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# The role of 𝜎-meson in 𝜔→𝜋𝜋𝛾 decays and the coupling constant 𝑔_{𝜔𝜎𝛾}

## Abstract

We study the $`\omega \pi \pi \gamma `$ decays by adding to the amplitude calculated within the framework of chiral perturbation theory and vector meson dominance the amplitude of $`\sigma `$-meson intermediate state. We estimate the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ utilizing the experimental value of the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay rate.

The radiative decay processes of the type $`VPP\gamma `$ where P and V belong to the lowest multiplets of vector (V) and pseudoscalar (P) mesons have been a subject of continuous interest both theoretically and experimentally. Although the decay rates of those of these decays that do not involve bremstrahlung radiation are small and consequently such decays are difficult to detect, their study nevertheless offers new physics features about the interesting mechanisms involved in these decays.

Among such radiative $`VPP\gamma `$ decays, the branching ratio for the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ has been measured to be Br$`(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )`$=$`(7.2\pm 2.5)\times 10^5`$ , whereas for the charged mode only on upper limit exists as Br$`(\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma )<3.6\times 10^3`$ . Thus by using the well determined $`\omega `$ full width of $`(8.41\pm 0.09)`$ MeV , we obtain for the decay rates of the radiative decays $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ and $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ the values $`\mathrm{\Gamma }^{(exp)}(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=(0.61\pm 0.22)`$ KeV and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }^{(exp)}(\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma )<31`$ KeV.

The decay $`\omega \pi \pi \gamma `$ as well as other radiative vector meson decays was first studied by Singer , who postulated a mechanism involving the dominance of the intermediate vector meson contribution (VDM), thus assumed that this decay proceeds through an intermediate ($`\rho \pi `$) state as $`\omega (\rho )\pi \pi \pi \gamma `$. Singer also noticed the relation $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma )`$ for the decay rates of these reactions calculated using Born-term amplitudes of VDM contributions where the factor 1/2 is a result of charge conjugation invariance to order $`\alpha `$ which imposes pion pairs of even angular momentum. Renard  later studied radiative decays $`VPP\gamma `$ in a gauge invariant way with current algebra, hard-pion and Ward-identities techniques. He, moreover, established the correspondence between these current algebra results and the structure of the amplitude calculated in the single particle approximation for the intermediate states. He obtained the value $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=350`$ eV for the contribution of the VDM amplitude to the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ which when corrected by the present day data for the relevant masses and coupling constants becomes 227 eV . The contribution of intermediate vector mesons to the decay $`VPP\gamma `$ was also considered by Bramon et al.  using standard Lagrangians obeying the SU(3)-symmetry. Their result for the decay rate of the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ was $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=235`$ eV. Fajfer and Oakes  using a low energy effective Lagrangian approach with gauged Wess-Zumino terms calculated the rate for the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ as $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=690`$ eV. However, it should be noted that Bramon et al.  disagree with the numerical predictions of Fajfer and Oakes  for the decays $`VPP\gamma `$ in general, even if the initial expressions for the Lagrangians are the same. Guetta and Singer  recently calculated the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay rate using the Born amplitude for VDM mechanism as $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=(344\pm 85)`$ eV. In their calculation they noted that the decay rate of $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ is proportional to the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }^2`$ and $`g_{\rho \pi \gamma }^2`$, and they assumed that the decay $`\omega 3\pi `$ proceeds with the same mechanism as $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$, that is as $`\omega (\rho )\pi \pi \pi \pi `$ . They use the experimental input for $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega 3\pi )`$, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\rho ^0\pi ^0\gamma )`$, and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\rho \pi \pi )`$ , and furthermore they employ a momentum dependent width for $`\rho `$-meson. If a constant width is used for $`\rho `$-meson, then the decay rate is obtained as $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=306`$ eV using the Born term for the VDM mechanism.

