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# Optical observations of a newly identified compact galaxy group near the Zone of AvoidanceBased on data obtained at Calar Alto (Spain) and Asiago (Italy) observatories.

## 1 Introduction

As it is well known, our view of the extragalactic space at low Galactic latitudes is obscured by a patchy layer of dust, whose inner part ($`|b|10`$°) is called Zone of Avoidance (ZoA). However, numerous multi-wavelength surveys carried out by different research groups (e.g. Nakanishi et al. 1997; Kraan-Korteweg & Lahav 2000; Weinberger et al. 2000, and references therein) in the last decades led to the detection of tens of thousand of galaxies in this band of the Milky Way. Such a huge galaxy database has a high potential both for extragalactic studies and for studies of our own Galaxy. In particular we started a project (S. Temporin et al., in preparation) devoted to investigate the dust distribution in the Milky Way in dependence on Galactic longitude and latitude. This purpose will be achieved by evaluating the total foreground Galactic extinction along many lines-of-sight to galaxies in the ZoA and its vicinity through BVRI CCD-photometry. Indeed, depending on their morphological type, galaxies have well-defined intrinsic total and effective optical colors (Buta & Williams 1995), which can be used to determine the color excess and then the visual absorption AV. In order to largely avoid the fine-scale structure of Galactic dust (clumpiness) we selected close pairs and/or multiple systems of galaxies to reduce the errors in the determination of Galactic extinction along a specific line-of-sight.

As an aside we have performed a spectroscopic follow-up of these selected systems, whose physical properties are still widely unknown, in order to establish, through the determination of their radial velocities, which of them are physically bound and not only chance projections on the plane of the sky. We have identified in this way a new compact galaxy group at low galactic latitude ($`l=143^{}.64`$, $`b=13^{}.29`$), to which we refer here as CG J0247+44.9, containing six members. Two of them form a close interacting pair, already known as IRAS 02443+4437, other three galaxies are cataloged in the 2MASS survey (Huchra et al. 2000) and the last one is uncataloged. We present here the analysis of photometric (Sect. 2) and spectroscopic data (Sect. 3) of this group. We discuss the individual properties of its members in Sect. 4 and the global properties of the group in Sect. 5. The main results are summarized in Sect. 6.

## 2 BVRI photometry

Data in the broad-band BVRI Johnson-Cousins system were obtained under photometric conditions at the 1.23 m telescope of the Calar Alto Observatory (Spain) in January 1999. The images covered a field of view of $``$ 8.5$`\times `$8.5 with a spatial scale of 0.5 arcsec pixel-1. Observational details are summarized in Table 1.

The images were reduced with IRAF111IRAF is distributed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, which are operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. following the standard steps of bias subtraction, flat fielding and cosmic rays removal. An additional defringing procedure was applied to the I band image. A Landolt (1992) standard field was observed three times during the night for photometric calibration purposes. The calibration constants (see Table 2) were determined by means of the IRAF package PHOTCAL through a uniformly weighted fit of the following transformation equations:

$$B=b+B_0k_\mathrm{B}X{}_{\mathrm{B}}{}^{}+C_\mathrm{B}(BV)$$
(1)
$$V=v+V_0k_\mathrm{V}X{}_{\mathrm{V}}{}^{}+C_\mathrm{V}(BV)$$
(2)
$$R=r+R_0k_\mathrm{R}X{}_{\mathrm{R}}{}^{}+C_\mathrm{R}(VR)$$
(3)
$$I=i+I_0k_\mathrm{I}X_\mathrm{I}+C_\mathrm{I}(RI)$$
(4)
where $`B`$, $`V`$, $`R`$, and $`I`$ are calibrated magnitudes, $`b`$, $`v`$, $`r`$, and $`i`$ are sky-subtracted instrumental magnitudes normalized to 1 s exposure and $`X_\mathrm{B}`$, $`X_\mathrm{V}`$, $`X_\mathrm{R}`$, and $`X_\mathrm{I}`$ are the airmasses at the time of the observations.

We have identified seven galaxies in the field, two of which form an interactive pair known as IRAS 02443+4437 (Fig. 1). We have studied the morphology of each galaxy and calculated the total magnitudes in the four bands by means of GIM2D (Simard 1998; Simard et al. 2001), an IRAF package written to perform an automated bulge-disk decomposition of the surface brightness profile. GIM2D is well suited for low signal-to-noise images of distant galaxies since it has the considerable advantage of including a PSF deconvolution in the bi-dimensional fit. The effects of the distance in dimming the outer parts of galaxies’ disks can be considered comparable to the effects produced by heavy Galactic foreground extinction in nearby galaxies. Therefore the suitability of the program to the bulge-disk decomposition of distant galaxies makes it also particularly appropriate in the case of low-Galactic-latitude galaxies – like those studied in this work – which might be heavily affected by foreground Galactic extinction.

The program gives as output, the values of the best-fit parameters and asymmetry indices, besides an image of the galaxy model and a residual image obtained by subtracting the model from the original one. This fitting method has already been successfully applied by Tran et al. (2001) to a sample of galaxies belonging to poor galaxy groups and spanning a wide range in morphological type. They found that the ratio between the bulge and the total luminosity (B/T) can be used on average as a robust morphology indicator to discriminate between early-type bulge-dominated (B/T $`>`$ 0.4) and late-type disk-dominated (B/T $`<`$ 0.4) galaxies.

The PSF images in the four photometric bands to be used during the galaxy fitting procedure were obtained with the DAOPHOT (Stetson & Harris 1988) package inside IRAF. The isophotal area of the galaxies was defined by means of the galaxy photometry package SExtractor V2.2.2 (Bertin & Arnouts 1996). The fit uses an exponential law for the disk, while a classical de Vaucouleurs $`r^{1/4}`$-law (de Vaucouleurs 1948) or a Sérsic profile (Sérsic 1968) can be chosen for the bulge. In the last case, the $`n`$ index of the Sérsic law is one of the fitting parameters. We attempted fits of the seven galaxies with a Sérsic law plus exponential disk. When the $`n`$ index was equal or very close to 4, we applied a de Vaucouleurs law for the bulge. In Table 3 we list the best-fit parameters from GIM2D: bulge to total light ratio (B/T), bulge effective radius ($`R_e`$), ellipticity ($`e`$), disk scale length ($`R_d`$), inclination ($`i`$), Sérsic law index ($`n`$), half-light radius ($`R_{half}`$), asymmetry index ($`R_A`$), together with the reduced $`\chi ^2`$. We show in Fig. 2 the BVRI thumbnails of each galaxy and in Fig.3 the corresponding residuals after subtraction of the best-fit galaxy models.

The two parameters B/T and $`n`$ were used for the morphological classification of the galaxies (see Sect. 4). Our B/T values in the B-band were compared with those plotted as a function of the morphological type T by Simien & de Vaucouleurs (1986). Additionally we took into account the growing evidence that late-type spirals host non-classical bulges, better reproduced by an exponential law ($`n`$ = 1) (Andredakis & Sanders 1994; Andredakis 1998; Carollo et al. 2001).

