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# Interstellar extinction in the open clusters towards galactic longitude around 130^𝑜

## 1 Introduction

Photometric studies are one of the most valuable and efficient tools for determining the physical properties of open clusters (e.g. distance, age, etc) and the interstellar matter (ISM) within the cluster as well as along the line of sight of the cluster. The accurate determination of the distance of star clusters is crucial for a wide range of astronomical studies. The interstellar extinction and the ratio of the total-to-selective extinction $`R=A_V/E(BV)`$ towards the cluster are important quantities that must be accurately known to determine the distances photometrically.

Observations of star clusters in the near-infrared bands, especially of young clusters which are still embedded in remnants of their parental clouds, are very useful to study the extinction behaviour in these clusters. Observations of interstellar extinction due to the intra-cluster matter yield fundamental information on the optical properties of the particles responsible for extinction. The analysis of extinction curves in 20 OB stellar associations indicates that big complexes are obscured by the same type of interstellar matter (Kiszkurno et al. 1984). On the other hand Krełowski and Ströbel (1983) compared the extinction law in two rich stellar aggregates, namely Per OB1 and Sco OB2, situated in different parts of the galactic disk. They found that the average extinction curves of the two aggregates seem to differ substantially. The differences are large in the far-UV, which leads to the conclusion that an average extinction law cannot be applied to all associations. In an analysis of two different complexes of young stars (Sco-Ori region and Perseus region) Krełowski and Ströbel (1987) found different shapes of extinction curves, supporting the assumption that the obscuring material in these two young star complexes have different physical properties. Consequently, in the case of young open clusters, the average extinction curve should not be used to correct spectral or photometric data for interstellar extinction.

There is much evidence in the literature that indicates significant variations in the properties of the interstellar extinction and these refer mainly to high values of the total-to-selective extinction ratio $`R`$ as compared to the normal value, 3.1, for the galactic diffuse medium (see e.g. Pandey et al. 2000 and references therein). Whittet (1977) reported that the value of $`R`$ in the galactic plane can be represented by a sinusoidal function of the form $`R=3.08+0.17`$ Sin$`(l+175^o)`$, which indicates a minimum value of $`R`$ at $`l95^o`$. However, Tapia et al. (1991) found a value of $`R=2.42\pm 0.09`$ for the cluster NGC 1502 ($`l=143.7^o`$), which is significantly lower than the average galactic value of 3.1.

The above discussions indicate that the interstellar extinction shows a large range of variability from one line of sight to another. A precise knowledge of the spatial variability of interstellar extinction is important for the following reasons;

(i) Since the extinction depends on the optical properties of the dust grains, it can reveal information about the composition and size distribution of the grains. Consequently, variation of the extinction from one direction to other may reveal the degree and nature of dust grain processing in the ISM (Fitzpatrick 1999).

(ii) Since astronomical objects are viewed through interstellar dust, the wavelength dependence of extinction is required to remove the effects of dust obscuration from observed energy distributions.

Uncertainties of extinction estimates limit the accuracy of dereddened energy distributions. Such uncertainties might be acceptably small for very lightly reddened objects but can become important for modestly reddened objects. The intra-cluster extinction due to the remains of the star-forming molecular cloud decreases systematically with the age of the cluster (cf. Pandey et al. 1990).

While analysing the $`UBVI_c`$ data of NGC 663 we found that the $`V/(UB)`$ colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) for NGC 663 cannot be explained by a normal value of the extinction ratio $`E(UB)/E(BV)=0.72`$ (see Sect. 3). Some clusters in the direction of NGC 663 also appear to show abnormal extinction properties. This motivated us to study the interstellar extinction in detail towards the direction of the cluster NGC 663.

## 2 Data

The online available database at http://obswww.unige.ch/webda/ by Mermilliod (1995) provides an excellent compilation of the data on open clusters. We selected a range of $`120^0<l<150^0`$ to study the intra-cluster extinction in open clusters. The online database lists 103 clusters in this longitude range. The parameters, such as distance, $`E(BV)`$, age etc, are available for only 54 clusters. Seventeen clusters in this direction are quite young (log age $`<`$ 7.5) and are suitable to study the behaviour of intra-cluster ISM. $`UBV`$ CCD photometry for nine young clusters of the above sample is given by Phelps and Janes (1994). A casual look at the $`(UB)/(BV)`$ two-colour diagrams (TCDs) given by Phelps and Janes (1994, hereafter PJ94) indicates that the photometric data of 3 clusters, namely Be 62, NGC 637 and NGC 663, do not satisfy the main-sequence (MS) curve, where apparent $`UV`$ excess can be seen for stars having spectral type later than $`A`$. PJ1994 concluded that this may be due to $`UV`$ excess of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars and this part of the $`(UB)/(BV)`$ TCD is not suitable for reddening estimation. We will discuss $`(UB)/(BV)`$ TCDs in ensuing sections. The present analysis has been carried out using photometric data of 14 clusters and details are given Table 1.

## 3 Extinction

One of the main characterstics of the diffuse interstellar matter in the Galaxy is its irregular structure. This makes it difficult to map the extinction as a function of galactic longitude and distance. Young open clusters also show differential reddening due to the remains of the associated parental clouds. The differential reddening decreases with the age of the clusters (cf. Pandey et al. 1990). However, it does not show any correlation with the location of the cluster in the galactic disk.

Thus the extinction in star clusters arises due to two distinct sources; (i) The general interstellar medium (ISM) in the foreground of the cluster, and (ii) the localized cloud associated with the cluster. While for the former component a value of $`R=3.1`$ is well accepted (Wegner 1993, Lida et al. 1995, Winkler 1997), for the intra-cluster regions the value of $`R`$ varies from 2.42 (Tapia et al. 1991) to 4.9 (Pandey et al. 2000 and references therein) or even higher depending upon the conditions occurring in the region.

### 3.1 Extinction Curve

Extinction has often been analyzed using a two-colour normalizations of the form $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$. In the present work the following methods are used to derive the ratio of $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$.

a) Colour excess diagrams (CEDs); method ‘A’

The colour excesses of the stars in the cluster region can be obtained by comparing the observed colours of the stars with their intrinsic colours derived from the MKK bi-dimensional spectral classification. For this purpose we used the data available in the online catalogue by Mermilliod (1995). When multiple data points are available for a star, we used those selected by Mermilliod and given as MKS in the online catalogue. The colour excess in a colour index ($`\lambda V)`$ is obtained from the relation $`E(\lambda V)=(\lambda V)(\lambda V)_0`$, where $`(\lambda V)_0`$ is the intrinsic colour index and $`\lambda `$ represents the magnitude in the $`UBVRIJHK`$ pass bands. Intrinsic colours are obtained from the MKK spectral type-luminosity class relation given by Schmidt-Kaler (1982) for $`UBV`$, by Johnson (1966) for $`VRI`$ converted to the Cousin’s system using the relation given by Bessel (1979), and by Koornneef (1983) for $`VJHK`$.

The colour excesses $`E(UV),E(IV),E(JV),E(HV)`$ and $`E(KV)`$ are shown as a function of $`E(BV)`$ in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. The stars having $`H_\alpha `$ emission features and stars apparently lying away from the general distribution are not included in the analysis. A least-squares fit to the data is shown by a straight line which gives the ratio of $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ for the stars in the cluster region. The slope of the line representing the ratio $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ along with the error is given in Table 2. In general, the least-square errors are quite large. The reason for the large errors is mainly the small sample and the small range in the $`E(BV)`$. For comparison the colour excess ratios for the normal reddening law (cf. Johnson 1968, Dean et al. 1978) are also given in Table 2.

b) Two colour diagrams (TCDs); method ‘B’

In most of the cases the MKK spectral classification is available only for a few stars of the cluster, which make the CEDs quite noisy (see e.g. the CEDs of NGC 654, NGC 663, NGC 869 and NGC 884). The TCDs of the form of $`(\lambda V)`$ vs $`(BV)`$, where $`\lambda `$ is one of the wavelength of the broad band filters ($`R,I,J,H,K,L`$), provide an effective method for separating the influence of the normal extinction produced by the diffuse interstellar medium from that of the abnormal extinction arising within regions having a peculiar distribution of dust sizes (cf. Chini and Wargau 1990, Pandey et al. 2000). On these diagrams the unreddened MS and the normal reddening vector are practically parallel. This makes these diagrams useless for determining the amount of reddening, but instead, very useful for detecting anomalies in the reddening law. Chini and Wargau (1990) and Pandey et al. (2000) used TCDs to study the anomalous extinction law in the clusters M16 and NGC 3603 respectively. Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 show TCDs for the central region of the clusters. We used the data of the central region of the clusters to reduce the contamination due to field stars. The stars apparently lying away from the general distribution are not included in the analysis. The slopes of the distribution, $`m_{cluster}`$, are given in in Table 3. The slopes of the theoretical MS, $`m_{normal}`$, on the TCDs, obtained for the stellar models by Bertelli et al. (1994) are also given in Table 3. The errors associated with the slopes are significantly smaller than the errors obtained in the CEDs. The values of the $`(\lambda V)/(BV)`$ can be converted to the ratio $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ using the following approximate relation;

$`\frac{E(\lambda V)}{E(BV)}=\frac{m_{cluster}}{m_{normal}}\times [\frac{E(\lambda V)}{E(BV)}]_{normal}`$.

c) $`(UB)/(BV)`$ two-colour diagram and colour-magnitude diagrams; method ‘C’

In absence of spectroscopic observations, the $`(UB)/(BV)`$ TCD and colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) are important tools to study the interstellar reddening towards the cluster as well as intra-cluster reddening.