Recently, on the other hand, a new theoretical approach has been developed for the calculation of $`VPP\gamma `$ decays within the framework of chiral effective Lagrangians using chiral perturbation theory . Bramon et al.  calculated the decay rates for various decays of the type $`VPP\gamma `$ using this approach. They noted that using chiral perturbation theory Lagrangians there is no tree-level contribution to the amplitudes for the decay processes $`VPP\gamma `$ and that the one-loop contributions are finite and to this order no counterterms are required. They considered both $`\pi \pi `$ and $`K\overline{K}`$ intermediate loops. In the good isospin limit the $`\pi `$-loop contributions to the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ amplitude vanish and the contribution of the $`K`$-loops is very small, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )_K=1.8`$ eV.

Since, in addition to the chiral loop contribution, there is always the term in the decay amplitude given by the intermediate vector meson dominance (VDM) mechanism , we obtain for the amplitude of the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ the theoretical result

$`A(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=A_\chi (\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )+A_{VDM}(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )A_{VDM}(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )`$ (1)
where $`A_\chi `$ and $`A_{VDM}`$ are the chiral and VDM amplitudes, respectively. However, the central value of the experimental result $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=0.61`$ KeV for the decay rate of the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ is nearly twice the calculated value employing VDM amplitude, hence twice the theoretical result.

Therefore, the mechanism of the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ should be reexamined. To this end, within the theoretical framework of chiral perturbation theory and vector meson dominance, Guetta and Singer  considered a neglected feature so far, that is the possibility of $`\omega \rho `$ mixing. However, their calculation showed that the $`\omega \rho `$ mixing increases the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay rate by 5$`\%`$ only which is even less than 12$`\%`$ increase provided by using a momentum dependent width for $`\rho `$-meson in the calculation using the VDM amplitude as also noted by these authors.

In this work, we extend our previous studies of the role of $`\sigma `$-meson in $`\rho ^0\pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$  and $`\rho ^0\pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$  decays to $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ and $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ decays. We follow a phenomenological approach and attempt to calculate the decay rate for the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ by considering $`\rho `$-pole vector meson dominance amplitude as well as the $`\sigma `$-pole amplitude. By employing the experimental value for this decay rate we calculate the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ as a function of the experimental $`\sigma `$-meson parameters $`M_\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$ of the $`f_0(4001200)`$ meson  which is the candidate for $`\sigma `$-meson. We also consider for the $`\sigma `$ meson parameters the values suggested by two recent experiments, that is $`M_\sigma =555`$ MeV $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma =540`$ MeV from CLEO , and $`M_\sigma =478`$ MeV $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma =324`$ MeV from Fermilab E791 . We then use the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ we calculate this way to predict the decay rate for the $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ decay assuming that this decay also proceeds through the same mechanism as well, that is its amplitude is provided by $`\rho `$-meson and $`\sigma `$-meson intermediate state amplitudes. Therefore, the measurement of the $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ decay rate may provide us with insight about the mechanism of $`VPP\gamma `$ decays.

Our calculation is based on the Feynman diagrams shown in Fig. 1 for $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay and on those shown in Fig. 2 for $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ decay. We describe the $`\omega \rho \pi `$-vertex by the effective Lagrangian

$`_{\omega \rho \pi }^{int.}=g_{\omega \rho \pi }ϵ^{\mu \nu \alpha \beta }_\mu \omega _\nu _\alpha \stackrel{}{\rho }_\beta \stackrel{}{\pi }`$ (2)
which also conventionally defines the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }`$. Since there is no phase space to measure an $`\omega \rho \pi `$ transition, this vertex should be extracted from theoretical models. Vector Meson Dominance and current-field identities  gives $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }12`$ GeV-1 while approximate SU(3) symmetry suggests $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }16`$ GeV-1 . On the other hand, QCD sum rule calculations obtain the value $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }(1517)`$ GeV-1 , and the light cone QCD sum rules method extracts the value $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }=15`$ GeV-1 . Recently QCD sum rules method for the polarization operator in an external field yields the value $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }16`$ GeV-1 . In this work we use this coupling constant as $`g_{\omega \rho \pi }=15`$ GeV-1. For the $`\sigma \pi \pi `$-vertex we use the effective Lagrangian