The inclination correction terms A$`_{\mathrm{B}_\mathrm{i}}`$, E(B$``$V)i and the selective extinction RV have been calculated as a function of the morphological type T and of the B-band disk inclination $`i`$ (instead of the ratio R25 between the major and minor diameters at the $`\mu _\mathrm{B}`$ = 25 mag arcsec-2 isophote) following the instructions given in the introduction to the Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies (de Vaucouleurs et al. 1991, RC3). The inclination corrections in the other photometric bands were derived by application of the (Cardelli, Clayton, & Mathis 1989, CCM) extinction law. The inclination corrected total and effective colors B$``$V, V$``$R, and V$``$I of three galaxies, selected for being sufficiently separated one another and not too much inclined, were used to estimate the total foreground Galactic extinction. For this purpose the three colors available for each galaxy were compared with the mean values for the relevant morphological type published by Buta & Williams (1995), and the corresponding color excesses E(B$``$V) were calculated and averaged. Finally the weighted mean of the values obtained for these three objects, E(B$``$V) = 0.29 $`\pm `$ 0.06 (AB = 1.19 mag, assuming a selective extinction RV = 3.1) was used as a measure of the Galactic extinction in the direction of the galaxy group. We stress that this value is significantly different from the ones available from NED222NASA Extragalactic Database, AB = 0.610 and AB = 0.642 mag, based on the maps of Schlegel et al. (1998) and Burstein & Heiles (1982), respectively. This discrepancy could be due to small-scale fluctuations in the foreground extinction as a consequence of the patchy dust distribution at low Galactic latitudes. Such fluctuations cannot be detected by interpolating data from large scale maps like those cited above. In Table 4 we list observed magnitudes and colors of the seven galaxies in the field and the corresponding values (in bold) corrected for inclination and Galactic extinction.

## 3 Spectroscopy

Long-slit spectra of the individual galaxies were obtained during two different runs in September and November 2001 at the 1.82 m telescope of the Asiago Observatory (Italy) equipped with AFOSC, which has a spatial scale of 0.47 arcsec pixel-1 over a 1k x 1k CCD. The grism n.4, chosen for its large spectral coverage, gave a dispersion of 4.2 Å pixel-1 in the effective range of 4200 – 7700 Å. A slit width of 1.26 and 2.1 arcsec, selected according to the seeing conditions, produced a spectral resolution of $``$ 13 Å and 24 Å in the two runs, respectively. Typical exposure times were of 1800 sec each. See Table 1 for details about the observations.

Spectra were reduced with IRAF following the usual steps of bias subtraction, flat-field correction, cosmic-rays removal, wavelength calibration by means of Helium-Argon or Thorium comparison lamps and night-sky subtraction. Finally they were flux calibrated through the observation of the spectrophotometric standard stars BD+284211 and G191-b2b. The 1D spectra obtained adding the total flux of each object with the task APALL were corrected for Galactic extinction using the value E(B$``$V)=0.29 derived above and applying the CCM extinction law.

Radial velocities were calculated by measuring the position of the emission-lines, where detectable, or by using the cross-correlation technique Tonry & Davis (1979) when only the absorption lines were present. Six out of seven galaxies show comparable redshifts (Table 5), suggesting that they are members of a group; their spectra are shown in Fig. 4. Only in the case of galaxy “g” (2MASXi J0247387+445008) it was impossible to apply the above methods due to the low S/N ratio of the spectrum. Nevertheless we could recognize some absorption lines by comparing the spectrum with an early-type galaxy template333Galaxy template spectra by Kinney et al. (1996) are available from ftp://ftp.stsci.edu/cdbs/cdbs2/grid/kc96/ Kinney et al. (1996) and we estimated a redshift of $``$ 0.17. This estimate is in agreement with the observed color B$``$R = 2.13, considerably redder than typical colors for the same morphological type at low redshift (see e.g. Fig. 2 of Liu 1999). Therefore object “g” appears to be a background galaxy and not a member of the group.

## 4 Notes on individual members

CG J0247+449a. The morphological analysis in all four photometric bands indicates a regular galaxy without asymmetric structures. It is well fitted by an exponential bulge (n $``$ 1) and the B/T ratio is $``$ 0.37. No residuals are visible after model subtraction (see Fig. 3). For this object (also known as 2MASXi J) we suggest a morphological type Sa/Sab. The optical spectrum shows weak continuum and emission lines (Fig. 4). \[O III\]5007 is the brightest emission line, while Balmer hydrogen lines are partly absorbed by the underlying stellar continuum. After the subtraction of this stellar contribution by means of a template galaxy spectrum, following the prescriptions by Ho, Filippenko, & Sargent (1993), we observe an H$`\alpha `$/H$`\beta `$ ratio $``$ 2.89, very close to the theoretical value of 2.86 for Case B recombination at electronic temperature Te = 104 K (Osterbrock 1989), indicating very low internal extinction. The logarithmic ratios \[O III\]5007/H$`\beta `$ = 0.95$`\pm `$0.34 and \[N II\]6583/H$`\alpha `$ = -0.30$`\pm `$0.18, even with large uncertainties, are typical of a Seyfert-2 nucleus (Veilleux & Osterbrock 1987).

CG J0247+449b. This galaxy (2MASXi J) shows a B/T ratio $``$ 0.57, almost constant in all bands (see Table 3). The bulge is well reproduced by a de Vaucouleurs $`r^{1/4}`$-law, therefore we classify this object as E/S0. The residuals show in each band a ring-like structure at a radius of $``$ 4 arcsec (better visible in the R-band in Fig. 3) and a central X-structure aligned with the major and minor photometric axes, which indicates a disky shape of the inner isophotes (Schweizer 1998). Numerical simulations (Naab & Burkert 2001) have shown that faint ellipticals with disky isophotes might be the final product of unequal mass disk galaxy mergers (mass ratio 3:1 or 4:1).

The integrated spectrum of the galaxy shows only absorption lines and a continuum typical of an early-type galaxy (Fig. 4).

CG J0247+449c. This galaxy (2MASXi J) has a B/T ratio around or even less than $``$ 0.4. Its bulge is well fitted by a de Vaucouleurs $`r^{1/4}`$-law like for object “b”. So we classify it as S0/Sa. The residuals in VRI bands show the presence of a nuclear source, confirmed by the analysis of the optical spectrum. Indeed, the spectrum has the continuum of an early-type spiral (see Fig. 4) with deep metal absorption lines but with H$`\alpha `$, \[N II\]6583 and \[S II\]6724 emissions. Since the \[N II\]6583 line appears more intense than H$`\alpha `$ and the \[O III\]5007 is barely detectable at noise level, we suggest that this galaxy could host a LINER. In order to avoid an underestimate of the H$`\alpha `$ flux due to the underlying stellar absorption, we applied a template correction, as in the case of object “a”. After this correction the two emission lines H$`\alpha `$ and \[N II\]6583 have comparable intensity. The diagnostic logarithmic emission-line ratios \[N II\]6583/H$`\alpha `$ and \[S II\]6724/H$`\alpha `$ are 0.22$`\pm `$0.10 and -0.16$`\pm `$0.15, respectively, confirming the classification as a LINER.

CG J0247+449d. Object “d” is a galaxy seen almost edge-on ($`i`$ $``$ 80°). Although it is generally not recommended for highly inclined galaxies, we attempted a morphological analysis in this case, as well. Despite the lack of visible residuals after the subtraction of the bidimensional galaxy model in the four photometric bands (Fig. 3), the output values of the fit (Table 3) are somehow puzzling, suggesting that the bulge-disk decomposition mostly failed. Therefore we limit our comments to point out that the galaxy is significantly asymmetric and the bulge seems to follow an exponential law. We propose a Sbc classification for this object. The optical spectrum is very faint, but weak extended \[S II\]6724 and H$`\alpha `$ emission lines are measurable and their logarithmic ratio is -0.26$`\pm `$0.21, somewhat higher than expected for H II-like galaxies. However the non-detection of \[N II\]6583 and \[O III\]5007 indicates a low ionization degree of the gas. The H$`\beta `$ emission-line is detectable at noise level. We interpret this emission spectrum as an indication of a normal level of star formation for a late-type spiral galaxy.