In the case of $`(UB)/(BV)`$ TCD a MS curve (e.g. given by Schmidt-Kaler 1982) is shifted along a reddening vector given by the ratio of $`E(UB)/E(BV)X`$ until a match between the MS and stellar distribution is found. In this method the reddening vector $`X`$ plays an important role. Over the years the observational as well as theoretical studies have used ( or ‘misused’, according to Turner 1994) a universal form for the mean galactic reddening law. However, theoretical as well as observational estimates for the reddening vector $`X`$ show a range from 0.62 to 0.80 (cf. Turner 1994). Recently DeGioia Eastwood et al. (2001) also preferred a value of $`X`$=0.64 in the case of Tr 14. The variability of $`X`$ indicates the variations in the properties of the dust grains responsible for the extinction. High values of $`X`$ imply a dominance by dust grains of small cross sections while the small values of $`X`$ indicate a dominance of dust grains of larger cross section (cf. Turner 1994). Turner (1994) raised a question about the so called reddening-free parameter $`Q[=(UB)0.72(BV)]`$; how can $`Q`$ be reddening-free when the reddening vector $`X`$ is different from 0.72?

As we have mentioned earlier, the distribution of stars in the $`V/(UB)`$ CMD of NGC 663 cannot be explained by a normal value of $`X`$ (i.e. 0.72). The $`(UB)/(BV)`$ TCD and the $`V/(BV)`$, $`V/(UB)`$ CMDs for the central region of the cluster NGC 663 are shown in Figs. 9 and 10 respectively. The data have been taken using the 105 cm Schmidt telescope of the Kiso Observatory, Japan (for details see Pandey et al. 2002). In Fig. 9, where the dashed curve shows the intrinsic MS by Schmidt-Kaler (1982) shifted along $`X=0.72`$, we find a disagreement between the observations and the MS at $`(BV)0.90`$. PJ94 explained the disagreement due to the presence of pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars having $`UV`$ excess. In Fig. 9 stars with $`V16`$ are shown by filled circles. The apparent distance modulus for NGC 663 is $`(mM_V)`$=14.4 (cf. Pandey et al. 2002); the stars with $`V=16`$ (i.e. $`M_V`$=1.6) will have mass $`2.5M_{}`$. Since the cluster has an age of $`10^7`$ yr, the stars of $`2.5M_{}`$ should have reached the MS and no longer be PMS stars. The TCD for these stars also does not support a normal value of $`X`$. We find that the MS shifted along a reddening vector of 0.60 and $`E(BV)`$=0.68 explains the observations satisfactorily.

The value of $`X`$ in the NGC 663 cluster region can further be checked by comparing the theoretical zero-age-main-sequence (ZAMS) with the observed stellar distribution in the $`V/(BV)`$ and $`V/(UB)`$ CMDs. Once the reddening is known from the $`(UB)/(BV)`$ CCD, the ZAMS is shifted to match the blue envelope of the observed stellar distribution in the $`V/(BV)`$ and $`V/(UB)`$ CMDs. The ZAMS fitting for $`E(BV)`$=0.68 and apparent distance modulus $`(mM_V)`$=14.4 is shown in Fig. 10a. Figure 10b shows $`V/(UB)`$ CMD where ZAMS, shifted for $`E(UB)`$=0.49 (corresponding to the normal reddening vector $`X=0.72`$) and $`(mM_V)`$=14.4, is shown by a dashed line, which clearly shows disagreement with the distribution of the stars. The ZAMS for $`E(UB)`$=0.40 (corresponding to $`X=0.60`$ and $`E(BV)=0.68`$) nicely fits the blue envelope of the distribution. This supports an anomalous value $`X`$=0.60 for the slope in the NGC 663 cluster region.

$`(UB)/(BV)`$ TCDs and $`V/(BV)`$ CMDs were used to find out the value of $`X`$ in all of the 14 clusters examined in the present study. The $`(UB)/(BV)`$ TCD for 3 clusters namely Be 62, NGC 436 and NGC 637 is shown in Fig. 11. The values of the reddening vector $`X`$ obtained from the TCD/CMDs are given in Table 4. The uncertainty in the estimated value of $`X`$ arises due to uncertainties in the intrinsic colours (i.e. ZAMS), uncertainties associated with the observations and also uncertainties associated with the visual fit of the ZAMS to the observations. The typical total uncertainty in the reported values of $`X`$ is estimated to be $``$ 0.05.

## 4 The Value of $`R`$

Table 4 indicates that the clusters Be 62, NGC 637 and NGC 663 show a smaller value whereas the clusters NGC 869 and NGC 436 show a higher value for $`X`$. The remaining 8 clusters show a normal value for $`X`$. The data given in Tables 2,3 and 4 are used to estimate the weighted (according to associated errors) mean value of the colour excess ratios $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ and the ratios are given in Table 5.

We define a parameter $`r`$ which is the ratio of $`[E(\lambda V)/E(BV)]_{cluster}`$ (the ratio of colour excesses in the cluster region) and $`[E(\lambda V)/E(BV)]_{normal}`$ (the ratio of colour excesses for the normal reddening law). The values of $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ given in Table 5 are used to obtain the ratio $`r`$ for the cluster region and resultant value of $`r`$ is given in Table 6. For the clusters where the data from U band to K band are available,$`r`$ is plotted as a function of $`\lambda ^1`$ in Fig. 12.

Fig. 12 indicates that the extinction in most of the cluster regions seems to be normal at $`\lambda >\lambda _I`$, except for the clusters NGC 1502 (where the colour excess ratios for $`\lambda >\lambda _I`$ are less than the normal one) and NGC 1805 (where the colour excess ratio at $`\lambda \lambda _J`$ are higher than the normal one). Recent studies support a universality of the extinction curves for $`\lambda >\lambda _I`$ (see e.g. Cardelli et al. 1989, He et al. 1995). It is suggested that the normalization should be done using the $`E(VK)`$ instead of $`E(BV)`$ (Tapia et al. 1991) because the $`E(VK)`$ does not depend on properties like chemical composition, shape, structure, degree of alignment of interstellar dust (cf. Mathis 1990 and references therein).

Cardelli et al. (1989) found that the mean $`R`$ dependent extinction law can be represented by the following relation

$`\frac{A_\lambda }{A_V}=a_\lambda +\frac{b_\lambda }{R}`$ (1)

where $`a_\lambda `$ and $`b_\lambda `$ can be obtained from the relations given by Cardelli et al. (1989). The above relation can be written, in terms of $`\frac{E(\lambda V)}{E(BV)}`$, as

$`\frac{E(\lambda V)}{E(BV)}=R(a_\lambda 1)+b_\lambda `$ (2)

The ratio of total-to-selective extinction towards the cluster direction ‘$`R_{cluster}`$’ is derived using the eqn. (2). The value of $`\frac{E(\lambda V)}{E(BV)}`$ $`(\lambda \lambda _J)`$ given in Table 5 is used to estimate the value of $`R_{cluster}`$ and the results estimate for $`R_{cluster}`$ are given Table 6. The clusters that have a broad spectrum of data are discussed below.

NGC 654

Sagar and Yu (1989) concluded that at wavelengths greater than 5500 Å, the extinction is normal. The presence of unusually well aligned interstellar grains indicated by the polarization measurements seems to increase the extinction in the $`U`$ and $`B`$ bands slightly (Sagar and Yu 1989). In the present work we find a rather normal extinction law.The value of $`R_{cluster}`$ is $`2.97\pm 0.30(\sigma )`$ which, within the error, is close to the normal value of 3.1.

NGC 663

Using the colour excesses $`E(VK)`$ and $`E(BV)`$ Tapia et al. (1991) found weak evidence for an anomalous reddening law with a value of $`R_{cluster}=2.73\pm 0.20`$, which is marginally lower than the normal value of 3.1. However, they felt that the scatter in their data is too large to conclude about the value of $`R_{cluster}`$. Yadav and Sagar (2001) reported values for $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ ($`(\lambda \lambda _J)`$) which are significantly smaller than the normal ones.

The (weighted) mean value of $`R_{cluster}=3.50\pm 0.40(\sigma )`$ suggests a marginally anomalous reddening law in the NGC 663 cluster region but in the opposite sense to that reported by Tapia et al. (1991) and Yadav and Sagar (2001). More near-IR data is needed to determine the $`R_{cluster}`$ in the NGC 663 cluster region. Here it is interesting to mention that the behaviour of the extinction curve towards UV also deviates from the normal one. Fig. 12 indicates a lower value for the $`E(UV)/E(BV)`$ ratio, whereas Yadav and Sagar (2001) reported a normal value for this ratio. They supplemented their data with the photometric spectral types which are based on the $`Q`$ method, where they adopted $`E(UB)/E(BV)`$=0.72. Presumably a dominance of photometric spectral determination forced the ratio of $`E(UB)/E(BV)`$ to a normal value.

NGC 869 and 884 ($`h`$ and $`\chi `$ Persei)

From the extinction curve analysis Johnson (1965) found a value of $`R_{cluster}=3.0`$ in the NGC 869 and NGC 884 cluster region. Tapia et al. (1984) also reported a normal reddening law in the cluster region. Recently Yadav and Sagar (2001) found that the $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ ratios for $`\lambda \lambda _J`$ are smaller than the normal ones.

The colour excess diagrams (method ‘A’) of NGC 869 indicates somewhat lower values for the ratios $`E(JV)/E(BV)`$ and $`E(KV)/E(BV)`$ but the errors are large, whereas in the case of NGC 884 the errors in the estimation of colour excess ratios are too large. The reason for the large errors is a small range in the $`E(BV)(0.3`$ mag). Because of the large errors we have not used the colour excess ratios obtained from the CEDs of NGC 869 in the further analysis. The TCDs (method ‘B’) indicate that the ratio of colour excesses $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ in both the clusters for $`\lambda \lambda _I`$ are perfectly normal. It is interesting to note that the CED for NGC 869 yields $`E(UV)/E(BV)=1.90\pm 0.13`$. The $`V/(BV)`$ and $`V/(UB)`$ CMDs also seem to support the ratio of $`E(UV)/E(BV)=1.9`$. In a recent study Keller et al. (2001) have adopted $`E(UB)/E(BV)=0.72`$ to fit the ZAMS to the stellar distribution on the $`V/(UB)`$ CMD of the stars in the NGC 869 and NGC 884 cluster region. We find that only in the case of NGC 884 the $`V/(UB)`$ CMD supports a normal value for the reddening vector $`X`$ in the cluster region.