$`_{\sigma \pi \pi }^{int.}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}g_{\sigma \pi \pi }M_\sigma \stackrel{}{\pi }\stackrel{}{\pi }\sigma .`$ (3)
The decay width of the $`\sigma `$-meson that follows from this effective Lagrangian is given as

$`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma \mathrm{\Gamma }(\sigma \pi \pi )={\displaystyle \frac{g_{\sigma \pi \pi }^2}{4\pi }}{\displaystyle \frac{3M_\sigma }{8}}\left[1({\displaystyle \frac{2M_\pi }{M_\sigma }})^2\right]^{1/2}.`$ (4)
The $`\rho \pi \gamma `$-vertex is described by the effective Lagrangian

$`_{\rho \pi \gamma }^{int.}={\displaystyle \frac{e}{M_\rho }}g_{\rho \pi \gamma }ϵ^{\mu \nu \alpha \beta }_\mu \stackrel{}{\rho }_\nu \stackrel{}{\pi }_\alpha A_\beta .`$ (5)
The coupling constant $`g_{\rho \pi \gamma }`$ can then be obtained from the experimental partial width of the radiative decay $`\rho \pi \gamma `$ . However, at present there appears to be a discrepancy between the experimental widths of the $`\rho ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ and $`\rho ^+\pi ^+\gamma `$ decays . We use the experimental rate for the decay $`\rho ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ to extract the coupling constant $`g_{\rho \pi \gamma }`$ as $`g_{\rho \pi \gamma }^2=0.485`$ since in our calculation we use the experimental value for the decay rate of $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ to estimate the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$. Finally, we describe the $`\omega \sigma \gamma `$-vertex by the effective Lagrangian

$`_{\omega \sigma \gamma }^{int.}={\displaystyle \frac{e}{M_\omega }}g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }[^\alpha \omega ^\beta _\alpha A_\beta ^\alpha \omega ^\beta _\beta A_\alpha ]\sigma ,`$ (6)
which also defines the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$.

In our calculation of the invariant amplitudes for the decays $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ and $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$, in the $`\sigma `$-meson propagator we make the replacement $`M_\sigma M_\sigma \frac{1}{2}i\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$ , where $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$ is given by Eq. 4. Since the experimental candidate for $`\sigma `$-meson $`f_0(4001200)`$ has a width of (600-1000) MeV , we estimate the coupling costant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ from the experimental decay rate of the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay for a set of values of $`\sigma `$-meson parameters $`M_\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$. We furthermore consider the results of two recent experiments for $`\sigma `$ meson parameters -. On the other hand, for $`\rho `$-meson propagator we also make the replacement $`M_\rho M_\rho \frac{1}{2}i\mathrm{\Gamma }_\rho `$ but use the constant experimental width of $`\rho `$-meson.

In terms of the invariant amplitude $``$(Eγ, E1), the differential decay probability of $`\omega \pi \pi \gamma `$ decay for an unpolarized $`\omega `$-meson at rest is then given as

$`{\displaystyle \frac{d\mathrm{\Gamma }}{dE_\gamma dE_1}}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{(2\pi )^3}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{8M_\omega }}^2,`$ (7)
where Eγ and E1 are the photon and pion energies respectively. We perform an average over the spin states of $`\omega `$-meson and a sum over the polarization states of the photon. The decay width $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(\omega \pi \pi \gamma )`$ is then obtained by integration

