mean-root-square random velocity of nearby galaxies themselves is reduced to $`\sigma _\mathrm{v}`$ = 29 km s-1.

To get a complete picture of the local velocity field, we also show in Fig. 4 the members of the Local Group, which are indicated by open circles. Observational data on their distances and velocities are listed in Table 3, the columns of which contain: (1) galaxy name; (2) morphological type, (3) measured distance and its standard error; (4) heliocentric velocity and its error; (5, 6) distance and radial velocity with respect to the LG centroid. The last two quantities are determined in the same manner as described above. The basic data are taken from the book of van den Bergh (2000) and also from Evans et al. (2000). Some of the other recent sources of distances are mentioned in the table footnotes.

Considering the structure and kinematics of two nearby groups around M81 (Karachentsev et al. 2002a) and Centaurus A (Karachentsev et al. 2002b), we noted a general similarity of these groups with the LG. The systems of companions around M81 and Cen A are characterized by a mean projected linear radius of $``$200 Kpc and a radial velocity dispersion of $``$80 km s-1 each. For the companions of the Milky Way and M31, these quantities are of the same order. As a robust estimate of mass we used the relation

$$M_{\mathrm{orb}}=(32/3\pi )G^1(12e^2/3)^1<R_p\mathrm{\Delta }V_r^2>,$$

which is valid for arbitrarily-oriented Keplerian orbits with eccentricity $`e`$. Adopting $`e`$ = 0.7 as the average eccentricity, we derived the following mass estimates: $`M`$(M81) = $`1.610^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$, and $`M`$(CenA) = $`2.110^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$. For the galaxies M31 and Milky Way the mass estimates from orbital motions of their companions are $`1.010^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (M31) and $`1.010^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (Milky Way). In the case of the Milky Way it was taken into account that we use the actual spatial distances to the companions, $`D`$, instead of projected distances, $`R_p`$. It should also be noted that a significant contribution to the Milky Way mass estimate is made by only one remote companion, Phoenix, which has a high peculiar velocity (Gallart et al. 2001). One can assume that the orbit of Phoenix does not fit the Keplerian motion because of its probable location in the “infall zone” (see Fig. 4). Then, removing Phoenix drops the Milky Way mass estimate to $`0.510^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$, which seems to us more appropriate. The derived orbital masses are quite close to more sophisticated estimates of masses of the Milky Way and M31 inside $`50`$ Kpc: $`M_{\mathrm{MW}}=0.410^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (Fich & Tremaine, 1991), $`M_{\mathrm{MW}}=(0.5\pm 0.1)10^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (Kochanek, 1996), $`M_{\mathrm{M31}}=0.810^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (Evans & Wilkinson, 2000), $`M_{\mathrm{M31}}=(0.8\pm 0.1)10^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (Côté et al. 2000), and $`M_{\mathrm{M31}}=(0.7÷1.0)10^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$ (Evans et al. 2000). Therefore, the sum of orbital (virial) masses of both the LG subgroups, $`(1.2÷1.5)10^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$, agrees within the errors with the total mass of the LG, $`(1.3\pm 0.3)10^{12}M_{\mathrm{}}`$, derived from the radius of the zero-velocity surface. The agreement of these mutually independent mass estimates corresponding to essentially different scale lengthes, $``$ 50 kpc and $`1`$ Mpc, tell us that the major part of mass in the LG is strongly concentrated towards its two biggest members.

## 5 Concluding remarks

The total view of the Local Group and its surroundings is presented in Figure 5 in the Cartesian Supergalactic coordinates. The upper panel shows the Local Complex of galaxies seen in the Supergalactic plane. The nearby galaxies are represented as “illuminated balls”, whose size is proportional to the galaxy luminosity. Spiral and irregular galaxies are indicated as “dark balls”, and elliptical and spheroidal ones are shown as “light balls”. The bottom panel presents the Local Complex from another point of view. The Canes Venatici cloud is situated on the right side, and the Sculptor group is located on the left side. The Local Minivoid occupies the bottom left corner, and the Local Void of Tully extends above the complex plane in the “+Z”-direction. Only one galaxy, NGC 6789, is highly raised above the rest of the objects. The morphological segregation is evident: the dEs and gas-deficient dSphs are tightly concentrated around the large spirals.