CG J0247+449e/f. These two galaxies form a close pair known as IRAS 02443+4437. Despite the application of the maximum entropy algorithm to the far infrared (FIR) raw data extracted from the IRAS database to approach the diffraction limit of the telescope, the galaxy pair could not be resolved. A single infrared source, centered at the position of galaxy “f”, is detectable only at 60 (Fig. 5) and 100 $`\mu `$m with measured fluxes 0.618$`\pm `$0.005 and 1.313$`\pm `$0.085, respectively. The total FIR luminosity between 40 and 120 $`\mu `$m calculated following Helou et al. (1985) is LFIR = $`2.75\times 10^{10}`$ L, which yields a total star formation rate SFR = 14.4 M (Hunter et al. 1986). The spectroscopic analysis reveals that the FIR emission is dominated by galaxy “e”, which shows bright emission lines typical of a starburst galaxy. Measured fluxes of the emission lines (Table 6) have been corrected for internal extinction AV = 1.61 determined assuming a theoretical H$`\alpha `$/H$`\beta `$ = 2.86 and applying the CCM extinction law. The logarithmic diagnostic ratios \[N II\]6583/H$`\alpha `$ = -0.41$`\pm `$0.02, \[S II\]6724/H$`\alpha `$ = $`0.51\pm 0.04`$, \[O I\]6300/H$`\alpha `$ = $`1.61\pm 0.13`$, and \[O III\]5007/H$`\beta `$ = $`0.16\pm 0.06`$ confirm the thermal nature of the ionizing source. The reddening corrected H$`\alpha `$ luminosity L(H$`\alpha `$) = $`5.1\times 10^{41}`$ erg s-1 corresponds to a SFR $``$ 4 M yr-1 (Kennicutt 1998). This value is lower than the SFR of the galaxy pair estimated from the FIR luminosity, but it only accounts for the portion of the galaxy covered by the slit. The spectrum of object “f” shows the typical absorption features of an early-type galaxy, without any emission line, but with a relatively blue continuum. The morphological analysis confirms the spectroscopic results. Galaxy “e” is clearly a spiral with irregular shape, as indicated by the high value of the asymmetry index, which made less accurate the bidimensional fit. In fact strong residuals remain where star forming regions are located. These regions, brighter in the nucleus and fainter in the inner spiral arms, are likely to be responsible for the relatively high value of the obtained B/T ratio ($`\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.37}`$), and for the negative B$``$V color (see Table 4). Since the Sérsic index of the bulge results $`<`$ 1, we suggest a Sbc classification for this object. Galaxy “f” shows a mean B/T ratio of $`\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0.7}`$ and its bulge is well fitted by a de Vaucouleurs $`r^{1/4}`$-law, indicative of a morphological type E/S0. A moderate asymmetry is present (Table 3) and the residuals show in all bands an arm-like structure, which departs from the south of the nucleus winding around it, and a blob north of the nucleus. The morphological distortions observed in these galaxies together with their accordant redshifts indicate that this is a real interacting pair. As demonstrated by some authors (Rampazzo & Sulentic 1992; Hernández Toledo et al. 1999) galaxy pairs with mixed morphology exist in significant numbers and are believed to be the product of interaction phenomena. In agreement with our results about this galaxy pair, it is found that spiral + lenticular systems show an enhancement in the FIR emission with increased rate and efficiency of induced star formation (Hernández Toledo et al. 2001).

## 5 Discussion

As shown in Sect. 3 on the basis of radial velocity measurements, 6 out of the 7 galaxies grouped around the barycentric position $`\alpha `$(J2000) = $`02^\mathrm{h}47^\mathrm{m}36^\mathrm{s}.3`$, $`\delta `$(J2000) = 44°51′39″, form a physical system with a median radial velocity V=11730 km s-1. The group, whose ellipticity calculated following Rood (1979) is $`ϵ`$ = 0.68, shows an elongated shape, a property that have been found to be typical of galaxy groups and interpreted as indication of three-dimensional shapes intrinsically prolate (Hickson 1997, and references therein).

Although the group does not exhibit a particularly compact configuration, we find that its properties fulfill all criteria applied by Hickson (Hickson 1982) to define compact groups of galaxies (CGs). In fact the median projected separation of our group, R=121.7 kpc444throughout this paper we assume H$`{}_{0}{}^{}=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}75}\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, unless otherwise specified., is significantly higher than the values observed in the most compact systems, like Seyfert’s Sextet or HCG 31 (Hickson (1997)), but still within the range of R measured in the Hickson’s sample (HCGs). The average surface brightness in R band, $`\mu _R=24.4\mathrm{mag}\mathrm{arcsec}^2`$, evaluated within the minimum circle containing the centers of all galaxy members, having radius $`\theta _\mathrm{R}`$ 2′.6, satisfies the compactness criterion, requiring $`\mu _\mathrm{R}<26.0\mathrm{mag}\mathrm{arcsec}^2`$. The isolation of the group is assured by the fact that the nearest cataloged galaxy of comparable magnitude (2MASXi J0246441+444820) is at a distance 3.7$`\theta _\mathrm{R}`$ from the group’s center, therefore well outside the isolation radius $`\theta _N=3\theta _\mathrm{R}`$.

Moreover, as we have shown in Sect. 4, CG J0247+44.9 exhibits a wide range of activity types, being characterized by the presence of a Seyfert 2 galaxy, a LINER, a HII galaxy and a strongly interacting starburst galaxy. The two active nuclei are hosted by early-type spirals. This is in agreement with Coziol et al. (1998a, b), who found in a sample of 17 HCGs that the AGNs are preferentially located in the most early-type galaxies and that 50% of them are low-luminosity ones, like Seyfert 2 or LINER. They also pointed out that AGNs are systematically concentrated toward the central parts of the groups, while starburst galaxies are distributed in the external parts. This is not verified in our case, as the two active galaxies of CG J0247+44.9 are located in the outer parts of the group, while the starburst galaxy is near the geometrical central position. It is interesting to note that the closest object to the geometrical center of the group is the non-active, early-type galaxy “b”, whose internal structures (see Sect. 4) might be the outcome of an unequal mass, disk galaxy merger.

A good agreement has also been found between other properties of CG J0247+449 and those of HCGs. In particular the velocity dispersion $`\sigma _\mathrm{V}`$ = 458 km s-1 is lower than the maximum observed value for HCGs, albeit higher than the median of 200 km s-1 (Hickson et al. 1992). The intrinsic three-dimensional velocity dispersion $`\sigma _{3\mathrm{D}}`$ = 709.5 km s-1 calculated taking into account the velocity errors, has been used to estimate the dimensionless crossing time H0tc, which gives an indication of the dynamical state of the group. We have found a value of 0.016 that, when compared with the fraction of late-type spirals in the group (fs = 0.34), results in good agreement with the $`\mathrm{log}`$H0tc – fs relationship found by Hickson et al. (1992). According to this relationship, the spiral fraction is lower on average in groups with small crossing times, as expected in case of hierarchical evolution within galaxy groups. Since numerical simulations (Perea et al. 1990) have shown that a group should approach the virial equilibrium condition after about three crossing times and our group has a relatively low tc, we calculated the virial mass following Perea et al. (1990) and found a value of $``$ $`1.5\times 10^{13}`$ M, comparable with the virial masses of HCGs, which reach a maximum value of $`7.3\times 10^{13}`$ M. It must be stressed that the assumption of virial equilibrium and the neglect of the mass spectrum of the galaxies could lead to a large overestimate of the virial mass. Assuming as B luminosity of the group the luminosity of all the accordant galaxies, LB = $`1.95\times 10^{11}`$ L, we found a mass-to-light ratio M/LB $``$ 77, somewhat higher than the median value for HCGs (M/LB = 37.5), but significantly smaller than typical values for loose groups (Hickson et al. 1992, and references therein).