$`\mathrm{\Gamma }=({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}){\displaystyle _{E_{\gamma ,min.}}^{E_{\gamma ,max.}}}𝑑E_\gamma {\displaystyle _{E_{1,min.}}^{E_{1,max.}}}𝑑E_1{\displaystyle \frac{d\mathrm{\Gamma }}{dE_\gamma dE_1}}`$ (8)
where now the factor ($`\frac{1}{2}`$) is included in the calculation of the width of the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay because of the $`\pi ^0\pi ^0`$ pair in the final state. The minimum photon energy is E$`{}_{\gamma ,min.}{}^{}=0`$ and the maximum photon energy is given as $`E_{\gamma ,max.}=(M_\omega ^24M_\pi ^2)/2M_\omega `$=341 MeV. The maximum and minimum values for pion energy E1 are given by

$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2(2E_\gamma M_\omega M_\omega ^2)}}[2E_\gamma ^2M_\omega +3E_\gamma M_\omega ^2M_\omega ^3`$ (9)
$`\pm E_\gamma \sqrt{(2E_\gamma M_\omega +M_\omega ^2)(2E_\gamma M_\omega +M_\omega ^24M_\pi ^2)}].`$ (10)
We first consider the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay and using the experimental value for its decay rate we estimate the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$. Since the theoretical decay rate we calculate using Feynman diagrams in Fig. 1 results in a quadric equation for the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$, for a given set of $`\sigma `$-meson parameters $`M_\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$ we obtain two values for this coupling constant, one being positive and one being negative. We present the results of our calculation in the first two columns of Table 1. We then consider the $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ decay and using the experimental upper limit for its decay rate and the theoretical value we calculate from Feynman diagrams in Fig. 2 this time we obtain upper and lower limits, in other words an interval, for the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$. The results are presented in the last two columns of Table 1 again for different sets of parameters $`M_\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$. These results determine an interval for $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$, for example for $`M_\sigma =500`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma =600`$ MeV the interval is $`1.73<g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }<1.58`$. Examination of the results in the first two and the last two columns of Table 1 show that these results are consistent with each other. We then, by using the values of the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ we estimate from the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay, calculate the decay rate of $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^+\gamma `$ decay using a given set of $`\sigma `$-meson parameters $`M_\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$. We like to note, however, that our results for the $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ decay rate does not change for different set of $`M_\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$ as expected, so that we only give the result for the set $`M_\sigma =478`$ MeV and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma =374`$ MeV obtained in the recent Fermilab experiment E791 . If we choose the positive value for $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }=0.13`$ the resulting branching ratio for the decay $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ is $`Br(\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma )=14.6\times 10^5`$ and for $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }=0.27`$ it is also $`Br(\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma )=14.6\times 10^5`$ in accordance with Singer’s theorem .

The photon spectra for the decay rate of the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ are plotted in Fig. 3 and in Fig. 4. In these figures we use the $`\sigma `$-meson parameters $`M_\sigma =478`$ MeV, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma =324`$ MeV resulting in the coupling constant $`g_{\sigma \pi \pi }=5.29`$. In Fig. 3 we use the positive value of the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }=0.13`$ and in Fig. 4 the negative value $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }=0.27`$. The general shape of the spectrum as well as the relative contributions of different terms for positive and negative values of $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ are quite different. These figures clearly show the importance of the $`\sigma `$-amplitude term and of the interference term between $`\sigma `$-amplitude and VDM-amplitude. As a matter of fact for these values of $`M_\sigma `$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma `$, and for $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }=0.13`$ we obtain for the decay rate of $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ calculated using $`\sigma `$\- and VDM-amplitudes the results $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{VDM}(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=291`$ eV and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma (\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=156`$ eV, and the interference term between $`\sigma `$\- and VDM-amplitudes contributes $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{inter}(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=167`$ eV to the decay rate. On the other hand for the negative value of the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }=0.27`$ we obtain for the decay rate of $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ calculated using $`\sigma `$\- and VDM-amplitudes the results $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{VDM}(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=291`$ eV and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_\sigma (\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=674`$ eV, and the interference term between $`\sigma `$\- and VDM-amplitudes now makes a negative contribution $`\mathrm{\Gamma }_{inter}(\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma )=347`$ eV to the decay rate.