Another manifestation of the morphological segregation can be seen from the data of Figure 6, which presents the luminosity function (LF) of nearby galaxies. The upper histogram shows the absolute magnitude distribution for 38 ”field” galaxies from Table 2. The bottom one corresponds to the combined LF of 96 galaxies in the LG, M81 group and CenA group. E and dSph galaxies on the histograms are shaded. Because the effective depth of both the samples is almost the same, we have the first opportunity here to compare LFs of the field galaxies and the members of groups, avoiding strong bias effects. Comparison of the two histograms confirms the well known fact that in dense regions the LF has a steep shape (Binggeli et al. 1985, Ferguson & Sandage, 1990). However, this difference seems to be true for the integrated LF only, when all morphological types of galaxies are combined. Thus, the median absolute magnitude of dSph+dE galaxies is approximately the same ($`10\stackrel{m}{.}7`$) for the field galaxies as well as for the members of the groups. The median absolute magnitudes of dIrr+S galaxies are also similar ($`14\stackrel{m}{.}0`$) for both the samples. Because the relative number of dSph + dE galaxies among the field objects is only 16%, and their fraction among the group members is 53%, the known effect of morphological segregation of galaxies leads to the observed difference in their LFs. Therefore, considering or ignoring gas-deficient dSphs may be the reason for a significant difference in LFs from one sample to another. For instance, the “blind” HIPASS survey (Banks et al. 1999) is insensitive to dSph galaxies, which renders the luminosity function of the HIPASS sample less steep than for optical surveys.

One can assume that the LF of field galaxies is the “initial” LF, being almost undistorted by interactions. In such a case the observed difference in LF for members of groups with respect to the field LF may be described as a result of two processes: a) formation of objects of high luminosity (“cannibals”) due to merging of galaxies in groups, b) creation of new ”tidal” dwarfs, say, via fragmentation of tidal bridges and tails (Duc et al. 2000).

As it has been emphasized by Governato et al (1997) and Klypin et al.(2002), the dispersion of random motions of field galaxies and the centers of groups, $`\sigma _v`$, contains key information about the scenario of galaxy formation and the value of the average density of matter, $`\mathrm{\Omega }_m`$. Sandage et al. (1972) noted that the velocity dispersion around the local Hubble flow is low ($`\sigma _v70`$ km s-1), which corresponds to $`\mathrm{\Omega }_m0.1`$. New observational data, based on much more accurate distance measurements, yield an essentially lower value of $`\sigma _\mathrm{v}`$. Karachentsev et al. (2002a) showed that the peculiar velocity of the centroid of the M81/NGC 2403 group does not exceed 35 km s-1. According to Karachentsev et al. (2002a), peculiar radial velocities of the centroids of the CenA and the M83 groups are $`+18\pm 24`$ km s-1 and $`17\pm 27`$ km s-1, respectively. From analysis of the local velocity field Karachentsev & Makarov (2001) found the value and the direction of the solar apex with respect to the Local Volume galaxies with $`D<7`$ Mpc: $`V_\mathrm{a}=(325\pm 11)`$ km s-1, $`l_\mathrm{a}=(95\pm 2)\mathrm{°},b_\mathrm{a}=(4\pm 1)\mathrm{°}`$, where $`l`$ and $`b`$ are the galactic coordinates. Because the apex of solar motion with respect to the LG centroid is $`V_a=316`$ km s-1, $`l_a=93\mathrm{°}`$, and $`b_a=4\mathrm{°}`$, the peculiar velocity of the LG centroid with respect to the whole Local Volume turns out to be only about 10 km s-1.

Therefore, we conclude that the centroids of all nearby well-studied groups have surprisingly low dispersion of peculiar velocities, which is $`\sigma _v(20÷30)`$ km s-1. The same value is also characteristic of the field galaxies in the vicinity of the LG. Baryshev et al. (2001) suggested that the observed quiescence of the local Hubble flow is a signature of the cosmological vacuum-dominated universe where the velocity perturbations are adiabatically decreasing.

###### Acknowledgements.

We thank the referee,John Huchra, for his useful comments. Support for this work was provided by NASA through grant GO–08601.01–A from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5–26555. This work was partially supported by RFBR grant 01–02–16001 and DFG-RFBR grant 01–02–04006. D.G. acknowledges financial support for this project received from CONICYT through Fondecyt grant 8000002. The Digitized Sky Surveys were produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute under U.S. Government grant NAG W–2166. The images of these surveys are based on photographic data obtained using the Oschin Schmidt Telescope on the Palomar Mountain and the UK Schmidt Telescope. The plates were processed into the present compressed digital form with permission of these institutions. This project made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.