On the basis of the above observational properties we suggest that CG J0247+44.9 is a dynamically old but still evolving compact galaxy group, as indicated by the strong signs of interaction in the close pair IRAS 02443+4437 belonging to the system. This idea is in agreement with the relatively high velocity dispersion of the group, typical of groups having a high fraction of early type galaxies (Hickson 1997). These systems often show an extended soft X-ray halo (Mulchaey 2000, and references therein) suggesting that they are physically bound and – at least in case of symmetric X-ray morphologies – already relaxed, therefore dynamically old groups. The ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) shows no obvious excess of X-ray emission at the location of CG J0247+44.9. To check whether this is consistent with the presence of a galaxy group, we have estimated the expected soft X-ray luminosity and temperature of our group by means of the empirical LX$`\sigma _\mathrm{V}`$ and T–$`\sigma _\mathrm{V}`$ relations from Mulchaey & Zabludoff (1998) obtaining LX = $`5.96\times 10^{42}`$ erg s-1 and T = 1.38 keV. At the distance of the source (D $``$ 156.4 Mpc) this luminosity corresponds to a flux of $``$ $`2.03\times 10^{12}`$ erg cm-2 s-1, a value approaching the 3$`\sigma `$ upper limit to the X-ray flux derived from RASS data within a 250 h-1 kpc (h = H0/100) aperture after correction for the Galactic neutral hydrogen column density in the direction of the group (H. Ebeling, private communication). Therefore the lack of cataloged RASS X-ray sources at the location of CG J0247+44.9 is not inconsistent with our results.

## 6 Conclusions

We have identified a new compact group of galaxies at low Galactic latitude and analyzed the main spectroscopic and morphological features of its members. The general properties of the system have been found in good agreement with those of Hickson Compact Groups. In summary this group, named as CG J0247+44.9, is composed by six members, including the close interacting S0+S pair, IRAS 02443+4437, whose enhanced infrared emission is dominated by the spiral component. Four out of the six galaxies show some kind of activity, ranging from a moderate level of star formation to a Seyfert nucleus. The closest galaxy to the geometrical center of the group is an E/S0 with internal structures suggestive of a past history of interaction or even merger. The early-type morphology (S0/Sa) is dominant in the group, which comprises only two late-type spirals. In the framework of hierarchical evolution, where spirals are transformed into ellipticals through interactions and mergers, this property combined with the short crossing time and the relatively high velocity dispersion suggests that the group is dynamically old. However the evident strong signs of interactions in the close pair indicate that the system is still evolving. High spatial and spectral resolution kinematics would be necessary to better establish the dynamical state of this galaxy group and the interaction history of its members.

###### Acknowledgements.

We are grateful to Harald Ebeling for having provided us with the analysis of ROSAT data and for the useful discussion, and to Ronald Weinberger for a careful reading of the manuscript and useful suggestions. SC is grateful to the Institut für Astrophysik Innsbruck, for warm hospitality and to the Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam for the access to the IRAS data processing with the maximum entropy program. ST acknowledges support by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) under project no. P15065. We wish also to thank the technicians of Asiago Observatory for their assistance during the observations.


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# Theor. Math. Phys. 6, 156-164 (1971) On the completeness of a system of coherent states

## Abstract

Completeness is proved for some subsystems of a system of coherent states. The linear dependence of states is investigated for the von Neumann type subsystems. A detailed study is made of the case when a regular lattice on the complex $`\alpha `$ plane with cell area $`S=\pi `$ corresponds to the states of the system. It is shown that in this case there exists only one linear relationship between the coherent states. This relationship is equivalent to an infinite set of identities. The simplest of these can also be obtained by means of the transformation formulas for $`\theta `$ functions.

1. In the study of a number of problems of quantum mechanics (the theory of measurements , quantum optics and radio electronics -, and the decay of a quasi-stationary state ) it has recently been found useful to employ a system of a so-called coherent states. This is a complete system of states which has found a wide application recently. It is also known that this system of states is supercomplete, i.e., there are the subsystems in this system which are themselves complete. An interesting example of such a system was pointed out by von Neumann  in the connection with the problem of the most exact simultaneous measurements of the coordinate and the momentum in quantum mechanics. However, the proof of the completeness of such a subsystem apparently was not published.

The aim of the present note is to prove the completeness of some subsystems of the system of coherent states. In the case of the von Neumann type subsystems, we have also succeeded in investigating of the linear dependence of the states. It turns out that in the von Neumann case there exists one and only one linear relationship between the states of the subsystems. In the Fock  – Bargmann  representation, the relationship is equivalent to an infinite set of identities for the functions that are analogous of the $`\theta `$ functions. The simplest of these identities can also be obtained by using of the formulas for the transformation of the $`\theta `$ functions. I did not find the corresponding identities in the mathematical literature in the general case. Finally, the group aspects of this problem are considered briefly.

2. We shall consider an one-dimensional quantum oscillator111 For simplicity, we consider the one-dimensional case. It is readily seen that all results can be directly generalized to the case of $`N`$ dimensions.. Let as first recall the well-known properties of such a system (see, for example, , ). The Hamiltonian of the oscillator has the form222 In this paper we use a system of units in which $`\mathrm{}=m=\omega =1`$ ($`\mathrm{}`$ is the Planck constant, and $`m`$ and $`\omega `$ are the mass and the frequency of the particle vibrations, correspondingly).

$$H=\frac{1}{2}\left(p^2+x^2\right)=a^+a+\frac{1}{2},$$
(1)
where $`x`$ is the coordinate operators and $`p=i\frac{d}{dx}`$ is the momentum operator. The operators

$$a=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(x+ip)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left(x+\frac{d}{dx}\right),a^+=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(xip)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}\left(x\frac{d}{dx}\right)$$

are known as annihilation and creation operators, correspondingly.

The self-adjoint operator $`H`$ is associated with the system of its eigenvectors $`|n`$

$$H|n=E_n|n,E_n=n+\frac{1}{2},n=0,1,2,\mathrm{}.$$
(2)
It is well known that this system is complete and orthogonal.

In many cases, it is more convenient to consider the system of coherent states $`|\alpha `$. This is the system of eigenvectors of the annihilation operator $`a`$:

$$a|\alpha =\alpha |\alpha .$$
(3)
Let us mention some of the properties of coherent states (for details, we refer the reader to -). The spectrum of $`a`$ fills the entire complex plane. In other words, the state $`|\alpha `$ for any complex $`\alpha `$ can be normalized, i.e., $`\alpha |\alpha =1`$. Expanding such a state with respect to the states $`|n`$, we obtain

$$|\alpha =\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha |^2\right)\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{\alpha ^n}{\sqrt{n!}}|n.$$
(4)
The following identity also holds:

$$\frac{1}{\pi }d^2\alpha |\alpha \alpha |=\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}|nn|,$$
(5)
from which it follows that the system of coherent states is complete.

However, the states $`|\alpha `$ are not orthogonal to one another. The scalar product of two such states has the form

$$\alpha |\beta =\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}\left(|\alpha |^2+|\beta |^22\alpha ^{}\beta \right)\right),|\alpha |\beta |^2=\mathrm{exp}\left(|\alpha \beta |^2\right).$$
(6)
Equation (5) enables to expand an arbitrary state $`|\psi `$ with respect to the states $`|\alpha `$:

$$|\psi =\frac{1}{\pi }d^2\alpha \alpha |\psi |\alpha .$$
(7)
Note that if the coherent state $`|\beta `$ is taken as $`|\psi `$,then equation (7) defines a linear dependence between the different coherent states. It follows that the system of coherent states is supercomplete, i.e., it contains the subsystems which are complete.