We like to stress that by considering the contribution of the $`\sigma `$-meson intermediate state to the amplitudes for the $`\omega \pi \pi \gamma `$ decays we may resolve the discrepancy between the experimental value and the theoretical result calculated within the framework of chiral perturbation theory and Vector Meson Dominance for the $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ decay rate. Moreover, since we also make prediction for the photon spectra of $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$ decay its measurement can provide a test for the mechanism of $`\omega \pi \pi \gamma `$ decays, and the sign of the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$.

Furthermore, the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ is an important physical input for studies of $`\omega `$-meson photoproduction on nucleons . Although at sufficiently high energies and low momentum transfers electromagnetic production of vector mesons on nucleon targets has been explained by Pomeron exchange models, at low energies near threshold scalar and pseudoscalar meson exchange mechanisms becomes important , so that the coupling constant $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }`$ is required for the analysis of photoproduction reactions of $`\omega `$-meson on nucleons near threshold within the framework of meson-exchange mechanism.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank M. P. Rekalo for suggesting this problem to us and for his interest during the course of our work. We also like to thank P. Singer for drawing our attention to an error in the preprint of our paper.

Figure Captions:

Feynman Diagrams for the decay $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$

Feynman Diagrams for the decay $`\omega \pi ^+\pi ^{}\gamma `$

The photon spectra for the decay width of $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ for $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }>0`$. The contributions of different terms are indicated.

The photon spectra for the decay width of $`\omega \pi ^0\pi ^0\gamma `$ for $`g_{\omega \sigma \gamma }<0`$. The contributions of different terms are indicated.


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# On the potentials yielding cosmological scaling solutions

## I Introduction

Scaling solutions of cosmological models with a self-interacting scalar field have attracted a lot of interest recently. It has been advocated that scalar field cosmologies offer a way to reconcile the standard cosmological model with the large scale structure (LSS) data  and the remarkable results of the supernovae observations  that indicate that the baryonic matter density parameter is bound to be $`\mathrm{\Omega }_m\stackrel{<}{}0.3`$ and that the universe is positively accelerated at present. Scalar fields would thus act like a decaying cosmological constant, but would otherwise have the advantage of evading some of the longstanding difficulties faced by the latter .

Rather than knowing the exact solutions of the scalar field cosmologies, what matters most is the asymptotic behaviour of models. The self-similar solutions that have been found when the potential of the self-interacting scalar field is exponential are particular remarkable in this sense . They correspond to an equilibrium between the different kinds of energy that compete. Indeed the energy density of the scalar field scales with the same rate as that of the barotropic matter (some authors  refer to these solutions as trackers and denote scaling solutions those for which the energy density of the scalar field evolves as a power of that of matter; in what follows we shall adopt this terminology). Moreover these solutions attract all the other phase space trajectories in the case of flat space models and, hence, provide the late-time asymptotic behaviour for the scalar field cosmologies under consideration. This gives, on the one hand, a possible answer for why a non-vanishing scalar field does not introduce radical changes with respect to the usual Einstein-de Sitter rate of expansion of the universe. On other hand, it may contribute an explanation to the difference between the actual density of matter and the critical energy density of the spatially flat isotropic models. Futhermore, the scalar field component would also fulfill the convenient role of delaying the time of matter-radiation equality which would help fitting the power spectrum of large scale structure .

In the literature we find mainly two sorts of potentials underlying the tracking and the scaling behaviour: the exponential potentials and a class of power law potentials  respectively. However it is worth noticing that the solutions corresponding to the latter set of potentials were only shown to hold in the regime where the perfect fluid component fully dominates the expansion and the energy density of the scalar field is negligible. Regarding the solutions termed trackers : the self-adjustment of the behaviour of the energy density of one or more scalar fields with that of matter has been investigated in Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) models  both with and without curvature, in spatially homogeneous, but anisotropic models , and in FRW models in scalar-tensor gravity theories (also refered to as non-minimal coupling) .