NGC 1502

Tapia et al. (1991) found the ratio $`E(VK)/E(BV)=2.20`$ corresponding to $`R_{cluster}=2.42\pm 0.09`$, which is significantly lower than the reddening value. Yadav and Sagar (2001) also found that the colour excess ratios $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ for $`\lambda \lambda _J`$ are significantly smaller than the normal ones. The colour excess ratios for $`\lambda \lambda _J`$ obtained in the present study are in good agreement with those reported by Tapia et al. (1991) and Yadav and Sagar (2001). The value of $`R_{cluster}`$ is estimated as $`2.57\pm 0.27`$ which is in good agreement with that obtained by Tapia et al. (1991).

IC 1805

Various studies have been carried out to estimate the value of $`R`$ in the cluster region of IC 1805, but the results are not conclusive. Johnson (1968), Ishida (1969) and Kwon and Lee (1983) reported an anomalous reddening law in the cluster region with values of $`R_{cluster}`$ $`5.7,3.8`$ and $`3.44`$ respectively. Kwon and Lee also reported a regional variation in the value of $`R_{cluster}`$, with a maximum value of $`R_{cluster}=3.82\pm 0.15`$ for stars located in the outer region and the minimum of $`3.06\pm 0.05`$ for stars located in the central region. Sagar and Yu (1990) found that the interstellar extinction law in the direction of most of the cluster members is normal. The colour excess ratios $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ for $`\lambda \lambda _J`$ obtained in the present work indicate an anomalous reddening law in the cluster region of IC 1805. The value of $`R_{cluster}`$ is estimated as $`3.56\pm 0.29`$, which also indicates an anomalous reddening behaviour in the cluster region.

## 5 The $`A_\lambda /A_V`$ curve

Extinction has normally been analyzed using a two-colour normalization of the form $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$. However, the true nature of the variability of observed extinction may be hidden by the choice of normalization. The quantity $`A_\lambda /A_V`$ reflects a more fundamental extinction behaviour than the $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ (cf. Cardelli et al. 1989). The average colour excess ratios given in Table 5 can be used to estimate the quantity $`A_\lambda /A_V`$ in the following manner,

$`A_\lambda /A_V=[E(\lambda V)/E(BV)R_{cluster}]`$ \+ 1

where $`R_{cluster}`$ is taken from Table 6. In Fig 13a the normalized extinction in the form $`A_\lambda /A_V`$ is plotted against $`\lambda ^1`$ for the clusters NGC 654, NGC 663, NGC 869 and NGC 884 alongwith the average extinction law for $`R_{cluster}=3.1`$ given by Cardelli et al. (1989). Fig 13a indicates that the agreement between observations and the extinction law by Cardelli et al. (1989) is good barring the $`A_U/A_V`$ values for NGC 869 and NGC 663. In the case of NGC 869 the ratio $`A_U/A_V`$ is higher than the normal one whereas in the case of NGC 663 it is lower than the normal one. The value of $`A_U/A_V`$ = 1.46 in the case of NGC 663 supports $`R_{cluster}3.5`$. Whereas in the case of NGC 869 the colour excess ratios indicate a perfectly normal reddening law. It seems somewhat strange that in the case of these two clusters the ISM behaves at $`\lambda _U`$ in a different way.

The extinction law in the direction of two clusters IC 1502 and IC 1805 is found to be anomalous. The normalized extinction $`A_\lambda /A_V`$ for these two clusters along with the $`\rho `$ Oph dark cloud (data taken from Martin and Whittet 1990) is plotted in Fig 13b. The effect of varying $`R_{cluster}`$ on the shape of the extinction curves is quite apparent at the shorter wavelengths for different environments of the star forming regions.

As we have discussed the extinction in the direction of star clusters arises due to the general ISM in the foreground of the cluster and also due to the cloud associated with the cluster. Various studies using OB type single stars support a value of $`R3.1`$ for the general ISM (Wegner 1993, Lida et al. 1995, Winkler 1997). The minimum reddening, $`E(BV)_{min}`$, towards the direction of the cluster is representative of reddening due to the foreground dust. The slopes of the distribution of stars having $`E(BV)E(BV)_{min}`$ on the TCDs can give information about the foreground reddening law. In the case of IC 1805 (and NGC 654), where $`E(BV)_{min}`$ is 0.65 (0.77), we used stars having $`E(BV)`$ 0.80 (0.85) to estimate the foreground reddening presuming that star having $`0.65(0.77)E(BV)0.80(0.85)`$ are not much affected by the anomalous reddening law in the cluster region. The colour excess ratios $`E(JV)/E(BV),E(HV)/E(BV)`$, and $`E(KV)/E(BV)`$ obtained are $`2.00\pm 0.32(1.98\pm 0.28),2.58\pm 0.35(2.47\pm 0.27)`$ and $`2.80\pm 0.39(2.82\pm 0.36)`$ respectively, which support a normal reddening law in front of the cluster IC 1805. We further combined data of all the clusters having stars with reddening $`E(BV)0.50`$. We feel that the limit of $`E(BV)0.50`$ safely excludes the reddening due to intra-cluster matter as the smallest $`E(BV)`$ for the NGC 869 and NGC 884 is $`0.50`$ ( e.g. Uribe et al. 2002). A least-squares fit to 8 data points having $`0.01E(BV)0.50`$ gives the colour excess ratio $`E(JV)/E(BV)=2.23\pm 0.32,E(HV)/E(BV)=2.62\pm 0.22`$, and $`E(KV)/E(BV=2.79\pm 0.26`$. These colour excess ratios also indicate a normal foreground reddening law towards the direction of the clusters used in the present study.

Several studies have pointed to the apparent concentration of stars with high $`R`$-values in the vicinity of star forming regions. This effect has, for example, in the $`\eta `$ Carina nebula (Forte 1978, Thé and Groot 1983), M 16 (Chini and Wargau 1990) and M 17 (Chini et al. 1980, Chini and Wargau 1998) and it may be presumed to be characterstic of many more HII regions ( Winkler 1997). Winkler (1997) compared the value of $`R`$ obtained for hottest stars in the Galaxy (spectral type O8 or earlier), which can be considered as indicators of regions with recent star formation, and he confirms that in the majority of the cases the stars with large $`R`$ indeed seems to be in the vicinity of star forming regions.

On the basis of the above discussions we presume that the anomalous extinction law in the direction of cluster IC 1805 is due to the intra-cluster material.

## 6 Conclusions

In the present work we have carried out a detailed study of the intra-cluster material inside the young open clusters within a range of galactic longitude $`123^0<l<144^0`$. We used three methods (cf. Sect. 3.1) to derive $`E(\lambda V)/E(BV)`$ and the results agree with each other in a few percent. It is found that the behaviour of extinction varies from cluster to cluster. The main results are as follows;

1. The extinction curves at shorter wavelengths depend upon the $`R_{cluster}`$ while they converge for $`\lambda \lambda _J`$.
2. The extinction behaviour in the case of NGC 654, NGC 869 and NGC 884 is found normal, whereas in the case of NGC 663 there is some tendency for a higher value of $`R_{cluster}`$. It is interesting to mention that in the case of NGC 663 and NGC 869 the extinction at $`\lambda _U`$ is found different from the normal one. In the case of NGC 663 the extinction process in the $`U`$ band seems to be less efficient, whereas in the case of NGC 869 the process is more efficient.
3. The cluster regions of IC 1502 and IC 1805 show anomalous reddening laws. In the case of IC 1502 the $`R_{cluster}2.57\pm 0.16`$ which is in agreement with the value ($`2.49\pm 0.09`$) obtained by Tapia et al. (1991), whereas in the case of IC 1805 the present study yields $`R_{cluster}3.53\pm 0.25`$ which is in agreement with the value ($`3.44`$) given by Kwon and Lee (1983).

More near-IR data is needed for the clusters NGC 663, NGC 1502 and IC 1805, where an anomalous value of $`R_{cluster}`$ is found, to study the reddening law in detail in the these clusters.

###### Acknowledgements.

This work is partly supported by the DST (India) and the JSPS (Japan). AKP is thankful to the staff of KISO observatory for their help during his stay there. Authors are grateful to Prof. Ram Sagar for useful discussions. Thanks are also due to Dr. John Mathis for his comments which improved the contents of the paper.


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# Relationship between the isotope effects on transition temperature, specific heat and penetration depths

## I Introduction

Isotope effect measurements were of crucial importance in establishing the phonon-induced BCS model of superconductivity. In the weak-coupling BCS model the isotope effect derives from the superconducting transition temperature $`T_c`$ being proportional to the Debye temperature. Since the Debye temperature is proportional to $`M^{1/2}`$ , where $`M`$ is the atomic mass, the isotope-effect coefficient for the transition temperature is $`\beta _{T_c}=`$ $`d\mathrm{ln}T_c/dlnM=0.5`$. The later inclusion of Coulomb repulsion in the pairing interaction resulted in predicted values of less than $`0.5`$ and enabled a reasonably good fit to the data. The situation is more complex in cuprate superconductors, where $`\beta _{T_c}`$ is small near optimal doping and maximum $`T_c`$ and large close to the quantum superconductor to insulator (QSI) transition where $`T_c`$ vanishes. Moreover, recently it has been shown that the effect of isotope substitution is not restricted to $`T_c`$, but affects the in-plane penetration depth as well.