Using (4) we obtain the equation for $`\alpha |\psi `$ in (7):

$$\alpha |\psi =\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha |^2\right)\psi (\alpha ^{}),$$
(8)
where

$$\psi (\alpha )=\underset{n=0}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{\alpha ^n}{\sqrt{n!}}n|\psi .$$
(9)
At the same time, the inequality $`|n|\psi |1`$ means that the function $`\psi (\alpha )`$ for the normalization state $`|\psi `$ is an entire analytic function of the complex variables $`\alpha `$. We also have $`|\alpha |\psi |1`$. Therefore, we obtain a bound on the growth of $`\psi (\alpha )`$:

$$|\psi (\alpha )|\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha |^2\right).$$
(10)
The normalization condition can now be written in the form

$$I=\frac{1}{\pi }d^2\alpha \mathrm{exp}\left(|\alpha |^2\right)|\psi (\alpha )|^2=\psi |\psi .$$
(11)
The expansion of an arbitrary state $`|\psi `$ with respect to coherent states now takes the form

$$|\psi =\frac{1}{\pi }d^2\alpha \mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha |^2\right)\psi (\alpha ^{})|\alpha .$$
(12)
Thus, we have established a one-to-one correspondence between the vectors $`|\psi `$ of the Hilbert space and the entire analytic functions $`\psi (\alpha )`$ for which the integral $`I`$ in (11) is finite. This correspondence is established by equations (9) and (12).

3. Now we can turn to the problem of the completeness of subsystems of coherent states. Following Bargmann , we note that since $`\psi (\alpha ^{})`$ is analytic, it is sufficient for its determination to have values of the function $`\psi _i=\psi (\alpha _i^{})`$ at points $`\alpha _i^{}`$ $`(i=1,2,3,\mathrm{})`$ whose a sequence has a limit point. In particular, if $`\psi _i=0`$, (i.e., $`\alpha _i|\psi =0`$), then $`\psi (\alpha ^{})0`$ and hence $`|\psi =0`$. This means that the system of states $`|\alpha _i`$, $`i=1,2,3,\mathrm{}`$, such that the sequence $`\alpha _i`$ has a limit point being complete. Note also that these arguments go through for any other system $`|\beta _k`$ which differs from the $`|\alpha _k`$ system only by the removal of a finite number of states. It follows that any such system is supercomplete.

On the $`\alpha `$ plane let us now consider a set of points $`\alpha _i`$ that does not have limit points in a finite part of the plane and the corresponding set of coherent states $`\{|\alpha _i\}`$. We can always construct an entire function $`\psi (\alpha )`$ having zeros at the points $`\alpha _i^{}`$. At the same time, the state $`|\psi `$ constructed by means of equation (12) will be orthogonal to all states $`|\alpha _i`$. If, in addition, $`|\psi `$ is a square-integrable state, i.e., the integral $`I`$ in (11) converges, the system $`\{|\alpha _i\}`$ is not complete. However, if any state $`|\psi `$ that is orthogonal to all the states $`|\alpha _i`$ is not square-integrable (i.e., for any entire function with zeros at the points $`\alpha _i^{}`$ the integral $`I`$ in (11) diverges), the system $`\{|\alpha _i\}`$ is complete.

Thus, the question of the completeness of the system $`\{|\alpha _i\}`$ is reduced to establishing whether the integral $`I`$ in (11) converges. In turn, this is determined by the asymptotic behavior of the function $`\psi (\alpha )`$ as $`|\alpha |\mathrm{}`$. If the order of the growth $`\lambda `$ of the entire function $`\psi (\alpha )`$ is greater than two, the integral diverges; if $`\lambda <2`$, the integral converges.

On the other hand, from the theory of entire functions , it is well known that the order of growth $`\lambda `$ of an entire function $`\psi (\alpha )`$ with zeros at the points $`\alpha _i`$ is not less than the exponent of convergence $`\lambda _1`$ of the sequence $`\alpha _i`$, $`\lambda \lambda _1`$, and it is not difficult to construct functions with $`\lambda =\lambda _1`$. We recall that the exponent of convergence of a sequence $`\alpha _i`$ is a number $`\lambda _1`$ such that for the arbitrarily small $`\epsilon >0`$ and $`\delta >0`$, the series $`_n1/|\alpha _n|^{\lambda _1+\epsilon }`$ converges and the series $`_n1/|\alpha _n|^{\lambda _1\delta }`$ diverges. At the same time, the series $`_n1/|\alpha _n|^{\lambda _1}`$ may either converge or diverge. It follows that for $`\lambda _1>2`$ the system $`|\alpha _n`$ is supercomplete and for $`\lambda _1<2`$ such a system is not complete .

It remains to consider the more complicated case $`\lambda _1=2`$. If in this case the series $`_n1/|\alpha _n|^2`$ converges, then, as follows from the theory of entire functions , the function $`\psi (\alpha )`$ defined by the canonical product has a minimal type. Consequently, the integral I in (11) converges and the system of states $`|\alpha _n`$ is not complete.

However, if the series $`_n1/|\alpha _n|^2`$ diverges, then to obtain the asymptotic behavior of $`\psi (\alpha )`$ as $`|\alpha |\mathrm{}`$, we must have a more detailed information about the distribution of the $`\alpha _n`$ on the $`\alpha `$ plane. To this end we introduce two quantities $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ and $`\delta `$. The first of them is the upper density of the distribution of zeros:

$$\mathrm{\Delta }=\overline{\underset{r\mathrm{}}{lim}}N(r)/r^2,$$
(13)
where $`N(r)`$ is the number of points $`\alpha _n`$ in a circle of radius $`r`$. The quantity $`\delta `$ characterizes the regularity of the distribution of points $`\alpha _n`$ and is defined as follows:

$$\delta =\overline{\underset{r\mathrm{}}{lim}}|\delta (r)|,\delta (r)=\underset{|\alpha _n|<r}{}\frac{1}{\alpha _n^2}.$$
(14)
Using Lindelöf’s theorem , we obtain the following result: if $`\mathrm{\Delta }=0`$ and $`\delta `$ is finite, the system $`\{|\alpha _n\}`$ is incomplete; however, if $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\mathrm{}`$ or $`\delta =\mathrm{}`$, the system $`\{|\alpha _n>\}`$ is complete.

The case of $`\delta \mathrm{}`$ and $`0<\mathrm{\Delta }<\mathrm{}`$ requires the more detailed investigation. In this case, $`\psi (\alpha )`$ is a function of the second growth order ($`\lambda =2`$) and a finite type $`\mu `$. If $`\mu _1`$ is the minimal type of a function having zeros at the points $`\alpha _i^{}`$, then for $`\mu _1<1/2`$ the system $`\{|\alpha _n\}`$ is incomplete and for $`\mu _1>1/2`$ it is complete. The case $`\mu _1=1/2`$ requires a special investigation.

4. In the general case, we have failed to find an algorithm for the determination of $`\mu _1`$ in the mathematical literature. However, it is more interesting the case when the points $`\alpha _i`$ form a regular lattice with a cell area $`S`$ ($`\alpha _{mn}=m\omega _1+n\omega _2`$, where $`\omega _1`$ and $`\omega _2`$ are complex numbers with $`\text{Im}(\omega _2/\omega _1)0`$, and $`m`$ and $`n`$ are integers) can be studied in fair details. Namely, we shall prove the following result.

Assertion 1. The system of coherent states $`\{|\alpha _{mn}\}`$, $`\alpha _{mn}=m\omega _1+n\omega _2`$, $`\text{Im}(\omega _2/\omega _1)0`$, with a cell area $`S`$ is not complete if $`S>\pi `$. It is supercomplete and remains supercomplete if a finite number of states are removed for $`S<\pi `$. Finally, if $`S=\pi `$ then the system $`\{|\alpha _{mn}\}`$ is complete and it remains complete if a single state is removed but becomes incomplete if any two states are removed.