Here we address the question of whether there are any classes of potentials, besides the exponential, yielding the self-similar behaviour found in the latter case. In general the motivation for considering exponential potentials is drawn from supergravity (superstrings) where these type of potentials commonly arise after the dimensional reduction into a 4-dimensional space-time theory. However the resulting effective potentials are seldom simply exponentials and exhibit some form factors due to couplings between fields. On other hand, it has been claimed that the only potentials inducing the tracker scaling solutions are the exponential potentials . In the present work we perform a phase-plane analysis of the complete dynamical system corresponding to a flat FRW cosmological models with a perfect fluid and a self-interacting scalar field and show that every positive and monotonous potential which is asymptotically exponential also yields a tracking solution. Our results are the outcome of taking into consideration the full third order dynamical system. In previous work in the literature the analysis which were carried out miss an equation for the scalar field and the resulting reduced system is only appropriate to study the exponential potential cases.

## II Scalar field cosmologies

Consider the flat homogeneous and isotropic universes given by the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) metric

$$\mathrm{d}s^2=\mathrm{d}t^2+a^2(t)[\mathrm{d}r^2+r^2(\mathrm{d}\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2\theta \mathrm{d}\varphi ^2].$$
(1)
Assume that the matter sources are a perfect fluid characterized by the equation of state $`p=(\gamma 1)\rho `$, where $`0\gamma 2`$ is a constant, and a self-interacting scalar field $`\phi `$ with the potential $`V(\phi )`$. The field equations then read

$`H^2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{8\pi G}{3}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\dot{\phi }^2}{2}}+V(\phi )+\rho \right),`$ (2)
$`\ddot{\phi }+3{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{a}}{a}}\dot{\phi }`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{V(\phi )}{\phi }},`$ (3)
where the overdots stand for the derivatives with respect to the time $`t`$, and $`H=\dot{a}/a`$. Another equation which is useful is

$$\dot{H}=\frac{\mathrm{}}{2}\left(\dot{\phi }^2+\gamma \rho \right).$$
(4)
Following  we introduce the new time variable $`N=\mathrm{ln}\stackrel{~}{a}`$ and the expansion normalized variables

$`x`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}\dot{\phi }}{\sqrt{6}H}}`$ (5)
$`y`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}V(\phi )}{\sqrt{3}H}}`$ (6)
where $`\mathrm{}^2=8\pi G`$ (in what follows we shall adopt units that set $`\mathrm{}^2=1`$).

We thus obtain the following third order dynamical system

$`(x)^{}`$ $`=`$ $`3x\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{_\phi V}{V}}\right)y^2+{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}x\left[2x^2+\gamma (1x^2y^2)\right]`$ (7)
$`y^{}`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{_\phi V}{V}}\right)xy+{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}y\left[2x^2+\gamma (1x^2y^2)\right],`$ (8)
$`\phi ^{}`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{6}x.`$ (9)
where we have used $`\rho /3H^2=\mathrm{\Omega }_m=1x^2y^2`$.

The latter equation (9) is usually overlooked and only the former two are considered in the previous work on scaling solutions. This is due to the fact that if one considers an exponential potential $`V(\phi )\mathrm{exp}(\lambda \phi )`$ the two equations, (7) and (8), form a two dimensional closed autonomous system of the polynomial type whose qualitative behaviour can be easily determined, and which gives rise to scaling (tracker) solutions .