The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that this unconventional behavior of the isotope coefficients of $`T_c`$, in-plane penetration depth, etc. is caused by the dominant role of disorder, thermal and quantum fluctuations and not related to the pairing mechanism. This differs fundamentally from conventional superconductors, where fluctuations do not play an essential role so that the formation of pairs and their condensation occur essentially simultaneously and where the isotope effect allowed to identify the electron-phonon interaction as the dominant pairing interaction. Our starting point is the phase transition surface $`T_c(x,y,M)`$ where $`x`$ is related to the hole concentration , $`y`$ denotes the substituent concentration, e.g. for Cu, or the strength of disorder and $`M`$ is the isotope mass. Cuprates where these parameters can be varied include La2-xSrxCu1-yAyO4 (A= Ni, Zn,…) and Y$`{}_{1x}{}^{}\mathrm{Pr}_{x}^{}`$Ba2Cu3O7-δ, using for Cu pure 63Cu or 65Cu, or for O pure 16O or 18O. In Fig.1 we displayed the phase transition surface $`T_c(x,y)`$ for La2-xSrxCu1-yZnyO4. $`T_c`$ vanishes for $`y=0`$ in the so called underdoped limit $`x=x_u`$, increases for $`x>x_u`$ and reaches its maximum value at optimum doping $`x=x_m`$. For any doping level where superconductivity occurs $`x_uxx_m`$ the transition temperature is reduced upon $`Zn`$ substitution and vanishes along the line $`y_c\left(x\right)`$ of quantum phase transitions. The temperature dependence of the resistivity reveals that along this line two dimensional quantum superconductor to insulator (2D-QSI) transitions occur for $`x0.19`$, while for $`x0.19`$ three dimensional quantum superconductor to normal state (3D-QSN) transitions take place. Here we concentrate on the underdoped regime, $`x_uxx_m`$. Since the anisotropy, defined as the ratio $`\gamma =\xi _{ab}/\xi _c`$ of the correlation lengths parallel $`\left(\xi _{ab}\right)`$ and perpendicular $`\left(\xi _c\right)`$ to CuO2 layers (ab-planes) and evaluated at $`T_c`$, tends to diverge by approaching the endline $`y_c\left(x\right)`$, a three to two dimensional (3D-2D) crossover occurs. Moreover, the order parameter is a complex scalar, corresponding to a two component vector (XY). Accordingly, for $`x_ux0.19`$, $`y_c\left(x\right)`$ is a line of 2D-XY-QSI transitions. On the other hand, there is mounting evidence that at finite temperature the critical properties associated with the phase transition surface $`T_c(x,y,M)`$ appear to fall into the 3D-XY universality class. Supposing that the 2D-XY-QSI and 3D-XY universality classes hold true, this leads naturally to universal critical amplitude combinations, involving the transition temperature and the critical amplitudes of specific heat and penetration depths, which also apply to the isotope effects. They yield universal relations between the isotope coefficients for the transition temperature, the penetration depths and the specific heat.

In Sec.II we sketch the universal relations for anisotropic superconductors falling at finite temperature into the 3D-XY- and at zero temperature into the 2D-QSI universality class. Since fluctuations are supposed to dominate, pair formation and pair condensation do not occur simultaneously. For this reason, the universal relations between transition temperature and the critical amplitudes of specific heat, correlation lengths and penetration depths, do not depend on the underlying pairing mechanism, but reveal how the isotope effects on these quantities are correlated. To explore the nature of the isotope effects we concentrate on the regime where the materials flow to 2D-QSI criticality, driven by variation of dopant concentration $`x`$ and $`y`$, e.g. the concentration of substituents for Cu or the strength of disorder. In this regime, the essential effect of isotope substitution is a slight depression of the phase transition surface $`T_c(x,y)`$ which unalterably implies a shift of the quantum phase transition line $`y_c\left(x\right)`$ and of the underdoped limit $`x_u`$. Using this facts and the scaling theory of quantum critical phenomena it is shown that the flow to 2D-QSI criticality is characterized by an anomalous increase of the isotope coefficient for the transition temperature $`\beta _{T_c}`$, zero temperature in-plane penetration depth $`\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2(0)}`$ and condensation energy $`\beta _E`$, given by $`\beta _{T_c}\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2(0)}\beta _ET_{cm}/T_c`$, irrespective along which axis the 2D-QSI critical point is approached. $`T_{cm}`$ denotes the maximum transition temperature within a family of cuprates.

A comparison with experiment is presented in Sec.III. Although the data on the isotope effect on transition temperature and the critical amplitudes of the penetration depths are rather sparse, they reveal suggestive consistency with this scenario. We hope that the present paper will serve as a stimulus for future systematic measurements. On the contrary, the experimental data on the $`T_c`$ dependence of $`\beta _{T_c}`$ allows a rather quantitative comparison with our predictions. Irrespective of the path along which the 2D-QSI critical point is approached, our prediction, $`\beta _{T_c}T_{cm}/T_c`$ is well confirmed, including the spin-triplet p-wave superconductor Sr2RuO4. Here, reduced $`T_c`$’s were achieved by using crystals containing impurities and defects. Intriguingly enough the factor of proportionality appears to adopt a nearly unique value, indicating that $`\beta _{T_c}0.17T_{cm}/T_c`$ holds, independent of the material and the direction of the flow to 2D-QSI criticality. A potential candidate for the description of the 2D-QSI transition are 2D disordered bosons with long-range Coulomb interactions. Here the transition is driven by the competition between exchange of pairs, which favors superfluidity, and the combined effects of disorder and the Coulomb interaction, which favor localization.

## II Universal relations

The universality class to which the cuprates at finite temperature belong is not only characterized by its critical exponents but also by various critical-point amplitude combinations which are equally important. Though these amplitudes depend on $`x,y`$ and $`M`$, their universal combinations do not. An important example is the universal relation

$$\left(k_BT_c\right)^3=\left(\frac{\mathrm{\Phi }_0^2}{16\pi ^3}\right)^3\frac{\xi _{x0}^{tr}\xi _{y0}^{tr}\xi _{z0}^{tr}}{\lambda _{x0}^2\lambda _{y0}^2\lambda _{z0}^2},$$
(1)
where $`\xi _{i0}^{tr}`$ and $`\lambda _{i0}`$ are the critical amplitude of the transverse correlation lengths and the penetration depths, respectively. These length scales diverge as

$$\xi _i^{tr}=\xi _{i0}^{tr}\left|t\right|^\nu \text{}\lambda _i=\lambda _{i0}\left|t\right|^{\nu /2}.$$
(2)
Close to criticality the specific heat singularity is characterized by

$$\frac{C}{Vk_B}=\frac{T}{k_B}\frac{^2f_s}{t^2}\frac{A^\pm }{\alpha }\left|t\right|^\alpha ,$$
(3)
and the combination of the critical amplitude $`A^{}`$ and the transverse correlation volume

$$\left(R^\pm \right)^3=A^{}\xi _{x0}^{tr}\xi _{y0}^{tr}\xi _{z0}^{tr}=Q_3^\pm \alpha \left(1\alpha \right)\left(2\alpha \right),$$
(4)
turns out to be universal as well. $`R^\pm `$ are universal numbers. Combining then the universal relations (1) and (4) we obtain a relation between measurable properties which holds at any finite temperature irrespective of the doping and substitution level:

$$T_c^3=\left(\frac{\mathrm{\Phi }_0^2}{16\pi ^3k_B}\right)^3\frac{\left(R^{}\right)^3}{A^{}\lambda _{x,0}^2\lambda _{y,0}^2\lambda _{z,0}^2}$$
(5)
Considering variations in the dopant, substituent concentration etc., denoted by $`y`$ it then follows that the changes in $`T_c`$, $`A^{}`$ and $`1/\lambda _{i,0}^2`$ are not independent but related by

$$\frac{1}{T_c}\frac{dT_c}{dy}=\frac{1}{3A^{}}\frac{dA^{}}{dy}+\frac{1}{3}\underset{i=1}{\overset{3}{}}\lambda _{i,0}^2\frac{d\left(1/\lambda _{i,0}^2\right)}{dy}.$$
(6)
In tetragonal cuprates, where $`\lambda _{ab0}=\lambda _{a0}=\lambda _{b0}`$, it reduces to

$$\frac{1}{T_c}\frac{dT_c}{dy}=\frac{1}{3A^{}}\frac{dA^{}}{dy}+\frac{2}{3}\lambda _{ab,0}^2\frac{d\left(1/\lambda _{ab,0}^2\right)}{dy}+\frac{1}{3}\lambda _{c,0}^2\frac{d\left(1/\lambda _{c,0}^2\right)}{dy}$$
(7)
In the underdoped regime, tuned by variation of the dopant, substitution or impurity concentration the cuprates undergo a 2D-QSI transition. Here the universal relation

$$T_c=\frac{\mathrm{\Phi }_0^2\overline{R}_2d_s}{16\pi ^3k_B}\frac{1}{\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)},$$
(8)
between transition temperature and zero temperature in-plane penetration depth holds. $`d_s`$ denotes the thickness of the superconducting sheets and $`\overline{R}_2`$ is a universal dimensionless constant. Considering variations in the dopant, substituent concentration etc., denoted by $`y`$ it then follows that the changes in $`T_c`$, $`d_s`$ and $`1/\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)`$ are not independent but related by

$$\frac{1}{T_c}\frac{dT_c}{dy}=\frac{1}{d_s}\frac{dd_s}{dy}+\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)\frac{d}{dy}\left(\frac{1}{\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)}\right).$$
(9)
Thus, the approach to 2D-QSI criticality is associated with a flow to

$$\frac{1}{T_c}\frac{dT_c}{dy}\frac{1}{d_s}\frac{dd_s}{dy}+\lambda _{ab0}^2\frac{d}{dy}\left(\frac{1}{\lambda _{ab0}^2}\right)\frac{1}{d_s}\frac{dd_s}{dy}+\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)\frac{d}{dy}\left(\frac{1}{\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)}\right),$$
(10)
As the isotope substitution is concerned it is useful to rewrite Eq.(7) in the form

$$\beta _{_{T_c}}=\frac{2}{3}\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab,0}^2}+\frac{1}{3}\beta _{1/\lambda _{c,0}^2}\frac{1}{3}\beta _A^{},$$
(11)
where $`\beta _B`$ is the isotope coefficient defined by

$$\beta _B=\frac{M}{B}\frac{dB}{dM}.$$
(12)
$`B=(T_c,\lambda _{ab,0}^2,\lambda _{c,0}^2,A^{})`$ and $`dM=^{16}M^{18}M`$. It reveals that a change of the transition temperature upon isotope substitution is unalterably linked to a change in the specific heat and the penetration depths. Note that a vanishing isotope effect on $`T_c`$ merely implies that the contributions of specific heat and penetration depths cancel. In this context it is important to recognize that the universal relations, including Eq.(5), (6) and (11) also apply in the presence of disorder. Indeed, since the critical exponent $`\alpha `$ of the specific heat is negative in the 3D-XY universality class, Harris criterion implies that disorder is irrelevant at finite temperature. On the other hand, close to 2D-QSI criticality the isotope coefficients of $`T_c`$ and zero temperature in-plane penetration depth are according to Eq.(9) related by