Note that for the case of a rectangular lattice, the condition of completeness of the system $`\{|\alpha _{mn}\}`$ with $`S=\pi `$ made an important part in the von Neumann investigation  on the question of the most exact simultaneous measurement of the coordinate and momentum. However, evidently the proof of the completeness of such a system was not, apparently, published.

Note also that the $`\alpha `$ plane is the analog of the phase plane for the classical oscillator, a cell of the phase plane of area $`2\pi \mathrm{}`$ corresponding to the cell of the $`\alpha `$ plane of area $`\pi `$. The physical meaning of our assertion becomes clear: the system $`\{|\alpha _k\}`$ is complete if we have on the average not less than one coherent state in the cell of the phase plane of area $`2\pi \mathrm{}`$.

To prove our assertion, we first construct an entire function $`\psi (\alpha )`$ that has zeros at the lattice sites $`\beta _{mn}=\alpha _{mn}^{}`$. Such a function is well known in the theory of elliptic functions ,  and is usually denoted as $`\sigma (\alpha )`$:

$$\sigma (\alpha )=\alpha \underset{m,n}{}^{}\left(1\frac{\alpha }{\beta _{mn}}\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{\alpha }{\beta _{mn}}+\frac{1}{2}\frac{\alpha ^2}{\beta _{mn}^2}\right).$$
(15)
Here the prime indicates that the product in (15) is taken over all points of the lattice with the exception of the point $`m=0`$, $`n=0`$. To find the asymptotic behavior of $`\sigma (\alpha )`$ as $`|\alpha |\mathrm{}`$ we use the identity

$$\sigma (\alpha +\beta _{kl})=(1)^{kl+k+l}\mathrm{exp}(\eta _{kl}(\alpha +\beta _{kl}/2))\sigma (\alpha ),$$
(16)
where

$$\eta _{kl}=k\eta _1+l\eta _2,\eta _1=\zeta (\omega _1^{}/2),\eta _2=\zeta (\omega _2^{}/2),$$
(17)
and the function $`\zeta (\alpha )`$ is defined by

$$\zeta (\alpha )=\frac{\sigma ^{}(\alpha )}{\sigma (\alpha )}=\frac{1}{\alpha }+\underset{m,n}{}^{}\left(\frac{1}{\alpha \beta _{mn}}+\frac{1}{\beta _{mn}}+\frac{\alpha }{\beta _{mn}^2}\right).$$
(18)
Hence,

$$\left|\sigma (\alpha ^{}+\alpha _{kl}^{})\right|^2=\mathrm{exp}\left(\eta _{kl}\alpha ^{}+\eta _{kl}^{}\alpha +\frac{1}{2}(\eta _{kl}\alpha _{kl}^{}+\eta _{kl}^{}\alpha _{kl})\right)|\sigma (\alpha ^{})|^2.$$
(19)
Now we turn to a new function $`\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})0`$:

$$|\sigma (\alpha ^{})|^2=\mathrm{exp}\left(\nu \alpha _{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}+\nu ^{}\alpha ^2+2\mu \alpha \alpha ^{}\right)\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{}),$$
(20)
and require that this function be doubly periodic, i.e.,

$$\rho (\alpha +\alpha _{m,n},\alpha ^{}+\alpha _{mn}^{})=\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{}).$$
(21)
Hence, we obtain the system of equations for $`\nu `$ and $`\mu `$:

$$\nu \omega _1^{}+\mu \omega _1=\frac{1}{2}\eta _1,\nu \omega _2^{}+\mu \omega _2=\frac{1}{2}\eta _2,$$
(22)
$$\nu \alpha _{mn}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}+\nu ^{}\alpha _{mn}^2+2\mu \alpha _{mn}^{}\alpha _{mn}=\frac{1}{2}(\eta _{mn}\alpha _{mn}^{}+\eta _{mn}^{}\alpha _{mn}).$$
(23)
From (22) we find the coefficients $`\nu `$ and $`\mu `$:

$$\nu =\frac{i}{4S}(\eta _1\omega _2\eta _2\omega _1),\mu =\frac{\pi }{2S}.$$
(24)
Here $`S=\text{Im}(\omega _2\omega _1^{})`$ is the cell area.

Note that equation (23) is automatically satisfied. Now it is obvious that the asymptotic behavior of $`|\sigma (\alpha ^{})|^2`$ as $`|\alpha |\mathrm{}`$ is determined by the factor $`\mathrm{exp}\left(\nu \alpha _{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}+\nu ^{}\alpha ^2+2\mu \alpha \alpha ^{}\right)`$. Thus, the function $`\sigma (\alpha ^{})`$ has the second order and the type $`\mu +|\nu |`$ ($`\mu `$ and $`\nu `$ are defined in (24)). From equation (20) it is obvious however that $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha ^{})=\sigma (\alpha ^{})\mathrm{exp}\left(\nu \alpha _{}^{}{}_{}{}^{2}\right)`$ is an entire analytic function of the second order and of the minimal possible type $`\mu `$ for the given zeros. Then

$$|\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha ^{})|^2=\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})\mathrm{exp}\left(2\nu |\alpha |^2\right).$$
(25)
Using (16) and (24) we obtain a functional equation for $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha )`$:

$$\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha +\alpha _{kl}^{})=(1)^{kl+k+l}\mathrm{exp}\left(\mu |\alpha _{kl}|^2\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(2\mu \alpha _{kl}\alpha \right)\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha ),\mu =\frac{\pi }{2S}.$$
(26)
Invoking arguments similar to those given in the book , we conclude that any entire function satisfying this equation is identical with $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha )`$ up to a normalization constant.

The integral $`I`$ in (11) now takes the form

$$I=\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{\pi S}{S}|\alpha |^2\right)d^2\alpha .$$
(27)
It is obvious that the integral diverges for $`S\pi `$ and hence the system $`|\alpha _{mn}`$ is complete. Similarly, for $`S>\pi `$ this system is not complete. Note that if the state $`|\alpha _{m_0n_0}`$ is removed from the system, then we are led to consider the function $`(1/(\alpha ^{}\alpha _{m_0n_0}^{}))\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha ^{})`$. It follows that for $`S<\pi `$ the system $`|\alpha _{mn}`$ remains complete if any finite number of states is removed.

If one of the states $`|\alpha _{m_0n_0}`$ is removed in the case $`S=\pi `$, the question of the completeness of the system of remaining states reduces to an investigation of the integral

$$I_{m_0n_0}=\frac{\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})}{|\alpha \alpha _{m_0n_0}|^2}d^2\alpha ,$$
(28)
which, by virtue of the periodicity of $`\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})`$, reduces to $`I_{00}`$:

$$I_{m_0n_0}=I_{00}=\frac{d^2\alpha }{|\alpha |^2}\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{}).$$
(29)
Here $`\rho `$ is a non-negative double periodic function all of whose zeros are situated at the points of the lattice $`\beta _{mn}=\alpha _{mn}^{}=m\omega _1^{}+n\omega _2^{}.`$

Let us estimate $`I_{00}`$. Integrating over a region consisting of small nonintersecting circles of radius $`r_0`$ with centers $`\gamma _{mn}`$ that coincide with the centers of the lattice parallelograms, we obtain

$$I_{00}>\underset{m,n}{}^{}J_{mn},J_{mn}=\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})\frac{d^2\alpha }{|\alpha |^2},|\alpha \gamma _{mn}|<r_0,$$
(30)
but

$$J_{mn}>\frac{\rho _0\pi r_0^2}{(|\gamma _{mn}|+r_0)^2}>\frac{\pi \rho _0r_0^2}{4|\gamma _{mn}|^2},$$

where $`\rho _0`$ is the minimum of $`\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})`$ in the region $`|\alpha \gamma _{11}|r_0`$. Thus,

$$I_{00}>\frac{\pi \rho _0r_0^2}{4}\underset{m,n}{}\frac{1}{|\gamma _{mn}|^2},\text{i.e.}I_{m_0n_0}=I_{00}=\mathrm{}.$$
(31)
It follows that if a single state is removed from the system $`|\alpha _{mn}`$, the latter remains complete.

If we remove the states $`|\alpha _{m_1n_1}`$ and $`|\alpha _{m_2n_2}`$, we are led to consider the integral

$$\stackrel{~}{I}=\frac{\rho (\alpha ,\alpha ^{})d^2\alpha }{|\alpha \alpha _{m_1n_1}|^2|\alpha \alpha _{m_2n_2}|^2}.$$
(32)
Obviously, this integral converges. Hence, the corresponding system now is incomplete. Thus, Assertion 1 is completely proved.

As a complete and minimal system we may take the system of all states $`\{|\alpha _{mn}\}`$ with the exception of the state $`|0`$. It is well known  that in the case of a complete and minimal system, we can always construct an associated complete and minimal system such that these two systems are bi-orthogonal. Suppose that $`\{|\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_{mn}\}`$ is the system associated with $`\{|\alpha _{mn}\}`$ and it is normalized in the usual manner:

$$\alpha _{mn}|\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_{kl}=\delta _{mk}\delta _{nl}.$$
(33)
Using (8), we can readily show that the state $`|\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_{kl}`$ corresponds to the function

$$\stackrel{~}{\psi }_{kl}(\alpha ^{})=\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha _{kl}|^2\right)\frac{\alpha _{kl}^{}}{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }^{}(\alpha _{kl}^{})}\frac{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(\alpha ^{})}{\alpha ^{}(\alpha ^{}\alpha _{kl}^{})}.$$
(34)
The system $`|\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_{kl}`$ enables to obtain a formal expansion for the arbitrary state $`|\psi `$ in a series with respect to the system of states $`|\alpha _{mn}`$:

$$|\psi \stackrel{}{}c_{mn}|\alpha _{mn},$$
(35)
where

$$c_{mn}=\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_{mn}|\psi .$$
(36)
However, we should remember that we are dealing with a nonorthogonal system and the completeness of the system does not imply, for example, the convergence of the series in (35) . 333 Ya.G. Sinai kindly drew my attention to this fact.

Taking $`|\psi `$ to be the vacuum state $`|0`$, we obtain

$$|0\stackrel{}{}c_{mn}|\alpha _{mn},$$
(37)
where

$$c_{mn}=\stackrel{~}{\alpha }_{mn}|0=\frac{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }^{}(0)}{\stackrel{~}{\sigma }^{}(\alpha _{mn}^{})}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{|\alpha _{mn}|^2}{2}\right)=(1)^{m+n+mn}.$$
(38)
The relationship (37) can now be rewritten in the form

$$\underset{m,n}{}(1)^{m+n+mn}|\alpha _{mn}0.$$
(39)
To investigate the left-hand side of this relationship we use the Fock –Bargmann  representation. We recall that this representation is a concrete realization of the Hilbert space: to the state $`|\psi =c_n|n`$ there corresponds an entire analytic function $`\psi (z)=c_n(z^n/\sqrt{n!})`$; if $`|\psi =|\alpha `$ is a coherent state, then

$$\psi _\alpha (z)=\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha |^2\right)\mathrm{exp}(\alpha z).$$
(40)
In the Fock–Bargmann representation, the relationship (39) takes the form

$$f(z)\underset{m,n}{}(1)^{m+n+mn}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha _{mn}|^2+\alpha _{mn}z\right)0,$$
(41)
where $`\alpha _{mn}=m\omega _1+n\omega _2`$, and the cell area is $`S=\pi `$.

Let us investigate some of the simplest properties of $`f(z)`$. Obviously, the series (41) converge for all values of $`z`$ and $`f(z)`$, and therefore it is an entire function. Further combining in pairs the terms $`(m,n)`$ and $`(m,n)`$ we see that $`f(z)`$ is an even function. Let us consider how $`f(z)`$ varies as a result of a shift of the argument by $`\alpha _{kl}^{}`$. Under such a shift each term of the series (41) is multiplied by

$$\mathrm{exp}\left(\alpha _{mn}\alpha _{kl}^{}\right)=\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}(\alpha _{mn}\alpha _{kl}^{}+\alpha _{mn}^{}\alpha _{kl})\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}(\alpha _{mn}\alpha _{kl}^{}\alpha _{mn}^{}\alpha _{kl})\right).$$
(42)
However, if the cell area is $`S=\pi `$, then

$$\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}(\alpha _{mn}\alpha _{kl}^{}\alpha _{mn}^{}\alpha _{kl})\right)=(1)^{mlnk},$$
(43)
and we obtain

$`f(z+\alpha _{kl}^{})`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{m,n}{}}(1)^{m+n+mn}(1)^{mlnk}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}|\alpha _{mk,nl}|^2\right)`$ (44)
$`\times `$ $`\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}|\alpha _{kl}|^2+\alpha _{mn}z\right).`$
Substituting $`mm^{}+k`$ and $`nn^{}+l`$, we arrive at the identity

$$f(z+\alpha _{kl}^{})=(1)^{kl+k+l}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha _{kl}|^2\right)\mathrm{exp}\left(\alpha _{kl}z\right)f(z).$$
(45)
Note that this functional equation is identical with the corresponding equation (26) for the function $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(z)`$ when $`S=\pi `$. Since the solution of this functional equation is unique (see the remark after equation (26)), we obtain

$$f(z)=C\delta (z),$$
(46)
where $`C`$ is a constant. However, as we have shown above, $`f(z)`$ is an even function whereas $`\stackrel{~}{\sigma }(z)`$ is an odd function. Therefore, $`C=0`$ and consequently $`f(z)0`$.

Thus, we have proved the following assertion.

Assertion 2. The system of analytic functions  $`\mathrm{exp}(\alpha _{mn}z)`$ ($`\alpha _{mn}=m\omega _1+n\omega _2`$, $`S=\pi `$) is linearly dependent. The equation relating these functions has the form (41).

Expanding $`\mathrm{exp}(\alpha _{mn}z)`$ in the Taylor series, we arrive at the identities

$$\underset{m,n}{}(1)^{m+n+mn}\alpha _{mn}^k\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{1}{2}|\alpha _{mn}|^2\right)0,k=0,1,2,\mathrm{},$$
(47)
Let us consider what these identities yield in the simplest cases. If $`k=0`$, then (47) can be written in the form

$$\underset{m,n}{}(1)^{m+n+mn}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{\pi }{2}(am^2+2bmn+cn^2)\right)0,$$
(48)
where $`acb^2=1`$, $`a>0`$, $`c>0`$. This identity can be simplified in the case of a rectangular lattice when $`b=0`$:

$$\underset{m,n}{}(1)^{m+n+mn}\mathrm{exp}\left(\frac{\pi }{2}\left(c^1m^2+cn^2\right)\right)=0.$$
(49)
Summing over $`n`$ and then over $`m`$ in (49), we obtain

$`\theta _3(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _1}{2}})\theta _3(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _2}{2}})\theta _3(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _1}{2}})\theta _4(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _2}{2}})`$ (50)
$``$ $`\theta _4(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _1}{2}})\theta _3(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _2}{2}})\theta _4(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _1}{2}})\theta _4(0,{\displaystyle \frac{\tau _2}{2}})=0,`$
where

$$\tau _1=ic,\tau _2=ic^1,c>0,$$
(51)
and the functions $`\theta _3(0,\tau )`$ and $`\theta _4(0,\tau )`$ are defined by the equations

$$\theta _3(0,\tau )=\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}\mathrm{exp}\left(i\pi \tau m^2\right),\theta _4(0,\tau )=\underset{m=\mathrm{}}{\overset{\mathrm{}}{}}(1)^m\mathrm{exp}\left(i\pi \tau m^2\right).$$
(52)
For brevity, we shall write $`\theta _i(\tau )`$ instead of $`\theta _i(0,\tau )`$.

We now use the well-known formulas ,

$$\theta _3(\tau )=\sqrt{\frac{i}{\tau }}\theta _3\left(\frac{1}{\tau }\right),\theta _4(\tau )=\sqrt{\frac{i}{\tau }}\theta _2\left(\frac{1}{\tau }\right).$$
(53)
Equation (50) then becomes

$$\theta _3(2\tau _1)\theta _3(2\tau _2)\theta _3(2\tau _1)\theta _2(2\tau _2)\theta _2(2\tau _1)\theta _3(2\tau _2)\theta _2(2\tau _1)\theta _2(2\tau _2)=0,$$
(54)
where $`\tau _1`$ and $`\tau _2`$ are defined in (51).

Using also the doubling formulas ,

$`\theta _2(2\tau )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\sqrt{\theta _3^2(\tau )\theta _4^2(\tau )},`$ (55)
$`\theta _3(2\tau )`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}}\sqrt{\theta _3^2(\tau )+\theta _4^2(\tau )}`$ (56)
and formulas of the type (53)

$`\theta _3(\tau _2)`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{i}{\tau _2}}}\theta _3\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{\tau _2}}\right)=\sqrt{i\tau _1}\theta _3(\tau _1),`$
$`\theta _4(\tau _2)`$ $`=`$ $`\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{i}{\tau _2}}}\theta _2\left({\displaystyle \frac{1}{\tau _2}}\right)=\sqrt{i\tau _1}\theta _2(\tau _1),`$
we obtain

$`\sqrt{(\theta _3^2+\theta _4^2)(\theta _3^2+\theta _2^2)}\sqrt{(\theta _3^2\theta _4^2)(\theta _3^2\theta _2^2)}`$ (58)
$``$ $`\sqrt{(\theta _3^2\theta _4^2)(\theta _3^2+\theta _2^2)}\sqrt{(\theta _3^2+\theta _4^2)(\theta _3^2\theta _2^2)}=0.`$
Since , , equation (58) can be transformed into an identity

$$\theta _3^4=\theta _2^4+\theta _4^4.$$
(59)
Thus, even the proof of the simplest of the identities (47) requires a detailed knowledge of the relationships between $`\theta `$ functions. The proof of the more complicated identities of the type (47) by direct methods is evidently a nontrivial problem.

In this paper, we have considered the case of a single degree of freedom. However, it is readily seen that Eq.(41) can be directly generalized to the case of $`N`$ degrees of freedom.

5. We are intrigued by the appearance of $`\theta `$ functions in this problem. In this connection, we should like to mention the Cartier paper  which establishes a certain connection between the Heisenberg commutation relations for the coordinate and momentum operators and $`\theta `$ functions. Cartier shows that $`\theta `$ functions arise in an investigation of the representation of the group $`G`$ associated with the commutation relations if one assumes that the representation is induced by a certain representation of a discrete subgroup $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ of $`G`$ 444 A number of general questions related to discrete subgroups of continuous groups are discussed in the book by Gel’fand, Graev, and Pyatetskii-Shapiro .. However, our approach to the question of $`\theta `$ functions differs from that of Cartier.

Let us briefly consider the relationship between these two approaches. It is readily seen that coherent states can be obtained from the “vacuum state” $`|0`$ by means of the so-called displacement operators ,

$$|\alpha =D(\alpha )|0,$$
(60)
where the unitary operator $`D(\alpha )`$ is defined by

$$D(\alpha )=\mathrm{exp}\left(\alpha \alpha ^+\alpha ^{}\alpha \right),$$
(61)
and $`a^+`$ and $`a`$ were defined at the beginning of this paper. The law of multiplication for the operators $`D(\alpha )`$ has the form

$$D(\alpha _2)D(\alpha _1)=\mathrm{exp}\left(i\text{Im}(\alpha _2\alpha _1^{})\right)D(\alpha _2+\alpha _1).$$
(62)
It follows that the operators $`\mathrm{exp}(2\pi it)D(\alpha )`$ form a group $`G`$. An element $`g`$ of this group is defined by a real number $`t`$ and a complex number $`\alpha `$: $`g=(t,\alpha )`$. The product of two group elements $`g=g_2g_1`$ is given by

$$g=(t,\alpha ),t=t_2+t_1+\frac{1}{2\pi }\text{Im}(\alpha _2\alpha _1^{}),\alpha =\alpha _2+\alpha _1.$$
(63)
Note that the operators $`D(\alpha _2)`$ and $`D(\alpha _1)`$ commute if and only if the area of the parallelogram spanned by the vectors $`\alpha _2`$ and $`\alpha _1`$ is a multiple of $`\pi :S=\text{Im}(\alpha _2\alpha _1^{})=k\pi `$, where $`k`$ is an integer.

Consider the set of operators $`D_{np}=D(\alpha _{np})`$, where $`\alpha _{np}`$ is a point of a regular lattice with the cell area $`S=\pi `$. These operators form a discrete commutative group with multiplication law

$$D_{np}D_{kl}=(1)^{B(n,p;k,l)}D_{n+k,p+l},B(n,p;k,l)=nlpk.$$
(64)
Let $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ be the discrete subgroup of $`G`$ consisting of elements of the form $`g=(0,\alpha _{np})`$ and $`g=(1/2,\alpha _{np})`$. The operators $`\pm D_{np}`$ form a representation of this discrete subgroup and the set of states $`|\alpha _{np}`$ forms a basis of a certain representation of the group $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. Let us try to release the sign factor in (64). To this end, we go over to the new operators

$$D_{np}=(1)^{F(n,p)}\overline{D}_{np},$$
(65)
and require that

$$\overline{D}_{np}\overline{D}_{kl}=\overline{D}_{n+k,p+l}.$$
(66)
This gives the equation for $`F(n,p)`$:

$$F(n+k,p+l)=F(n,p)+F(k,l)+B(n,p;k,l)(\text{mod}\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}2})$$
(67)
($`B`$ is defined in (64)). This equation is identical with equation (71) in  for $`m=1`$, $`N=1`$, and, as it is readily verified, has the solution

$$F(k,l)=kl+k+l.$$
(68)
We go over to a new system of states:

$$|\overline{\alpha }_{kl}=\overline{D}_{kl}|0=(1)^{kl+k+l}|\alpha _{kl},$$
(69)
in which the action of the operator $`\overline{D}_{kl}`$ has the form

$$\overline{D}_{kl}|\overline{\alpha }_{np}=|\overline{\alpha }_{k+n,l+p}.$$
(70)
From this equation we can immediately obtain the relationship between the states of the system $`|\overline{\alpha }_{np}`$. This is a relationship of the type $`\mathrm{\Sigma }c_{np}|\overline{\alpha }_{np}0`$. As we know, it is unique. Consequently, it can not be changed when the operator $`\overline{D}_{kl}`$ acts upon it. It is readily seen that the only relationship satisfying this requirement has the form

$$\underset{m,n}{}|\overline{\alpha }_{mn}=\underset{m,n}{}(1)^{mn+m+n}|\alpha _{mn}0$$
(71)
which is identical with (39).

Note also that the uniqueness of the solution of the functional equations (26) and (45) for $`S=\pi `$ follows from the irreducibility of the representation of $`G`$ induced by the discrete subgroup $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ , .

I am most indebted to M.I. Graev and Ya.G. Sinai for their interest in the investigation.


text:
# Theorem

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