Here, we shall continue to consider the full system. We immediately see from the consideration of equations (7-9) that they permit the study of any other positive potentials $`V(\phi )`$ besides the exponential. Whenever $`V(\phi )V_0\mathrm{exp}(\lambda \phi )`$ equation (9) tells us that all singular points must have $`x=0`$. The former equations then reduce to

$`x^{}`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}}_\phi \mathrm{ln}Vy^2`$ (10)
$`y^{}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}\gamma y(1y^2),`$ (11)
We may rule out the line of equilibria $`(x=0,y=0,\phi )`$, which corresponds to a fluid dominated universe and is unstable in the $`y`$ direction with eigenvalue $`3\gamma /20`$. Scaling solutions, in the sense of power law behaviour for the scalar field energy density, for fluid dominated universes were studied by Liddle and Scherrer . In this approximation, they found a late time attractor for which both the kinetic and the potential energy of the field behave as a certain power of the inverse scale factor, while the dominant component scales as a smaller power of the inverse scale factor, for potentials with null extrema. Their analysis cannot be retrieved through the study of system (7-9), which becomes singular when $`V(\phi )=0`$. Anyway, our interest is the search for trackers, that is, solutions for which the field’s energy density (and its kinetic energy and potential as well) and the fluid’s energy density all scale as the same power of the scale factor. And this means equilibria of (7-9) in the region $`0<x^2+y^2<1`$. Considering again the system (7-9), we see that there exists only another class of fixed points, namely those of the form

$$p_{crit}=(x=0,y=1,\phi =\phi _0),$$
(12)
where $`\phi _0`$ is such that $`_\phi V=0`$. This equilibrium point is degenerate, but it is easy to check taking into account the second order terms in the $`y^{}`$ equation that it is stable provided that $`\phi _0`$ is a minimum of $`V(\phi )`$. Again, this is no tracker solution. In this case, we have the opposite scenario, a field dominated universe as a result of an effective cosmological constant.

This analysis has lead many authors to claim that only exponential potentials may give rise to tracker solutions . However, we must still explore the possibility of the existence of equilibria at $`\phi =\pm \mathrm{}`$. In fact, the phase space of the full three dimensional system (7-9) is not compact, and there may exist late time attractors with the required behaviour on the boundary $`\phi =\pm \mathrm{}`$ . In what follows, we shall focus on a particular potential,

$$V(\phi )=\left(\frac{2\mathrm{\Gamma }}{\alpha +\alpha c(\phi )}\right)^{1/(\lambda 1)}\left(\frac{(2+\mathrm{\Gamma })+(2\mathrm{\Gamma })c(\phi )}{2(1+c(\phi ))}\right),$$
(13)
where

$$c(\phi )=\mathrm{cosh}(\sqrt{3\mathrm{\Gamma }}(\lambda 1)\phi ),$$
(14)
and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, $`\alpha `$ and $`\lambda >1`$ are positive constants. This particular potential is motivated by the fact that, in the absence of any other matter component, it corresponds to an equation of state of the form

$$p+\rho =\mathrm{\Gamma }\rho \alpha \rho ^\lambda ,$$
(15)
which is a natural generalization of the ’exponential’ equation of state

$$p+\rho =\gamma \rho .$$
(16)
This is only to fix ideas, and it will become clear that the only essential feature of the potential is that it should behave asymptotically as an exponential potential. Barrow  has derived exact solutions of string-driven cosmologies introducing a bulk viscosity pressure which yields an equation of state equivalent to (15) when the spatial curvature vanishes.

Introducing the auxiliary variable $`\psi =1/\phi `$, we obtain

$$\psi ^{}=\psi ^2\sqrt{6}x$$
(17)
which shows that the ’infinity manifold’ $`\psi =0`$ is invariant. The flow on this invariant manifold is given by the following equations obtained from Eqs. (7,8) in the limit $`\psi 0`$