$$\beta _{T_c}=\beta _{d_s}+\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)}.$$
(13)
In analogy to Eq.(10), the approach to 2D-QSI criticality is then associated with the flow

$$\beta _{_{T_c}}=\frac{2}{3}\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab,0}^2}+\frac{1}{3}\beta _{1/\lambda _{c,0}^2}\frac{1}{3}\beta _A^{}\beta _{d_s}+\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)}$$
(14)
The 2D-QSI transition is also characterized by the scaling relations

$$T_c=a_\delta \delta ^{z\overline{\nu }},\overline{\xi }_{ab}=\overline{\xi }_{ab,\delta }\delta ^{\overline{\nu }}.$$
(15)
$`\overline{\xi }_{ab}`$ is the in-plane correlation length extrapolated to zero temperature and $`\delta `$ measures the distance from the critical point with dynamic critical exponent $`z`$ and correlation length exponent $`\overline{\nu }`$. In cuprates there is consistent evidence for a 2D-QSI transition with $`z=1`$ and $`\overline{\nu }1`$. These estimates coincide with the theoretical prediction for a 2D disordered bosonic system with long-range Coulomb interactions. This strongly suggests that in cuprate superconductors the loss of phase coherence, due to the localization of Cooper pairs, is responsible for the 2D-QSI transition.

To explore the scaling behavior of the isotope coefficient for the transition temperature, $`\beta _{T_c}`$, along the hole concentration axis $`x`$ we can use the empirical relation

$$T_c\left(x\right)=\frac{2T_{cm}}{x_m^2}\left(xx_u\right)\left(x_ox\right),x_m=\frac{x_u+x_o}{2},$$
(16)
due to Presland *et al.*. It describes the phase transition line of cuprate superconductors in the temperature-dopant concentration ($`x`$) plane very well . The hole concentration $`p`$ can be varied effectively by changing the oxygen content and substitution in non copper sites. $`T_c`$ adopts its maximum value $`T_{cm}`$ at optimum doping $`x=x_m`$. $`x_u`$ denotes the underdoped and $`x_o`$ the overdoped limit. Note that this empirical relation is fully consistent with a 2D-QSI transition with $`z\overline{\nu }=1`$ and $`\delta =\left(xx_u\right)/x_u`$, because $`T_c\left(x\right)=\left(4T_{cm}/\left(x_ox_u\right)\right)\left(xx_u\right)T_{cm}\left(xx_u\right)`$. The main effect of isotope substitution is the shift of $`x_u`$ to a slightly larger and of $`T_{cm}`$ to a slightly lower value. Concentrating on the behavior close to 2D-QSI criticality, we obtain with Eq.(12) the expression

$$\beta _{T_c}=\frac{4x_uT_{cm}}{\left(x_ox_u\right)T_c}\beta _{x_u}\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}\beta _{x_u},\beta _{x_u}=\frac{M}{x_u}\frac{dx_u}{dM}.$$
(17)
Thus, the flow to 2D-QSI criticality along the hole concentration axis is characterized by the depression of $`T_c`$, giving rise to a divergent isotope coefficient $`\beta _{T_c}`$. The amplitude of the divergence is controlled by $`\beta _{p_u}`$, the isotope coefficient associated with the shift of the underdoped limit upon isotope substitution. Approaching the 2D-QSI critical point along the disorder or substitution (e.g. substitution for Cu) axis, denoted by $`y`$, $`T_c`$ vanishes as

$$T_c=T_{cm}\left(1y/y_c\right)^{z\overline{\nu }}.$$
(18)
Upon isotope substitution $`y_c`$ shifts to a slightly smaller value, because $`T_c`$ is lowered (see Fig.1). Concentrating then on the divergent part of $`\beta _{T_c}`$ so that the effect on $`T_{cm\text{ }}`$can be neglected we obtain with Eq.(12) and for $`z\overline{\nu }=1`$ the expression

$$\beta _{T_c}=\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}\beta _{y_c},\beta _{y_c}=\frac{M}{y_c}\frac{dy_c}{dM}.$$
(19)
On the other hand, approaching the 2D-QSI critical point along the residual resistivity axis, there is the scaling relation

$$T_c=T_{cm}\left(1\rho _{ab}/\rho _{ab}^c\right)^{z\overline{\nu }},$$
(20)
where $`\rho _{ab}`$ and $`\rho _{ab}^c`$ denote the residual and critical residual in-plane resistivity, respectively. In the 2D limit the relevant measure of resistivity is the sheet resistance $`\rho ^{\mathrm{}}=d_s\rho _{ab}`$, adopting at criticality a fixed value, $`\rho ^{\mathrm{}}h/\left(4e^2\right)`$. Considering $`z\overline{\nu }=1`$ and approaching 2D-QSI criticality along the in-plane resistivity axis, the isotope coefficient $`\beta _{T_c}`$ adopts then with Eq.(12) the form

$$\beta _{T_c}=\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}\frac{M}{\rho _{ab}^c}\frac{d\rho _{ab}^c}{dM}=\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}\beta _{d_s},\beta _{d_s}=\frac{M}{d_s}\frac{dd_s}{dM}.$$
(21)
$`\beta _{d_s}`$ denotes the isotope coefficient of $`d_s`$, the thickness of the 2D slab. Since $`d_s`$ remains finite upon isotope substitution, this also applies to $`\beta _{d_s}`$. Thus close to 2D-QSI criticality we obtain with Eqs.(13), (17), (19) and (21) the relation

$$\beta _{T_c}=\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}\beta _{d_s}=\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}\beta _{y_c}\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}\beta _{x_u}\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)},$$
(22)
revealing that $`\beta _{T_c}T_{cm}/T_c`$ holds with a unique factor of proportionality, irrespective of the axis the 2D-QSI critical point is approached.

Another quantity of interest is the condensation energy per unit volume. Close to 2D-QSI and 3D-QSN criticality its singular part scales as the inverse of the zero temperature correlation volume, so that

$$E\left(T=0\right)\delta ^{\overline{\nu }\left(D+z\right)}T_c^{D+z},$$
(23)
using Eq.(15). Thus, along the quantum critical endline $`y_c\left(x\right)`$ ( see Fig.1), the condensation energy vanishes, as it should be. Invoking Eqs.(12) and (23) the isotope coefficient of the condensation energy adopts then close to the 2D-QSI critical point the form

$$\beta _E=\frac{M}{E}\frac{dE}{dM}=\left(2+z\right)\beta _{T_c}\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}$$
(24)
## III Comparison with experiment

We are now prepared to confront these predictions for the isotope effect with experiment. Although the experimental data on the isotope effect on transition temperature and penetration depth are rather sparse, some insight can be obtained from the estimates listed in Table I. La2-xSrxCuO4 and Y$`{}_{1x}{}^{}\mathrm{Pr}_{x}^{}`$Ba2Cu3O7-δ undergo a doping tuned 2D-QSI transition at $`x0.05`$ and $`x0.55`$, respectively. These estimates have been derived from a fit of the experimental data for $`1/\lambda _{ab}^2\left(T\right)`$ to the leading critical behavior

$$\frac{1}{\lambda _{ab}^2}=\frac{1}{\lambda _{ab,0}^2}t^{2\nu },t=1T/T_c,\nu =2/3.$$
(25)
|  | $`x`$ | $`T_c`$(16O) (K) | $`\mathrm{\Delta }T_c/T_c`$ | $`\lambda _{ab0}^2\mathrm{\Delta }\left(1/\lambda _{ab0}^2\right)`$ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| La2-xSrxCuO4 | 0.15 | 37.2 | -0.008 | -0.033 |
|  | 0.086 | 22.19 | -0.051 | -0.062 |
|  | 0.08 | 19.1 | -0.073 | -0.086 |
| Y$`{}_{1x}{}^{}\mathrm{Pr}_{x}^{}`$Ba2Cu3O7-δ | 0 | 91.4 | -0.0044 | -0.025 |
|  | 0.3 | 57.2 | -0.049 | -0.072 |
|  | 0.4 | 42.6 | -0.059 | -0.079 |

Table I: Estimates for $`\mathrm{\Delta }T_c/T_c`$ and $`\lambda _{ab0}^2\mathrm{\Delta }\left(1/\lambda _{ab0}^2\right)`$ derived from the magnetic torque measurements of Hofer *et al.* on La2-xSrxCuO4 and the $`\mu `$SR measurements of Khasanov *et al.* on Y$`{}_{1x}{}^{}\mathrm{Pr}_{x}^{}`$Ba2Cu3O7-δ.

An example is shown in Fig.2. Since there is mounting evidence for 3D-XY criticality and the available data are rather sparse close to $`T_c`$, we kept $`\nu `$ fixed. For this reason and in view of the excellent fits to both, the La2-xSrxCuO4 and Y$`{}_{1x}{}^{}\mathrm{Pr}_{x}^{}`$Ba2Cu3O7-δ data, the estimates quoted in Table I should be reliable and with that reveal the flow to 2D-QSI criticality. To uncover this flow we displayed in Fig.3 the plot $`\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab0}^2}`$versus $`\beta _{T_c}`$. Although the set of data points is sparse, key trends emerge. As $`T_c`$ decreases the data points flow to the straight line, signaling the approach to 2D-QSI criticality, where $`\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab0}^2}\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2\left(0\right)}\beta _{T_c}\mathrm{}`$ (see Eqs.(14) and (22)). In this flow both cuprates appear to cross the dashed line, corresponding to $`\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab0}^2}=3\beta _{T_c}/2`$. Here the contributions of specific heat and out of plane penetration depth cancel (see Eq.(11)). This clearly reveals that except for this special point the isotope effect on transition temperature and the critical amplitude of the in-plane penetration depth are not simply related. Indeed, the contributions of the specific heat and out of plane penetration depth cancel at this special point only. There is also the experimental fact that close to the maximum $`T_c`$ the isotope effect on $`1/\lambda _{ab0}^2`$ is substantial, while it is very small in $`T_c`$. A glance to the universal relation (11) shows that even for $`\beta _{T_c}=0`$ a substantial isotope effect on the in-plane penetration depth can be expected, whenever the contributions of the specific heat and out of plane penetration depth do not cancel. Indeed, the absence of an isotope effect in one of the quantities entering Eq.(11) is not bound to the absence of an effect in all the others.