$`(x)^{}`$ $`=`$ $`3x+k\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}}y^2+{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}x\left[2x^2+\gamma (1x^2y^2)\right]`$ (18)
$`y^{}`$ $`=`$ $`k\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}}xy+{\displaystyle \frac{3}{2}}y\left[2x^2+\gamma (1x^2y^2)\right],`$ (19)
where $`k=\sqrt{3\mathrm{\Gamma }}`$. This system was studied in  (note that in Ref.  the potential is $`V=V_0\mathrm{exp}\lambda \phi `$, i.e., $`\lambda `$ is used instead of $`k`$), and it has a sink whenever $`k^2>3\gamma `$ located at $`(x=\sqrt{3/2}\gamma /k,y=\sqrt{3(2\gamma )\gamma /(2k^2)}`$. Since the $`x`$ coordinate for this sink is positive, equation (17) tells us that this equilibrium point is a sink for the full regularized system on the $`\phi =+\mathrm{}`$ invariant boundary. Moreover, this equilibrium point is the only stable equilibrium of the full system, and will therefore attract almost all the initial conditions. Therefore, just as in the case of the exponential potential, the only late time attractor for the system for these values of the parameters is a tracker scaling solution. This conclusion carries over to every positive and monotonous potential, provided that its asymptotic behaviour is exponential. In fact for all these potentials the projection of the late-time flow on the $`(x,y)`$-plane is qualitatively similar to the flow of the autonomous system (18,19) associated with the exponential potential.

## III Discussion

The main conclusion of our work is that tracker solutions are compatible with a wide class of potentials and thus are not restricted to the exponential potential case. The potentials must be positive and monotonous, and have to asymptotically approach the exponential behaviour. As the qualitative behaviour of the models based on the extended class of tracker potentials discussed in this paper is basically the same as that of the models based on exponential potentials, they will face the same sort of difficulties as those faced by the latter  in the later stages of the evolution of the universe.

However in the early universe the differences that are allowed with regard to the exponential potential permit greater flexibility in building models with scalar fields. For instance the self-interacting scalar field cosmologies based on the potential of Eq. (13) have an early-time regime dominated by the scalar field (when $`x,y0`$). During this stage the effective equation of state is $`\gamma _\phi \mathrm{\Gamma }s/(s+\alpha )`$, where $`s=(a/a_0)^{3(\lambda 1)\mathrm{\Gamma }}`$ and thus, for $`s`$ sufficiently small, $`\gamma _\phi 0`$ yielding slow-roll inflation. Indeed the relevant part of the potential during such a stage is $`V(\phi )(\mathrm{\Gamma }/\alpha )^{1/(\lambda 1)}\left(1\nu \phi ^2\right)`$, where $`\nu =3\mathrm{\Gamma }(\lambda 1)[\lambda (2\mathrm{\Gamma })(\lambda 1)]/8`$ is a constant, and is akin to the pseudo-Nambu-Golsdtone boson of natural inflation  which gives slow-roll without fine-tuning . The required minimum number of e-foldings is guaranteed by $`3\mathrm{\Gamma }(\lambda 1)\stackrel{<}{}\mathrm{ln}\alpha /60`$, and hence does not restrict the value of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Since the potential (13) eventually yields the tracker behaviour (when $`\mathrm{\Gamma }>\gamma _{matter}`$), it permits a smooth transition out of quasi-de Sitter inflation into an epoch dominated by the matter. In particular, if $`\mathrm{\Gamma }>\gamma _{matter}=4/3`$, the scalar field self-adjusts to the radiation behaviour and the scale factor evolves as a power-law $`a(t)t^{1/2}`$. Such a smooth transition cannot be achieved with a bare exponential potential which either yields eternal inflation (whenever $`k^2<3\gamma _{matter}`$) or, alternatively, yields the tracking behaviour without any stage of inflation. In this latter case inflation is usually fulfilled through the additional consideration of yet another scalar field devoted to that purpose. The simpler model based on the potential (13) thus illustrates the underlying possibilities of the wider class of tracking potentials presented in this work to try and meet the various theoretical and observational constraints that have to be faced by a scalar field cosmology.

## Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the finantial support from Fundação de Ciência e Tecnologia under the grant PBIC/C/FIS/2215/95.