Additional evidence for the flow to 2D-QSI criticality stems from the plot $`1/\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2(0)}`$ versus $`1/\beta _{T_c}`$ shown in Fig.4 for the oxygen isotope effect in La2-xSrxCu1-xO4  and Y$`{}_{1x}{}^{}\mathrm{Pr}_{x}^{}`$Ba2Cu3O7 . It clearly reveals the crossover to the asymptotic 2D-QSI behavior, indicated by the dashed straight line, where $`\beta _{T_c}\beta _{1/\lambda _{ab}^2(0)}`$, because $`\beta _{d_s}`$ remains finite, while $`\beta _{T_c}=T_{cm}\beta _{d_s}/T_c`$ diverges (Eq.(22). For comparison we included the solid curve, which is Eq.(13), providing for $`\beta _{d_s}`$, the oxygen isotope coefficient of $`d_s`$, the estimate

$$\beta _{d_s}=\frac{M}{d_s}\frac{dd_s}{dM}=0.24,$$
(26)
This yields with Eq.(22)

$$\beta _{T_c}0.24\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c},$$
(27)
irrespective of the path the 2D-QSI transition is approached.

To clarify the uniqueness of this estimate for the factor of proportionality further, we displayed in Fig.5 the experimental data for YBa2-yLayCu3O7, La1.95Sr0.15Cu1-yNiyO4, Y$`{}_{1x}{}^{}\mathrm{Pr}_{x}^{}`$Ba2Cu3O7 and Sr2RuO4 in terms of $`\beta _{T_c}`$ versus $`T_c/T_{cm}`$. Note that Sr2RuO4 is a spin-triplet p-wave superconductor with an intrinsic $`T_{c0\text{ }}=1.5`$K. It is the only layered perovskite superconductor without Cu so far. Reduced $`T_c`$’s were achieved by using crystals containing impurities and defects. Moreover, in conjunction with the scaling relations (15) and (20) the experimental data on the $`T_c`$ dependence of the in-plane correlation length, as well as the dependence of $`T_c`$ on residual in plane resistivity, point to a 2D-QSI transition with $`z=1`$ and $`\overline{\nu }1`$. Thus, in agreement with the scaling predictions (22) and (27) for $`\beta _{T_c}`$ versus $`T_{cm}/T_c`$, $`\beta _{T_c}`$ increases with reduced $`T_c`$ and, as indicated by the solid curves in Fig.5, tends to diverge as

$$\beta _{T_c}0.17\frac{T_{cm}}{T_c}.$$
(28)
Note that the copper isotope effect in YBa2Cu3O7-δ leads to analogous behavior. Thus, there is the remarkable experimental fact that $`\beta _{y_c}`$, $`\beta _{p_u}`$ and $`\beta _{d_s}`$ describing the shift of the critical point along the disorder, Cu substitution, dopant and sheet resistance axis , respectively (see Eqs.(22) and Eq.(27)) adopt the nearly unique value $`\beta _{x_u}\beta _{y_c}\beta _{d_s}0.170.24`$, including the spin-triplet p-wave superconductor Sr2RuO4. It stems from a mechanism which shifts $`x_u`$, $`y_c`$ and $`d_s`$ upon isotope substitution, subject to the intriguing constraint that the associated coefficient $`\beta _{x_u}`$, $`\beta _{y_c}`$ and $`\beta _{d_s}`$ adopt nearly the same value. As a consequence, in these materials the isotope effects and the pairing mechanism are unrelated. In this context it is important to note that the simultaneous occurrence of pairing and pair condensation requires the absence of thermal and quantum fluctuations. On the contrary, we have seen that cuprates flow, tuned by the combined effect of quantum fluctuations and disorder, to 2D-QSI criticality and that the isotope effects on transition temperature, specific heat and penetration depths are not independent but related by the universal relation (11) which requires thermal fluctuations to dominate. Given this behavior it follows that along the flow to 2D-XY-QSI criticality fluctuations are relevant so that pairing and pair condensation do not occur simultaneously. The generically small value of $`\beta _{T_c}`$ around the maximum transition temperature is then due to the cancellation of the specific heat and penetration depths contributions (Eq. (11)), while the rise of $`\beta _{T_c}`$ with reduced $`T_c`$ (Fig.4) reflects the flow to 2D-XY-QSI criticality, where the scaling predictions (22), (27) and (28) apply.

We have seen that close to 2D-QSI criticality the isotope effects stem from the shift of the phase diagram and $`d_s`$ upon isotope substitution. On the other hand, the 2D-QSI transition is driven by the exchange of pairs which favors superconductivity and the combined effects of disorder and Coulomb repulsion of the pairs, which favor localization. Since isotope substitution will hardly affect disorder and Coulomb repulsion, the mechanism left is the electron-phonon interaction, which renormalizes the mass of the fermions and with that mass and exchange of the pairs. Indeed, inelastic neutron-scattering experiments on cuprate superconductors give clear evidence of a strong electron-phonon coupling . In particular, characteristic phonon anomalies generated by a large electron-lattice interaction have been detected in La2CuO4 . Here a strong softening of the high-frequency copper-in-plane-oxygen bond-stretching modes is found as holes are doped in the insulating parent compound, i.e., we have an unmistakable and important example for a direct correlation of hole doping with the phonon anomalies. Doping leads to a strong decrease of the planar oxygen breathing mode frequency and even more strongly for a CuO bond-stretching vibration. Similar to the observations in doped La2CuO4 pronounced phonon anomalies for the Cu-in-plane-oxygen bond stretching vibrations have also been observed by neutron scattering experiments in YBa2Cu3O7. These experimental results strongly suggest that the anomalous phonon softening upon hole doping and the associated strong electron-phonon coupling is a generic feature of cuprates. Moreover the measured frequency shift of the transverse optic phonons due to the substitution of 16O by 18O yielded in underdoped YBa2Cu3O7 ($`T_c=68`$K) an isotope coefficient of the expected magnitude for copper-oxygen stretching modes, with $`\beta _\omega =0.5\pm 0.1`$

## IV Summary and conclusions

We have seen that the experimental data on the isotope effects on transition temperature and in-plane penetration depth in cuprate superconductors reveal remarkable consistency with the universal relations for a system undergoing a 3D-XY phase transition at finite temperature and a quantum superconductor to insulator transitions in two dimensions (2D-QSI). Although the relevant experimental data on the effect on transition temperature and in-plane penetration depth are rather sparse and the effect on the out of plane penetration depth and specific heat remains to be investigated, there is mounting evidence that cuprates fall at finite temperature into the 3D-XY- and at zero temperature, close to the insulator-superconductor boundary into the 2D-XY-QSI universality classes. By definition, the universal relations hold irrespective of the dopant or substituent concentration. They apply whenever critical fluctuations dominate. In this case pairing and pair condensation do not occur simultaneously. This differs from conventional superconductors where fluctuations do not play an essential role and mean-field treatments appear to work. Here pairing and pair condensation occurs simultaneously and due to the absence of fluctuations the universal relations do not apply. Given then the analysis presented here, together with additional evidence for the importance of critical fluctuations in the cuprates, it becomes clear, that the isotope effects in these materials do not provide direct information on the pairing mechanism. These effects are subject to the universal relations and the phase diagram. In the underdoped cuprates considered here, they provide useful information on the flow to 2D-QSI criticality and the interplay between the isotope effects on transition temperature, specific heat and penetration depths. Concerning the mechanism of the isotope effects, it leads to a shift of the phase diagram. $`T_c`$ is lowered and this implies unalterably a shift of the critical dopant, substituent, impurity and defect concentration, where the 2D-QSI transition occurs. This transition is driven by the exchange of pairs, which favors superconductivity and the combined effects of disorder and Coulomb repulsion of the pairs, which favor localization. Since isotope substitution will hardly affect disorder and Coulomb repulsion, it appears most likely that electron - phonon interaction, which renormalizes the mass of the fermions and with that the mass and the exchange of the pairs, is the relevant mechanism, giving rise to the shift of the phase diagram.

Finally we hope that this novel point of view about the isotope effects in fluctuation dominated superconductors will stimulate further experimental work to obtain new data to confirm or refute our predictions.

The author is grateful to D. Di Castro, R. Khasanov, H. Keller , K. A. Müller and J. Roos for stimulating discussions.


text:
# 5.1 Definition

## 5.1 Definition

Let $`\varphi :(R,𝔪)(S,𝔫)`$ be a local ring homomorphism. Let $`D`$ be the dualizing complex of $`R`$, then $`\varphi `$ is said to have finite Gorenstein dimension ,if and only if $`S`$ belongs to $`𝒜(R)`$; and $`\varphi `$ is said to be quasi-Gorenstein at $`𝔫`$, if and only if it has finite Gorenstein dimension and $`D_R^𝐋S`$ is a dualizing complex for $`S`$.

They have also proved (, 7.9) that if $`\varphi `$ is quasi-Gorenstein at $`𝔫`$, then an $`S`$-complex $`X`$ is in $`𝒜(S)`$, respectively, $`(S)`$, if and only if it is in $`𝒜(R)`$, respectively, $`(R)`$.

In this appendix, using this fact, we present connections between Gorenstein dimensions of an $`S`$-complex over $`R`$ and $`S`$, when $`\varphi :RS`$ is a quasi-Gorenstein ring homomorphism.

## 5.2 Theorem

Assume that $`(R,𝔪)`$ is a Cohen-Macaulay local ring with a dualizing module $`D`$. If $`\varphi :(R,𝔪)(S,𝔫)`$ is quasi-Gorenstein at $`𝔫`$, then the following inequalities hold for $`X𝒞(S)`$.

* $`\text{Gpd}_RX\text{Gpd}_SX+\text{Gpd}_RS`$.
* $`\text{Gfd}_RX\text{Gfd}_SX+\text{Gfd}_RS`$.

Proof. Since $`S𝒜(R)`$, the module $`D_RS`$ represents $`D_R^𝐋S`$ ( cf. \[5 ,3.4.6\]). Then $`S`$ is a Cohen-Macaulay local ring with a dualizing module and hence $`\text{Gpd}_SX`$ and $`\text{Gfd}_SX`$ are finite if and only if $`\text{Gpd}_RX`$ and $`\text{Gfd}_RX`$ are finite.

Now let $`X𝒜(S)`$, then using fundamental equalities we have

$$\begin{array}{cc}\text{Gpd}_RX\hfill & =\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(X,T))|T_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & =\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(X_S^𝐋S,T))|T_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & =\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_S(X,𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(S,T)|T_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & \text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(S,T))\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_S(X,𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(S,T))|T_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & +\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(S,T)|T_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & \text{Gpd}_SX+\text{Gpd}_RS.\hfill \end{array}$$

And

$$\begin{array}{cc}\text{Gfd}_RX\hfill & =\text{sup}\{\text{sup}(U_R^𝐋X)|U_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & =\text{sup}\{\text{sup}(U_R^𝐋(S_S^𝐋X))|U_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & =\text{sup}\{\text{sup}((U_R^𝐋S)_S^𝐋X)|U_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & \text{sup}\{\text{sup}((U_R^𝐋S)_S^𝐋X)\text{sup}(U_R^𝐋S)|U_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & +\text{sup}\{\text{sup}(U_R^𝐋S)|U_0(R)\}\hfill \\ & \text{Gfd}_SX+\text{Gfd}_RS.\hfill \end{array}$$

$`\mathrm{}`$

Avramov and Foxby have proved that if $`\varphi :RS`$ is quasi-Gorenstein at $`𝔫`$, the inequalities of the above theorem become equalities provided that $`S`$ is a finite $`R`$-module and $`X`$ a finite $`S`$-module.333 L. Avramov informed us that this result is a consequence of a result due to Golod. Note that when this is the case, the Gorenstein projective and flat dimensions are equal to the Auslander’s G-dimension.

To prove the dual of the theorem, we provide some preliminaries.

For an complex $`X𝒞_{()}(R)`$, Christensen, Foxby and Frankild defined the small restricted covariant Ext-dimension of $`X`$ as follows.

$$\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{rid}_RX\hfill & =\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(T,X)|T𝒫_0^{(f)}\}\hfill \\ & =\text{sup}\{\text{sup}U\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(U,X)|U^{(f)}(R)\}.\hfill \end{array}$$

They have proved that the inequality $`\mathrm{rid}_RX\text{id}_RX`$ always holds, and it becomes equality if $`\mathrm{cmd}R1`$ and $`\text{id}_RX<\mathrm{}`$.(cf.)

## 5.3 Theorem

Let $`M`$ be an $`R`$-module. The following inequality always holds.

$$\mathrm{rid}_RM\text{Gid}_RM.$$

The equality holds if $`\mathrm{cmd}R1`$ and $`\text{Gid}_RM<\mathrm{}`$.

Proof. If $`\text{Gid}_RM`$ is not finite, then the claim is obvious. Now let $`n=\text{Gid}_RM`$ be finite. We prove the theorem by induction on $`n`$.

If $`n=0`$, then $`M`$ is a Gorenstein injective module and then there exists an exact complex

$$I=\mathrm{}I_1I_0M0$$

with $`I_j`$ s injective modules .

If $`T`$ is a finite $`R`$-module of finite projective dimension $`t`$, then since $`\mathrm{Ext}_R^i(T,M)=\mathrm{Ext}_R^{i+t}(T,\mathrm{Z}_\mathrm{t}^\mathrm{I})`$, we have $`\mathrm{Ext}_R^i(T,M)=0`$ for all $`i>0`$. Therefore $`\mathrm{rid}_RM=0`$.

If $`n>0`$, then by \[17, 2.45\], there exists a Gorenstein injective $`R`$-module $`G`$ and an $`R`$-module $`C`$ with $`\text{id}_RC=\text{Gid}_RC=n1`$, such that the following sequence is exact.

$$0MGC0$$

For any finite $`R`$-module $`T`$ of finite projective dimension, we have the exact sequence

$$0=\mathrm{Ext}_R^{i1}(T,C)\mathrm{Ext}_R^i(T,M)\mathrm{Ext}_R^i(T,G)=0$$

for $`i>n`$.

Therefore $`\mathrm{rid}_RM\text{Gid}_RM`$.

Now let $`\mathrm{cmd}R1`$. To prove the inverse inequality, note that since $`G`$ is a Gorenstein injective module, there exists an injective $`R`$-module $`E`$ and an exact sequence

$$0KEG0$$

with $`K`$ a Gorenstein injective $`R`$-module, too.

On the other hand we have the isomorphisms $`CG/M`$ and $`GE/K`$. Then there exists a submodule $`L`$ of $`E`$ such that $`KL`$ and $`ML/K`$, and then $`CE/L`$.

From the following exact sequence, we get $`\text{id}_RL\text{id}_RC=n`$.

$$0LEC0$$

Now consider the exact sequence

$$0KLM0.$$

Since $`\text{Gid}_RM=n`$, there exists an injective $`R`$-module $`J`$ with $`\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(J,M)0`$. Hence from the exact sequence

$$\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(J,L)\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(J,M)\mathrm{Ext}_R^{n+1}(J,K)=0,$$

we get $`\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(J,L)0`$ and then $`\text{id}_RLn`$.

Therefore $`\mathrm{rid}_RL=\text{id}_RL=n`$, and then there exists a finite $`R`$-module $`Q`$ of finite projective dimension such that $`\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(Q,L)0`$.

Finally the exactness of

$$0=\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(Q,K)\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(Q,L)\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(Q,M)$$

implies that $`\mathrm{Ext}_R^n(Q,M)0`$ and then $`\mathrm{rid}_RMn`$. $`\mathrm{}`$

## 5.4 Theorem

Assume that $`(R,𝔪)`$ is a Cohen-Macaulay local ring with a dualizing module $`D`$. If $`\varphi :(R,𝔪)(S,𝔫)`$ is quasi-Gorenstein at $`𝔫`$, then the following inequalities hold for an $`S`$-module $`M`$.

$$\text{Gid}_RM\text{Gid}_SM+\text{Gfd}_RS.$$

Furthermore, the equality holds if $`S`$ is a finite $`R`$-module and $`M`$ a finite $`S`$-module.

Proof. Since $`\varphi `$ is quasi-Gorenstein, $`\text{Gid}_RM`$ is finite, if and only if $`\text{Gid}_SM`$ is finite. Let $`\text{Gid}_SM<\mathrm{}`$, then

$$\begin{array}{cc}\text{Gid}_RM\hfill & =\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(T,M)|T𝒫_0^{(f)}(R)\}\hfill \\ & =\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_R(T,𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_S(S,M)))|T𝒫_0^{(f)}(R)\}\hfill \\ & =\text{sup}\{\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_S(T_R^𝐋S,M))|T𝒫_0^{(f)}(R)\}\hfill \\ & \text{sup}\{\text{sup}(T_R^𝐋S)\text{inf}(𝐑\mathrm{Hom}_S(T_R^𝐋S,M))|T𝒫_0^{(f)}(R)\}\hfill \\ & +\text{sup}\{\text{sup}(T_R^𝐋S)|T𝒫_0^{(f)}(R)\}\hfill \\ & \text{Gid}_SM+\text{Gfd}_RS.\hfill \end{array}$$

Now let $`S`$ be a finite $`R`$-module and $`M`$ a finite $`S`$-module. By \[5, 6.2.15\], the following equalities hold.

$$\text{Gid}_RM=\mathrm{depth}R\mathrm{and}\text{Gid}_SM=\mathrm{depth}S.$$

And then the requested equality follows by Auslander-Bridger formula. $`\mathrm{}`$

References

  M. Auslander, Anneaux de Gorenstein et torsion en algèbre commutative, Séminaire d’algèbre commutative 1966/67, notes by M. Mangeney, C. Peskine and L. Szpiro, École Normale Supérieure de Jeunes Filles, Paris, 1967.

  L.L. Avramov and H.-B. Foxby, Homological dimensions of unbounded complexes, J. Pure Appl. Algebra 71 (1991), 129-155.

  L.L. Avramov and H.-B. Foxby, Ring homomorphisms and finite Gorenstein dimension, Proc. London Math. Soc. (3) 75 (1997), no. 2, 241–270.

  W. Burns and J. Herzog, Cohen–Macaulay rings, Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics, 39, Cambridge University press, Cambridge, 1993.

  L.W. Christensen, Gorenstein dimensions, Lecture notes in Mathematics 1747, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2000.

  L.W. Christensen, Semi-dualizing complexes and their Auslander categories, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 353 (2001), no. 5, 1839-1883.

  L.W. Christensen, H.-B. Foxby and A. Frankild, Functorial dimensions and Cohen-Macaulayness of rings, To appear in J. Algebra.

  E.E. Enochs and O.M.G. Jenda, On Gorenstein injective modules, Comm. Algebra 21 (1993), no. 10, 3489-3501.

  E.E. Enochs and O.M.G. Jenda, Gorenstein injective and projective modules, Math. Z. 220 (1995), no. 4, 611-633.

  E.E. Enochs and O.M.G. Jenda, Gorenstein injective and flat dimensions, Math. Japan 44 (1996), no. 2, 261-268.

  E.E. Enochs and O.M.G. Jenda, Gorenstein injective modules over Gorenstein rings, Comm. Algebra 26 (1998), no. 11, 3489-3496.

  E.E. Enochs, O.M.G. Jenda and B. Torrecilles, Gorenstein flat modules, Nanjing Daxue Xuebao Shuxue Bannian Kan 10 (1993), no. 1, 1-9.

  E.E. Enochs, O.M.G. Jenda and Jinzhong Xu, Foxby duality and Gorenstein injective and projective modules, Trans. Amer. math. Soc. 348 (1996), no. 8, 3223-3234.

  H.-B. Foxby, Hyperhomological algebra and commutative rings, notes in preparation.

  H.-B. Foxby, Gorenstein dimension over Cohen–Macaulay rings, Proceeding of International Conference on Commutative Algebra (W. Bruns. ed.), Universität Onsabrück, 1994.

  H. Holm, Gorenstein homological dimensions, To appear.

  T. Ishikawa, On injective modules and flat modules, J. Math. Soc. Japan 17 (1965), 291-296.

  S. Yassemi, On flat and injective dimensions, Ital. J. of Pure Appl. Math. No. 6 (1999), 33-41.

  S. Yassemi, Homomorphism locally of finite injective dimension, New Zealand J. Math. 26 (2000), no. 1, 97-102.


text:
# Identification of topologically different valence bond states in spin ladders

## Abstract

We discuss relation between three different methods to identify topologically distinct short-range valence-bond ground states in spin-$`\frac{1}{2}`$ two-leg ladders: the string order parameters, the level-crossing method, and the ground-state expectation value of the twist operator. For this purpose we reexamine a phase transition in the frustrated spin ladder. We propose a proper bosonization of the string order parameters. Then, these three methods are shown to be equivalent reflecting the $`Z_2\times Z_2`$ symmetry breaking of the order and the disorder fields of the two-dimensional Ising model.

Since the experimental discoveries of several spin ladder compounds, there has been considerable interest in properties of various two-leg spin ladders. The ground states of these ladders are well described by short-range valence bond (dimer) states with an energy gap in spin excitations. In ladder systems, a variety of topological configurations of the dimers are possible, so that we expect phase transitions between topologically different valence bond ground states.

As a typical model which exhibits the topological transition, we consider the antiferromagnetic two-leg spin $`S=\frac{1}{2}`$ ladder with frustration described by

$`={\displaystyle \underset{j=1}{\overset{L}{}}}[J(𝑺_{1,j}𝑺_{1,j+1}+𝑺_{2,j}𝑺_{2,j+1})`$
$`+J_{}𝑺_{1,j}𝑺_{2,j}+J_\times (𝑺_{1,j}𝑺_{2,j+1}+𝑺_{1,j+1}𝑺_{2,j})],`$
where $`𝑺_{n,j}`$ denotes an $`S=\frac{1}{2}`$ operator at site $`j`$ of the $`n`$-th chain. It has been pointed out that there appears competition between two phases : For $`J_{}J_\times J`$, the ground state is similar to that of the $`S=1`$ Haldane-gap state described by the Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) model, while for $`J_\times J_{}`$, the system has the same property of the conventional spin ladder, and the resonating valence bond (RVB) phase including the rung dimer state is stabilized.

First, we analyze the phase transition by using the string order parameter (SOP) which is known to detect the hidden antiferromagnetic order in the Haldane gap phase of the $`S=1`$ Heisenberg chain. In ladder systems, the AKLT and the RVB phases are identified by the following two SOPs,

$`𝒪_p^\alpha =\underset{|kl|\mathrm{}}{lim}\stackrel{~}{S}_{p,k}^\alpha \mathrm{exp}\left[\mathrm{i}\pi {\displaystyle \underset{j=k+1}{\overset{l1}{}}}\stackrel{~}{S}_{p,j}^\alpha \right]\stackrel{~}{S}_{p,l}^\alpha ,`$ (2)
where $`\mathrm{}`$ means the ground-state expectation value, and $`\alpha =x,y,z`$. The composite spin operators for $`p=`$ odd, even are defined by

$`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{odd},j}^\alpha =S_{1,j}^\alpha +S_{2,j}^\alpha ,\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{even},j}^\alpha =S_{1,j}^\alpha +S_{2,j+1}^\alpha .`$ (3)
Then the AKLT and the RVB phases are characterized by $`𝒪_{\mathrm{odd}}^\alpha 0`$, $`𝒪_{\mathrm{even}}^\alpha =0`$, and by $`𝒪_{\mathrm{odd}}^\alpha =0`$, $`𝒪_{\mathrm{even}}^\alpha 0`$, respectively.

The SOPs can be bosonized by using the relation of the $`S=1/2`$ operator $`\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{i}\pi S_{n,j}^z)=2\mathrm{i}S_{n,j}^z`$. In the continuum limit, however, $`𝒪_{\mathrm{odd}}^z`$ and $`𝒪_{\mathrm{even}}^z`$ have the same bosonized form: $`lim_{|xy|\mathrm{}}\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}\sqrt{2}\varphi _+(x)}\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}\sqrt{2}\varphi _+(y)}`$ where $`\varphi _\pm `$ is the symmetric/antisymmetric boson field.

In order to distinguish two SOPs, we consider the boson representations of the composite spin operators,

$`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{odd},j}^z`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{2}}{\pi }}_x\varphi _++{\displaystyle \frac{2\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}\pi x/a_0}}{\pi a_0}}\mathrm{sin}\sqrt{2}\varphi _+\mathrm{cos}\sqrt{2}\varphi _{},`$ (4)
$`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{even},j}^z`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\sqrt{2}}{\pi }}_x\varphi _++{\displaystyle \frac{2\mathrm{e}^{\mathrm{i}\pi x/a_0}}{\pi a_0}}\mathrm{cos}\sqrt{2}\varphi _+\mathrm{sin}\sqrt{2}\varphi _{}.`$ (5)
Here $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{odd},j}^z`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{even},j}^z`$ are related by the shift of the phase fields,

$$\varphi _\pm \varphi _\pm \pm \pi /\sqrt{8}.$$
(6)
This relation indicates that two SOPs are identified as

$`𝒪_{\mathrm{odd}}^z`$ $``$ $`\underset{|xy|\mathrm{}}{lim}\mathrm{sin}[\sqrt{2}\varphi _+(x)]\mathrm{sin}[\sqrt{2}\varphi _+(y)],`$ (7)
$`𝒪_{\mathrm{even}}^z`$ $``$ $`\underset{|xy|\mathrm{}}{lim}\mathrm{cos}[\sqrt{2}\varphi _+(x)]\mathrm{cos}[\sqrt{2}\varphi _+(y)].`$ (8)
Note that Eq. (6) reverses the sign of the nonlinear term of the symmetric mode of the sine-Gordon model. Thus it turns out that $`𝒪_{\mathrm{odd}}^z=𝒪_{\mathrm{even}}^z`$ gives the critical point. Besides, since the phase field is related to the order ($`\sigma _i`$) and disorder ($`\mu _i`$) parameter of the two dimensional noncritical Ising models as $`\mathrm{exp}(\mathrm{i}\sqrt{2}\varphi _+)\mu _1\mu _2+\mathrm{i}\sigma _1\sigma _2`$, two SOPs are identified as $`𝒪_{\mathrm{odd}}^z\sigma _1^2\sigma _2^2`$, $`𝒪_{\mathrm{even}}^z\mu _1^2\mu _2^2`$. Thus Eq. (6) for $`\varphi _+`$ field corresponds to the Kramers-Wannier duality transformation $`\sigma _i\mu _i`$ for two Ising copies, and $`𝒪_{\mathrm{odd}}^\alpha 0`$ ($`𝒪_{\mathrm{even}}^\alpha 0`$) means the breakdown of the $`Z_2\times Z_2`$ symmetry in the order (disorder) fields.

On the other hand, it has been pointed out that a critical point between two non-degenerate ground states such as the AKLT and the RVB phases can be identified by the level-crossing of excitation spectra with different parities under antiperiodic boundary conditions. According to the conformal field theory, operators appearing in the correlation functions $`𝒪_j`$ are related to the excitation spectra $`\mathrm{\Delta }E_j`$ through the scaling dimensions $`x_j`$:

$$\mathrm{\Delta }E_j=\frac{2\pi v}{L}x_j,𝒪_j(x)𝒪_j(y)|xy|^{2x_j},$$
(9)
where $`v`$ is the spin wave velocity. The operators $`\mathrm{sin}(\sqrt{2}\varphi _+)`$, $`\mathrm{cos}(\sqrt{2}\varphi _+)`$ appearing in Eqs. (7) and (8) are nothing but those corresponding to the energy spectra that give the level-crossing point.

Finally, we discuss another order parameter. Recently, the author with Todo proposed the ground-state expectation value of the twist operator as an order parameter to characterize valence bond solid states in quantum spin chains,

$$z_L=\mathrm{exp}\left[\mathrm{i}\frac{2\pi }{L}\underset{j=1}{\overset{L}{}}j\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{odd},j}^z\right].$$
(10)
The asymptotic form of $`z_L`$ is given by $`z_L=(1)^n[1𝒪(1/L)]`$, where $`n`$ is the number of valence bonds at boundary. A similar relation was also found in two-dimensional dimer systems. Therefore, we obtain $`z_L>0`$ ($`z_L<0`$) for the RVB (AKLT) state. It has been proposed that $`z_L`$ defined by Eq. (10) is identified by the ground-state expectation value of the nonlinear term of the sine-Gordon model,

$$z_L\mathrm{cos}(\sqrt{8}\varphi _+)\mu _1^2\mu _2^2\sigma _1^2\sigma _2^2.$$
(11)
Thus it turns out that $`z_L`$ has information of two SOPs, characterizing the $`Z_2\times Z_2`$ symmetry breaking in the order (disorder) fields by alternating its sign. In case that $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{odd},j}^z`$ in $`z_L`$ is replaced by $`\stackrel{~}{S}_{\mathrm{even},j}^z`$, the sign of $`z_L`$ is reversed due to the relation of Eq. (6).

From the above argument, three different methods to identify the topologically distinct valence bond ground states have been shown to be equivalent. We have also performed numerical analysis for Eq. (Identification of topologically different valence bond states in spin ladders) using the exact diagonalization, and observed that phase transition point determined by these three methods show reasonable agreement. These three different methods are also applied to the analysis of phase transitions in the $`S=1`$ spin ladder with bond alternation.

This work is partly supported by the Grant-in-Aid for scientific research of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan.