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# Quantum-wave evolution in a step potential barrier

## I INTRODUCTION

Since the original proposal by StevensStevens  of tunneling monochromatic fronts, the problem has become controversial and still open to investigations. The existence of such propagating fronts has been supported in asymptotic analysis based on exact analytical solutions Moretti  to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, with point source initial conditions. However, analytical and numerical studies based on different boundary conditions and potentials todos , have shown evidence that it is not possible to identify such fronts, in the way suggested in Ref. Moretti . Despite these clarifying works, the need of a direct and comprehensive study of the original point source problem has been recently emphasized ButtThom ; MugBu .

A recent study of Muga and Büttiker MugBu  of quantum waves in a potential step, has shown the existence of a traveling transient forerunner for frequencies of the source below the barrier height, which in opaque barrier conditions ($`xq_01`$) is dominated by over-the-barrier frequencies, implying that this transient structure is associated to a non-tunneling process. They also found that the time of arrival at a fixed position $`x_f`$ is unexpectedly given by $`3^{1/2}\tau `$, where $`\tau `$ is the traversal time, defined as $`\tau =(x_f/v_{q_0})`$, with $`v_{q_0}=(\mathrm{}q_0/m)`$, and $`q_0=[2m(V_0E_0)]^{1/2}/\mathrm{}`$; the parameters $`V_0`$ and $`E_0`$ correspond respectively to the step potential height and the initial energy of the source. We believe that in order to gain more insight about the evolution of quantum waves, the above investigation should be extended to study the role played by $`\tau `$ in the spatial-dependence of the solution.

In this paper we investigate both the time and position dependence of quantum waves in a step potential barrier by means of an exact solution to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. Our analysis shows that the forerunner travels in space at exactly the semiclassical group velocity $`v_{q_0}`$, implying that the traversal time $`\tau `$ is exactly the time of arrival of the maximum of the forerunner at a fixed point deep inside the potential step; clearly this result is different from the time scale of Ref. MugBu  by a factor of $`3^{1/2}`$. Using a scaling property of the forerunner derived from the analytic solution, the exact interpretation of the time scales $`\tau `$ and $`3^{1/2}\tau `$ as times of arrival is clarified. It is a surprising fact that $`\tau `$, a time scale traditionally regarded as one of the possible tunneling times, is here associated to a non-tunneling process.

This work is organized as follows. Section II deals with numerical examples, showing both spatial and time evolution of the probability density for initial waves with energies $`E_0>V_0`$, and $`E_0<V_0`$. Finally, the conclusions are presented in Section III.

## II QUANTUM WAVE EVOLUTION

In this section we shall explore the main features of quantum wave evolution. Here we use the exact analytical solutions Moretti ; MugBu  (see also Appendix A) to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a step potential barrier $`V(x)=\mathrm{\Theta }(x)V_0`$, for a wave formed by a point source with a sharp onset,

$$\psi _0\left(x=0,t\right)=\{\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{e}^{i\omega _0t},& t>0,\\ 0,& t<0.\end{array}$$
(1)
We have defined $`\omega _0=(E_0/\mathrm{})`$, where $`E_0`$ corresponds to the initial energy of the source. It is worthwhile to point out that the source boundary condition given by Eq. (1) is not a standard one in quantum mechanics. For a physical interpretation of these type of boundary conditions see Ref. BEM01 .

The analytical solutions for the point source problem are given by,

$$\psi _>(x,t)=\mathrm{e}^{iVt}\left[M(x,k_0,t)+M(x,k_0,t)\right],\omega _0>V,$$
(2)
and,

$$\psi _<(x,t)=\mathrm{e}^{iVt}\left[M(x,iq_0,t)+M(x,iq_0,t)\right],\omega _0<V,$$
(3)
where $`k_0=[2m(\omega _0V)/\mathrm{}]^{1/2}`$, $`q_0=ik_0`$, and $`V=(V_0/\mathrm{})`$. In the above equations the $`M`$ functions are defined as,

$$M(x,q,t)M(y_q)=\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{e}^{imx^2/2\mathrm{}t}w(iy_q),$$
(4)
where $`w`$ is the complex error function Abrwtz ; Fdyva  $`w(z)=\mathrm{exp}(z^2)erfc(iz)`$. The argument $`y_q`$ in Eq. (4) is given by,

$$y_q=\mathrm{e}^{i\pi /4}\left(\frac{m}{2\mathrm{}t}\right)^{1/2}\left[x\frac{\mathrm{}q}{m}t\right],$$
(5)
where $`q=\pm k_0,\pm iq_0`$.

From the analysis given in Subsection A.1, one can obtain the long time behavior of Eqs. (2) and (3). For the long time regime $`t\mathrm{}`$ the asymptotic solutions are,

$$\psi _<^a(x,t)=\mathrm{e}^{i\omega _0t}\mathrm{e}^{q_0x},\omega _0<V,$$
(6)
and

$$\psi _>^a(x,t)=\mathrm{e}^{i\omega _0t}\mathrm{e}^{ik_0x},\omega _0>V.$$
(7)
In what follows we shall explore the main features of waves along the potential region, $`x>0`$, generated by a source with the initial frequencies $`\omega _0>V`$ and $`\omega _0<V`$. Our emphasis will be in the second case, where we shall reveal novel aspects in the spatial evolution of quantum waves.

### II.1 Source with an initial frequency $`\omega _0>V`$

Although the main purpose of the present work is to explore the dynamics of the solution for a source with an initial frequency $`\omega _0<V`$, for completeness we begin our discussion by illustrating some cases for $`\omega _0>V`$. In this subsection we investigate the evolution of the solution given by Eq. (2). We choose the following parameters for the system: height of the potential step, $`V_0=1.0`$ eV, and the energy of the initial wave, $`E_0=2.0`$ eV. The calculated values of $`|\psi _>|^2`$ are shown in Fig. 1 (a) as a function of the position $`x`$, for two fixed times $`t_1=15.0`$ fs, and $`t_2=30.0`$ fs.

It is clearly appreciated in Fig. 1 (a), that a main wavefront with damped oscillations is propagating from left to right. One can easily verify by numerical inspection that the main wavefront travels approximately with the semiclassical group velocity $`v_{k_0}\mathrm{}k_0/m`$. The arrows in Fig. 1 (a) indicate the semiclassical positions $`x_{sc}(t_i)=v_{k_0}t_i`$, ($`i=1,2`$).

The plots of $`|\psi _>|^2`$ vs $`t`$, for a two different fixed positions $`x_1=5.0`$ nm and $`x_2=30.0`$ exhibited in Fig. 1 (b), complement our discussion for this case. Here we also illustrate the propagation of the main wavefront for the specific positions $`x_i`$ indicated in the figure. Notice how the probability density rises from zero and grows monotonically towards a maximum value, from which it starts to oscillate until it reaches the stationary value. This sudden rise occurs approximately at times $`t_{sc}(x_i)=(x_i/v_{k_0})`$, which correspond to the arrival of the main wavefront at the fixed position $`x_i`$. It is interesting to mention that these propagation features are similar to the diffraction in time patterns observed in free particle propagation within the Moshinsky shutter modelMoshy , which is in fact a different type of initial condition.

Although we see that in the case $`\omega _0>V`$ it is permissible to speak of a propagation of a main wave front, the issue has become controversial in case of initial waves with $`\omega _0<V`$ Stevens ; Moretti ; JPA ; ButtThom ; MugBu . The results for this more complicated case is discussed in the next subsection.

### II.2 Source with an initial frequency $`\omega _0<V`$

In what follows we shall explore the main features of the time and spatial behavior of the probability density for a source with an initial frequency $`\omega _0<V`$. We consider here the same potential parameters as in the previous subsection, but the energy is now chosen below the height of the barrier, $`E_0=0.5`$ eV. In Fig. 2 (a) we show the time evolution of $`|\psi _<|^2`$ at the positions $`x_1=1.2`$ nm and $`x_2=1.5`$ nm. Notice that the curves exhibit a behavior similar to the diffraction in time pattern observed in the previous subsection. As we shall discuss below, this behavior is not related to the propagation of a main wave front, and requires a different interpretation. In fact, the time-diffraction-like pattern disappears after a certain depth inside the potential, where the probability density exhibits now a pulse-like structure, as can be appreciated in Fig. 2 (b).

In order to understand the transition between the quite different dynamical behavior of $`|\psi _<|^2`$ observed in Fig. 2 (a) and (b), a series of snapshots of $`|\psi _<|^2`$ vs $`x`$ are shown in Fig. 3 (solid lines) for increasing values of time. We can appreciate in Fig. 3 (a) that at short times the probability density behaves like the stationary solution $`|\psi _<^a|^2`$ (dashed line) along the internal region. However, the probability density, $`|\psi _<|^2`$, dramatically changes as time elapses. This is depicted in Fig. 3 (b), where we see the appearance of a bump for values of the position $`x`$ larger than $`X_0`$. This special point $`X_0`$ corresponds to the onset of a pulse-like structure that we call transient pulse (forerunner). In Figs. 3 (c) and (d), the transient pulse is now fully formed, and propagates along the region $`x>X_0`$. However, notice that as time increases, the birth of the pulse occurs at values of the position $`X_R`$, greater than value of the lower-bound, $`X_0`$. The positions $`X_0`$ (full square) and $`X_R`$ (full dot) are indicated in Fig. 3.

We have systematically studied this transition for different potential steps, as well as for different energies of the initial waves, and our results indicate that the onset of the transient pulse always occurs at a specific depth, $`X_0`$, inside the potential, which is twice the value of the characteristic penetration length $`x_p=q_0^1`$ of the stationary solution: $`X_02x_p`$. The existence of this two regimes for the point source model has also been reported in Ref. gvdm02 . A similar separation into two regimes, but in different models has been observed by one of the authors in Refs. JPA ; gcv01 .

We shall later see that the approximate value of $`X_R`$ can be determined approximately by using a simple analytical formula. In what follows we shall explore in more detail the regimes $`0<x<X_0`$, and $`x>X_0`$. We shall refer to the latter as the transient pulse regime.

#### II.2.1  $`0<x<X_0`$ regime

This regime corresponds to short distances inside the potential, namely, to positions $`x`$ such that $`0<x<X_0`$. Here we shall explain the oscillatory patterns of the $`|\psi _<|^2`$ vs $`t`$ plots, observed within this finite interval and exhibited in Fig. 2 (a). We shall see that, rather than originated by the passage of a traveling wavefront (as it occurs in the case $`\omega _0>V`$), this effect is due to fluctuations of the probability density. This dynamical behavior is illustrated in Fig. 4, where we present a series of snapshots of $`|\psi _<|^2`$ vs $`x`$, for increasing values of time indicated in the figure. Here we have included for comparison the calculation of the stationary probability density $`|\psi _<^a|^2`$ (dashed line). Notice that the evolution of the time dependent probability density occurs in such a way that $`|\psi _<|^2`$ is found sometimes above or below the asymptotic value. This illustrates that, in this regime, the probability density fluctuates around the stationary solution before reaching its asymptotic limit. At long enough times, we must have $`|\psi _<|^2|\psi _<^a|^2`$, which is illustrated in the inset of Fig. 4, where for $`t=15.0`$ fs both curves become indistinguishable.

The above results are relevant since they clearly show that we can not associate in this regime a semiclassical group velocity to the main wave-front towards its steady state. In other words it is not possible to define a semiclassical main front attenuated exponentially by $`e^{q_0x}`$, traveling along the internal region with a group velocity $`v_{q_0}=(\mathrm{}q_0/m)`$, as suggested by Moretti Moretti . However, a special kind of propagation actually exists for $`x>X_0`$ (opaque barrier conditions), which consists of the traveling forerunner mentioned in the Section I. It should be emphasized however that this transient structure (in view of its frequency content) is not associated to a tunneling processMugBu . We shall show in the next subsection that the maximum of this forerunner travels at exactly the group velocity, $`v_{q_0}`$.

#### II.2.2 Transient pulse regime ($`x>X_0`$)

This regime corresponds to the case $`x>X_0`$, where the dynamics of the probability density $`|\psi _<|^2`$ is governed by a transient pulse. This transient structure originates from $`X_0`$ onwards, and evolves thereafter along $`x>X_0`$, as depicted in figures 3 (c) and 3 (d). In Fig. 5 (a), we plot $`|\psi _<|^2`$ vs $`x`$ for the increasing values of time: $`t_0=30.0`$ fs, $`t_1=100.0`$ fs, $`t_2=150.0`$ fs, and $`t_3=300.0`$ fs. Here, no traveling main front is observed, as in the $`\omega _0>V`$ case. Instead, we see a forerunner that broadens as it travels along the internal region, with diminishing amplitude, similar to the propagation and spreading of a wavepacket.

In addition to the above, the evolution of the probability density in this regime, has an interesting scaling property. If we express the times $`t_i`$ ($`i=1,`$ $`2,`$ $`3`$) as multiples of $`t_0`$, namely $`t_i=\eta _it_0`$ (in our examples: $`\eta _1=3.333`$, $`\eta _2=5.0`$, and $`\eta _3=10.0`$), and use the factors $`\eta _i`$ to renormalize both axis, in such a way that we now plot $`\eta _i|\psi _<|^2`$ vs $`(x/\eta _i)`$, a striking result is obtained: all curves coincide. This invariance under scaling is illustrated in Fig. 5 (b), where all the curves corresponding to $`i=1,2,3`$, are indistinguishable among them, coinciding with the curve $`|\psi _<|^2`$ vs $`x`$ corresponding to $`t_0`$.

The scaling property illustrated above by means of a numerical example, can also be explained using our analytic formulas. However, instead of using the formal solution given by Eq. (3), we shall first derive a simple expression for the spatial evolution of $`|\psi _<|^2`$. Notice that the behavior of $`|\psi _<|^2`$ is essentially governed by two $`M`$ functions, namely, $`M(y_{iq_0})`$ and $`M(y_{iq_0})`$. By a numerical inspection we find that the series of the $`M`$ functions discussed in Subsection 1 of Appendix A, apply in this regime. In order to exploit the analytical properties of the Moshinsky functions, first we have to determine the location in the complex-plane of the phases $`\varphi _{\pm iq_0}`$ of the arguments $`y_{\pm iq_0}`$. We find that the phase $`\varphi _{iq_0}`$, is always within the interval $`\pi /2<\varphi _{iq_0}<\pi /2`$. Thus the series representation given by Eq. (29a) applies in this case. Similarly, we find that although the phase $`\varphi _{iq_0}`$, may change from $`\pi /2<\varphi _{iq_0}<3\pi /2`$ to $`\pi /2<\varphi _{iq_0}<\pi /2`$ in the vicinity of the maximum of the transient pulse, the series representation of the $`M`$ functions given by Eq. (30a) gives an excellent approximation. Therefore, we find that in this regime, the behavior of the probability density is essentially governed by the first terms of the series representation of Eqs. (29a) and (30a). That is,

$$M(y_{iq_0})\frac{1}{2}e^{imx^2/2\mathrm{}t}\left[\frac{1}{\pi ^{1/2}y_{iq_0}}\right],$$
(8)
and

$$M(y_{iq_0})\frac{1}{2}e^{imx^2/2\mathrm{}t}\left[2e^{y_{iq_0}^2}+\frac{1}{\pi ^{1/2}y_{iq_0}}\right].$$
(9)
After substituting the above expressions in Eq. (3), and performing a few algebraical manipulations, we obtain the following expression for the probability density,

$$\psi _<\psi _<^a+\psi _{tp},$$
(10)
where $`\psi _<^a`$ is the stationary solution given by Eq. (6), which decays exponentially along the internal region. Here $`\psi _{tp}`$ stands for,

$$\psi _{tp}=\frac{1}{2\pi ^{1/2}}e^{i(mx^2/2\mathrm{}tVt)}\left[\frac{1}{y_{iq_0}}+\frac{1}{y_{iq_0}}\right],$$
(11)
which as we shall see below, accurately describes the transient pulse. We have found by numerical inspection that Eq. (10) gives an excellent description of the spatial evolution of $`|\psi _<|^2`$, provided that $`t>(X_0/v_{q_0})`$. The result given by Eq. (10) shows us that the probability density can be described by a subtle interplay between $`\psi _<^a`$ and $`\psi _{tp}`$. A measure of such an interplay can be given by the ratio $`R=|\psi _<^a/\psi _{tp}|^2`$. We have found that the observed transition discussed in Fig. 3, occurring at $`X_R`$, corresponds to values of the position such that condition $`R=1`$ is satisfied.

If we now focus our attention in describing the dynamics of the pulse, from Eq. (11) we can obtain a simple analytical expression for this transient structure, namely,

$$|\psi _{tp}(x,t)|^2=\frac{2}{\pi }\frac{(\mathrm{}x^2t/m)}{\left[x^2+(\mathrm{}q_0t/m)^2\right]^2}.$$
(12)
The analysis from Eq. (8) to Eq. (12), is equivalent to the one performed in Ref. MugBu  in terms of a pole and a saddle-point contribution, with a different notation and terminology. It can be appreciated in Fig. 6 (a), that Eq. (12) provides an excellent description for the propagating pulse. Here, we have plotted $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ (solid line) as a function of time at a fixed position $`x=8.0`$ nm, and the curve almost coincide with the calculated with the formal solution, Eq. (3) (dashed line). We also compare Eqs. (3) and (12) with a plot of the probability density as a function of position, see Fig. 6(b), and an the description of our approximate formula is excellent, since both calculations are indistinguishable in the graph.

In order to show the scaling property, we make in Eq. (12) the general substitution of $`t^{}=\eta t`$ and $`x^{}=\eta x`$. The result of this rescaling is the following equation,

$$|\psi _{tp}(x^{},t^{})|^2=\frac{2}{\eta \pi }\frac{(\mathrm{}x^2t/m)}{\left[x^2+(\mathrm{}q_0t/m)^2\right]^2}.$$
(13)
A plot of Eq. (13) is also included in Fig. 5 (b), which as expected becomes also indistinguishable from the rest of the curves. From the comparison of Eq. (12) and Eq. (13), the scaling property can be written as,

$$\eta |\psi _{tp}(\eta x,\eta t)|^2=|\psi _{tp}(x,t)|^2.$$
(14)
In what follows we shall apply Eqs. (12) and (14) to analyze the speed of the propagating pulse. In particular, we contrast the propagation of the peak value of the probability density obtained by deriving it with respect to time, to the peak value obtained by deriving with respect to position. As we shall show below, the corresponding speeds differ by a factor of $`3^{1/2}`$.

The maximum value of $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ at any given point can be obtained straightforwardly by deriving Eq. (12). However, the following results show that the calculation of a maximum of $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ critically depends on whether the spatial or time evolution of the probability density is analyzed. From $`(d/dt)|\psi _{tp}|^2=0`$, we obtain the critical time which maximizes $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ at $`x_f`$, the result is,

$$t_m=\frac{\tau }{\sqrt{3}},$$
(15)
where $`\tau =(x_f/v_{q_0})`$. This result is in exact agreement with the scale found recently by Muga and Büttiker MugBu  for the time of arrival.

It is clear that the pair $`(x_f,t_m)`$ gives the maximum value in a $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ vs $`t`$ plot. However, it is easy to show that the value $`x_f`$ does not correspond to the position of the peak of the traveling pulse. The latter, which is the maximum of a $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ vs $`x`$ plot, is in fact located at the left of $`x_f`$ (see below). From $`(d/dx)|\psi _{tp}|^2=0`$, at a fixed time $`t=t_f`$, we obtain the maximum of the transient pulse as it propagates along the $`x`$ coordinate, it becomes,

$$x_m=v_{q_0}t_f.$$
(16)
Notice that for the particular case $`t_f=t_m`$, the maximum of the pulse $`x_m`$ is retarded with respect to $`x_f`$ i.e. $`x_m=3^{1/2}x_f`$. In other words, the maximum intensity of $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ is attained at $`x_f`$, before the arrival of the pulse’s peak takes place. Although the above statement seems to be in contradiction, we shall show below that these two types of maximum values have different meanings, and consequently there is no contradiction at all. The values of the probability density at these two positions are illustrated on the $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ vs $`x`$ plot (solid line) depicted in Fig. 7; they are compared at the same time, $`t_m=30`$ fs. The values of $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ at $`x_m`$ and $`x_f`$ are indicated on the curve by a full dot and a hollow circle, respectively. Equation (16) shows that the maximum of the pulse (full dot) travels at exactly the semiclassical group velocity $`v_{q_0}`$, while the other (hollow circle), according to Eq. (15), travels faster than the former, at the speed $`3^{1/2}v_{q_0}`$. In fact, the observed spreading of the pulse is due to the fact that all the points of the $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ vs $`x`$ curve are traveling with different velocities.

It is clear from Fig. 7 that the height of the hollow circle $`h_{hc}(t_m)`$ is smaller than the corresponding height of the full dot, $`h_{fd}(t_m)`$. However, the height of the pulse diminishes at such a rate, that when the full dot reaches $`x_f`$ at a later time $`t^{}=3^{1/2}t_m`$, its height $`h_{fd}(t^{})`$ is smaller than $`h_{hc}(t_m)`$. This is illustrated in Fig. 7 where we plot $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$ as a function of the position $`x`$, at a time $`t=t^{}`$ (dashed line). The above effect can be easily shown by using the scaling property, Eq. (14). But first, lets us obtain the values of the heights $`h_{hc}`$ and $`h_{fd}`$ measured at $`t=t_m`$, namely,

$$h_{hc}(t_m)=|\psi _{tp}(x_f,t_m)|^2=\frac{3}{4}\left(\frac{1}{2\pi }\frac{1}{x_mq_0}\right);$$
(17)
and

$$h_{fd}(t_m)=|\psi _{tp}(x_m,t_m)|^2=\left(\frac{1}{2\pi }\frac{1}{x_mq_0}\right).$$
(18)
If we now feed $`\eta =3^{1/2}`$ in Eq. (14), using the fact that $`t^{}=3^{1/2}t_m`$ and $`x_f=3^{1/2}x_m`$, we obtain that $`3^{1/2}h_{fd}(t^{})=h_{fd}(t_m)`$. This allows us to write the height ratio as,

$$\frac{h_{hc}(t_m)}{h_{fd}(t^{})}=\frac{3\sqrt{3}}{4}>1.$$
(19)
Thus, we have in general demonstrated that the maximum value of $`|\psi _{tp}|^2`$, measured at a fixed position $`x_f`$, is always reached there before the arrival of the maximum of the transient forerunner at that particular position. In view of this result, the role of the different time scales is now clear. While the traversal time $`\tau `$ does in fact correspond to the time of arrival of the maximum of the transient forerunner at $`x_f`$, the time scale $`3^{1/2}\tau `$ corresponds to the attainment of the maximum value of $`|\psi _{tp}(x_f,t)|^2`$ at $`x_f`$, which as demonstrated above, is always associated to values of the probability density located at the front tail of the forerunner.

The above discussion shows that the calculation of the time of arrival may critically depend on whether the spatial or the time evolution of the probability density is analyzed. Although the interpretation of the results is different in each case, we believe that both kind of analysis are important and complementary. It is important to point out that a time-frequency analysis of the forerunner, performed in Ref. MugBu , has revealed that it is composed predominantly by over-the-barrier (non-tunneling) frequencies.

## III Conclusions

The issue of spatial and time dependence of quantum waves in a step potential barrier has been analyzed by means of an exact solution to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, for a point source initial condition. The main results of our study are the following: (1) For the case $`\omega _0<V`$ in the opaque barrier regime ($`xq_01`$), we found that the peak of the forerunner travels at exactly the group velocity $`v_{q_0}=(\mathrm{}q_0/m)`$, which implies that the time of arrival of the maximum of the peak at a fixed position in space $`x_f`$, is given by the traversal time $`\tau =(x_f/v_{q_0})`$. This is in contrast to the time scale $`3^{1/2}\tau `$ described in Ref. MugBu . (2) We derived from the formal solution a closed analytical formula that accurately describes the dynamics of the forerunner, and found that it obeys an interesting and useful scaling property. (3) Although $`3^{1/2}\tau `$ actually corresponds to the maximum of the forerunner when it is analyzed as a function of time (and fixed $`x`$), we demonstrated by means of the scaling property that this time scale always correspond to the passage of the front tail (not the maximum) of the forerunner across the fixed position $`x_f`$.

As a final remark, it is important to point out that the forerunner is mainly composed by over-the-barrier (non-tunneling) frequencies, as recently shown by Muga and Büttiker MugBu . Thus, it is a surprising fact that the traversal time $`\tau `$, usually regarded as one of the possible tunneling times, is here associated to a non-tunneling process.

###### Acknowledgements.

The authors, J. V. and R. R., acknowledge financial support from Conacyt, México, through Contract No. 431100-5-32082E. The authors thank Alberto Hernández for useful discussions.

## Appendix A POINT SOURCE PROBLEM

In this appendix we shall present a different derivation of the solutions to the point source problem MugBu ; Moretti , by means of the Laplace Transform method. Let us consider an exact analytical solution to the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a step potential barrier $`V(x)=\mathrm{\Theta }(x)V_0`$,

$$\left[\frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}\frac{^2}{x^2}+V(x)i\mathrm{}\frac{}{t}\right]\psi (x,t)=0,$$
(20)
subject to the source boundary condition given by Eq. (1). We must also assume that inside the barrier ($`x0`$) the initial state $`\psi _0`$ satisfies the boundary condition $`\psi _0\left(x;t=0\right)=0`$, for $`x0`$.

To obtain the solution for $`x>0`$ at $`t>0`$, we begin by Laplace transforming equation (20) using the standard definition

$$\overline{\psi }(x;s)=_0^{\mathrm{}}\psi (x,t)e^{st}𝑑t,$$
(21)
with the initial condition given by Eq. (1). Let us first consider the case propagating waves ($`\omega _0>V`$) which corresponds to a dispersion relation $`k_0=[\beta (\omega _0V)]^{1/2}`$, where we have defined $`\beta =(2m/\mathrm{})`$ and $`V=(V_0/\mathrm{})`$. The Laplace transformed solution reads,

$$\overline{\psi }(x;p)=c_1e^{ipx},x0,$$
(22)
where $`p^2=\beta (isV)`$. The corresponding Laplace transform of Eq. (1) yields

$$\overline{\psi }_0(0;s)=\frac{1}{s+i\omega _0},t>0.$$
(23)
By combining Eqs. (22) and (23) evaluated at $`x=0`$ we can determine the value of the constant $`c_1`$, which yields the Laplace Transformed solution for $`x0`$,

$$\overline{\psi }(x;p)=\frac{e^{ipx}}{(p+k_0)(pk_0)},x0.$$
(24)
The time dependent solution for $`x>0`$ is readily obtained by performing the inverse Laplace transform of Eq. (24), using the Bromwich integral formula,

$$\psi (x,t)=\frac{1}{2\pi i}\underset{\gamma ^{}i\mathrm{}}{\overset{\gamma ^{}+i\mathrm{}}{}}\overline{\psi }(x;s)e^{st}𝑑s,$$
(25)
where the integration path is taken along a straight line $`s=\gamma ^{}`$ parallel to the imaginary axis in the complex $`s`$-plane. The real parameter $`\gamma ^{}`$ can be chosen arbitrarily as long as all singularities remain to the left-hand side of $`s=\gamma ^{}`$. After a simple partial fraction decomposition of in Eq. (25) we obtain,

$$\psi (x,t)=\frac{1}{2\pi i}\left[\underset{\gamma ^{}i\mathrm{}}{\overset{\gamma ^{}+i\mathrm{}}{}}\mathrm{\Phi }_+(s)𝑑s+\underset{\gamma ^{}i\mathrm{}}{\overset{\gamma ^{}+i\mathrm{}}{}}\mathrm{\Phi }_{}(s)𝑑s\right],$$
(26)
where the integrands $`\mathrm{\Phi }_\pm (s)`$ are defined as,

$$\mathrm{\Phi }_\pm (s)=\frac{i\beta }{2}\frac{e^{ipx}e^{st}}{p(p\pm k_0)}.$$
(27)
In order to evaluate the integral (26) we perform the change of variable, $`s^{}=s+iV`$, which allows us to identify in Eq. (26) the integral representation of the Moshinsky $`M`$-functions Moshy ; PRA97

$$M(x,\pm k_0,t)=\frac{1}{2\pi i}\underset{\gamma i\mathrm{}}{\overset{\gamma +i\mathrm{}}{}}\frac{i\beta }{2}\frac{e^{i\sqrt{\beta is^{}}x}e^{s^{}t}}{\sqrt{\beta is^{}}(\sqrt{\beta is^{}}\pm k_0)}𝑑s^{},$$
(28)
and obtain the solution for the case of $`\omega _0>V`$, given by Eq. (2). The solution for the case of $`\omega _0<V`$, given by Eq. (3), is readily obtained along the same lines as Eq. (2).

### A.1 Asymptotic behavior of the solutions

In this subsection we consider the long time behavior of the solutions given by Eqs. (2) and (3). This can be analyzed using the series expansion in powers of the argument $`y_q`$ (Eq. (5)) of the $`M`$-functions (Eq. (4)) PRA97 . For large values of the argument $`y_q`$ i.e. $`|y_q|1`$, the $`M`$-functions have the following series representation (see Ref. PRA97 ):

$`M(y_q){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^{imx^2/2\mathrm{}t}[{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\pi ^{1/2}y_q}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\pi ^{1/2}y_q^3}}+\mathrm{}],`$ (29a)
provided that the phase, $`\varphi _q`$, of $`y_q|y_q|\mathrm{exp}(\varphi _q)`$ lies in the interval $`\pi /2<\varphi _q<\pi /2`$.

For the case $`\pi /2<\varphi _q<3\pi /2`$, instead of Eq. (29a) we have,

$`M(y_q){\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^{imx^2/2\mathrm{}t}[2e^{y_q^2}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\pi ^{1/2}y_q}}`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\pi ^{1/2}y_q^3}}+\mathrm{}].`$ (30a)
In general, the long time regime ($`t\mathrm{})`$ corresponds to large values of the argument $`y_q`$. For the particular values of $`q=\pm iq_0`$, we have that $`y_qe^{i\pi /4}(t/\beta )^{1/2}q`$. Note that this expression depends on the choice of $`q_0`$, and by inspection, we can see that for the cases $`q=iq_0`$ and $`q=iq_0`$ the arguments are $`\varphi _{iq_0}=5\pi /4`$ and $`\varphi _{iq_0}=\pi /4`$, respectively. Therefore according to Eqs. (29a) and (30a), one obtains that in the limit $`t\mathrm{}`$, $`M(y_{iq_0})0`$ and $`M(y_{iq_0})e^{q_0x}e^{i(V\omega _0)t}`$. Substituting this values in Eq. (3) yields the asymptotic solution given by Eq. (6). By performing a similar analysis for the case of wave evolution for $`\omega _0>V`$ given by Eq. (2), one finds that the asymptotic behavior as $`t\mathrm{}`$ is given by Eq. (7).


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# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

The conjectured equivalence between string theory on anti-de Sitter (AdS) space and certain superconformal gauge theories living on the boundary of this space  has led to a lot of interest in the study of AdS gravitational configurations. In part, this interest has also been motivated by the suggestion that four dimensional Einstein gravity can be recovered on a domain wall embedded in AdS space . Classical AdS solutions may provide the possibility to study the nonperturbative structure of the field theories living on the boundary.

Black hole solutions to Einstein’s equations with a negative cosmological constant were constructed many years ago in . Some activity has been recently devoted to the study of solutions with various horizon topologies given by planar, toroidal or arbitrary genus Riemann surface . In the context of gauged supergravity models, black hole and brane solutions were discussed in many places (see for example ).

In recent years certain supersymmetric curved $`p`$-brane and domain wall solutions were constructed . A typical $`p`$-brane solution is a warped product of two spacetimes, one describing a $`(p+1)`$-dimensional Minkowski worldvolume and the other being the transverse space to the brane. For the solutions discussed in , the Einstein’s equations of motion were shown to be satisfied also when the worldvolume metric is Ricci-flat. The curved solution obtained admits Killing spinors provided that its Ricci-flat worldvolume admits parallel spinors. The classification of possible static brane worldvolumes is related to the known classification of Riemannian holonomy groups . Static metrics admitting parallel spinors are automatically Ricci-flat. However, if one allows for indecomposable Ricci-flat Lorentzian worldvolumes with parallel spinors, more curved solutions with Killing spinors can be obtained . Lorentzian manifolds admitting parallel spinors need not be Ricci-flat. This means that restricting the holonomy of a given manifold (for it to have parallel spinors) is not enough for its metric to satisfy Einstein’s equations of motion; more restrictions must be imposed.

In this work we are mainly interested in the study of a class of magnetic brane solutions with various horizon topologies in $`d`$-dimensional gravity with a negative cosmological constant coupled to an abelian gauge field. In  $`d`$-dimensional magnetic brane solutions with flat, hyperbolic and spherical transverse space and with Minkowski worldvolume were derived. Motivated by the results of , we show that these solutions can be obtained by searching for magnetically charged configurations with Killing spinors. We determine the projection conditions on the spinors and their explicit forms. In the context of gauged supergravity theories, solutions with Killing spinors are supersymmetric. We also generalize the solutions of  and discover new $`d`$-dimensional magnetic brane solutions with curved Ricci-flat worldvolumes.

## 2 Magnetic Branes with Killing Spinors

In this section we obtain magnetic brane solutions of the theory of Einstein-Maxwell theory with a negative cosmological constant in dimensions $`d5`$. This is done by searching for magnetically charged brane configurations admitting Killing spinors. The Lagrangian of our theory can be given by

$$e^1=R\mathrm{\Lambda }\frac{(d2)}{2(d3)}F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }$$
(2.1)
where the cosmological constant is $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=(d1)(d2)l^2,`$ $`R`$ is the scalar curvature and $`F_{\mu \nu }`$ is the field strength of an abelian gauge field $`A_\mu .`$ Motivated by the equations of gauged supergravity, we write as a Killing spinor equation in $`d`$ dimensions

$$[𝒟_\mu +\frac{i}{4(d3)}\left(\gamma _\mu {}_{}{}^{\nu \rho }2(d3)\delta _\mu {}_{}{}^{\nu }\gamma _{}^{\rho }\right)F_{\nu \rho }\frac{i\left(d2\right)l}{2}A_\mu +\frac{l}{2}\gamma _\mu ]ϵ=0.$$
(2.2)
Here $`𝒟_\mu `$ is the covariant derivative given by $`𝒟_\mu =_\mu +\frac{1}{4}\omega _{\mu ab}\gamma ^{ab},`$ where $`\omega _{\mu ab}`$ is the spin connection and $`\gamma _a`$ are Dirac matrices. In this work, we use the metric $`\eta ^{ab}=(,+,+,+,+,\mathrm{}.)`$ and $`\{\gamma ^a,\gamma ^b\}=2\eta ^{ab}`$. In supergravity theories, the strategy for finding supersymmetric bosonic solutions is as follows. The fermi fields are set to zero leading automatically to the vanishing of the supersymmetry variations of the bosonic fields of the theory. The conditions for the existence of solutions preserving some supersymmetry are then obtained from the vanishing of the supersymmetry variation of the fermi fields. AdS Einstein-Maxwell theories with spacetime dimensions $`d<6`$ can be obtained as consistent truncations of gauged supergravity models and (2.2) comes from the vanishing of the gravitini supersymmetry transformation in a bosonic background. As in , we consider a general $`(d4)`$-magnetic brane solution with metric given in the form

$$ds^2=e^{2V(r)}\left(dt^2+dz^{\alpha _i}dz^{\alpha _i}\right)+e^{2U(r)}dr^2+N^2d\mathrm{\Omega }^2.$$
(2.3)
In what follows we will only consider either $`N(r)=r`$ or $`N(r)=𝒩=`$ constant. Moreover, $`d\mathrm{\Omega }^2`$ denotes the metric of a two-manifold $`𝒮`$ of constant Gaussian curvature $`k`$ and we choose

$$d\mathrm{\Omega }^2=d\theta ^2+f^2d\varphi ^2,$$
(2.4)
where

$$f=\{\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{sin}\theta ,\hfill & k=1,\hfill \\ 1,\hfill & k=0,\hfill \\ \mathrm{sinh}\theta ,\hfill & k=1.\hfill \end{array}$$
(2.5)
$`𝒮`$ is a quotient space of the universal coverings $`S^2`$ ($`k=1`$), $`H^2`$ ($`k=1`$) or $`E^2`$ ($`k=0`$). Our branes carry magnetic charge and therefore our gauge field is given by

$$F_{\theta \varphi }=\pm kqf,A_\varphi =\pm kqf𝑑\theta .$$
(2.6)
Returning to our metric, the connection forms are given by

$$w_{\text{ }1}^0=V^{}e^{VU}\text{ }dt,\text{ }w_{\text{ }1}^{\alpha _i}=V^{}e^{VU}\text{ }dz^{\alpha _i},\text{ }w_{\text{ }1}^2=N^{}e^Ud\theta ,\text{ }w_{\text{ }1}^3=fN^{}e^Ud\varphi ,\text{ }w_{\text{ }2}^3=_\theta f\text{ }d\varphi ,$$
(2.7)
where the ‘prime’ symbol denotes differentiation with respect to $`r`$. The flat indices corresponding to $`(t,`$ $`r,`$ $`\theta ,`$ $`\varphi )`$ are denoted by $`(0,`$ $`1,`$ $`2,`$ $`3).`$ Upon substituting for the gauge fields and the spin connections in the Killing spinor equation (2.2) we obtain

$`\left[_t+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^V\gamma _0\left(V^{}e^U\gamma _1\pm {\displaystyle \frac{iqk}{(d3)N^2}}\gamma _{23}+l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_{z_{\alpha _i}}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^V\gamma _{\alpha _i}\left(V^{}e^U\gamma _1\pm {\displaystyle \frac{iqk}{(d3)N^2}}\gamma _{23}+l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_r+{\displaystyle \frac{e^U}{2}}\gamma _1\left(\pm {\displaystyle \frac{iqk}{(d3)N^2}}\gamma _{23}+l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_\theta {\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left(e^UN^{}\gamma _1lN\right)\gamma _2{\displaystyle \frac{iqk}{2N}}\gamma _3\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{f}{2}}\left(N^{}e^U\gamma _1+{\displaystyle \frac{_\theta f}{f}}\gamma _2lN\right)\gamma _3\pm {\displaystyle \frac{ikqf}{2N}}\gamma _2{\displaystyle \frac{i(d2)}{2}}lqk{\displaystyle f𝑑\theta }\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (2.8)
### 2.1 Spherical and Hyperbolic Transverse Space

We first consider magnetic branes where the transverse space is either hyperbolic or spherical. The gauge field for these cases is given by $`F_{\theta \varphi }=\pm \kappa qf`$ , ($`\kappa =1,1).`$ Supersymmetric magnetic string solutions of five dimensional $`N=2`$ supergravity theories were considered in . As in the five dimensional case, we assume that the Killing spinors satisfy the following conditions:

$$\gamma _2\gamma _3ϵ=\pm iϵ,\gamma _1ϵ=ϵ.$$
(2.9)
Then, from $`\left(\text{2.8}\right)`$ we obtain for $`N(r)=r`$:

$`\left[_t{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^V\gamma _0\left(V^{}e^U+{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa q}{(d3)r^2}}l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_{z_{\alpha _i}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^V\gamma _{\alpha _i}\left(V^{}e^U+{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa q}{(d3)r^2}}l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_r+{\displaystyle \frac{e^U}{2}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\kappa q}{(d3)r^2}}l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_\theta {\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left(e^U{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa q}{r}}lr\right)\gamma _2\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_\varphi {\displaystyle \frac{i}{2}}\left(_\theta f+(d2)lq\kappa {\displaystyle f𝑑\theta }\right){\displaystyle \frac{f}{2}}\left(e^U{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa q}{r}}lr\right)\gamma _3\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (2.10)
The above equations imply the following conditions:

$`_tϵ`$ $`=`$ $`_{z_{\alpha _i}}ϵ=_\theta ϵ=_\varphi ϵ=0,`$
$`q`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(d2)l}},`$
$`e^U`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa q}{r}}+lr={\displaystyle \frac{\kappa }{(d2)lr}}+lr,`$
$`V^{}`$ $`=`$ $`e^U\left(l{\displaystyle \frac{q\kappa }{(d3)r^2}}\right).`$ (2.11)
The differential equation for $`V,`$ given by the last equation in (2.11), can be easily solved and gives

$$e^V=(lr)\left(1+\frac{\kappa }{(d2)l^2r^2}\right)^{\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{d2}{d3}\right)}.$$
(2.12)
To summarize, we have obtained the solutions of  by seeking magnetic brane solutions admitting Killing spinors. The dependence of the magnetic charge on the cosmological constant found in  is connected to the fact that the corresponding solutions admit Killing spinors.

From (2.11), we find that the Killing spinors only depend on the coordinate $`r.`$ Using the third equation in (2.10) together with the last equation in (2.11), we obtain a simple differential equation for the radial dependence of the Killing spinors, given by

$$\left(_r\frac{1}{2}V^{}\right)ϵ=0,$$
(2.13)
and hence

$$ϵ=e^{\frac{1}{2}V(r)}ϵ_0=(lr)^{\frac{1}{2}}\left(1+\frac{\kappa }{(d2)l^2r^2}\right)^{\frac{1}{4}\left(\frac{d2}{d3}\right)}ϵ_0,$$
(2.14)
where $`ϵ_0`$ is a constant spinor satisfying the constraints $`\gamma _2\gamma _3ϵ_0=\pm iϵ_0`$ and $`\gamma _1ϵ_0=ϵ_0.`$

It must be noted that, since the Killing spinors are independent of the transverse coordinates $`\theta `$ and $`\varphi `$, we could (for $`\kappa =1`$) compactify the $`H^2`$ to an arbitrary genus Riemann surface, and the resulting solution will still have the Killing spinors (2.14). The spherical branes contain a naked singularity but the hyperbolic ones have an event horizon at $`r=1/(l\sqrt{d2})`$. In the near horizon region, the hyperbolic solution reduces to the product manifold $`AdS_{(d2)}\times H^2`$.

### 2.2 Flat Transverse Space

Here we consider brane solutions with flat transverse space where the magnetic field vanishes and the Killing spinor equations (2.8) yield

$`\left[_t+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^V\gamma _0\left(V^{}e^U\gamma _1+l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_{z_{\alpha _i}}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}e^V\gamma _{\alpha _i}\left(V^{}e^U\gamma _1+l\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_r+{\displaystyle \frac{le^U}{2}}\gamma _1\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_\theta +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\gamma _2(e^U\gamma _1+lr)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_\varphi +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\gamma _3(e^U\gamma _1+lr)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (2.15)
Integrability conditions of the above differential equations fix the metric completely and give simply

$$e^V=e^U=lr.$$
(2.16)
The solution for the Killing spinors is then given by

$$ϵ=e^{\frac{1}{2}V}ϵ_+^0e^{\frac{1}{2}V}\left(l\gamma _0t+l\gamma _{\alpha _i}z^{\alpha _i}+\gamma _2\theta +\gamma _3\varphi \right)ϵ_+^0+e^{\frac{1}{2}V}ϵ_{}^0$$
(2.17)
where $`ϵ_\pm ^0`$ are constant spinors satisfying $`(1\gamma _1)ϵ_\pm ^0=0`$. Clearly there are no constraints on the Killing spinors and the solution is locally $`AdS_d`$. We may also consider a quotient space of $`AdS_d`$ by compactifying the $`(\theta ,\varphi )`$ sector to a cylinder or a torus. Then, the surviving Killing spinors are those which respect the identifications performed in the $`(\theta ,\varphi )`$ sector. These are given by

$$ϵ=e^{\frac{1}{2}V}ϵ_{}^0.$$
(2.18)
### 2.3  Constant Warping Function

Finally we set $`N`$ to a constant value $`𝒩`$ and seek magnetic brane solutions admitting Killing spinors. In  it was shown that, for a constant warp factor, the equations of motion are solved by a product of two spaces, a $`(d2)`$-dimensional space, $`M_{d2},`$ and the two-manifold $`𝒮`$. For various topologies of $`𝒮,(k=0,\pm 1),`$ the magnetic charge satisfies

$$q^2=(d1)l^2𝒩^4+k𝒩^2$$
(2.19)
and the Ricci tensor of $`M_{d2}`$ is given by

$$R_{mn}=g_{mn}\left[\frac{(d1)(d2)}{\left(d3\right)}l^2+\frac{k}{\left(d3\right)𝒩^2}\right].$$
(2.20)
It can be shown that, for a constant warp factor, we can obtain magnetic branes with Killing spinors only for $`k=1`$. The gauge field is given by $`F_{\theta \varphi }=qf`$ and the Killing spinors satisfy the condition

$$\gamma _2\gamma _3ϵ=\pm iϵ.$$
(2.21)
The integrability conditions for the Killing spinor equations in this case imply the following relations:

$`q`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(d2)l}},`$
$`𝒩^2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{(d2)l^2}},`$
$`V^{}e^U`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{(d2)}{(d3)}}l.`$ (2.22)
The Killing spinor equations are finally given by

$`\left[_t+le^V{\displaystyle \frac{(d2)}{2(d3)}}\gamma _0\left(1+\gamma _1\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_{z_{\alpha _i}}+le^V{\displaystyle \frac{(d2)}{2(d3)}}\gamma _{\alpha _i}\left(1+\gamma _1\right)\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\left[_r+le^U{\displaystyle \frac{(d2)}{2(d3)}}\gamma _1\right]ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`_\theta ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`_\varphi ϵ`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (2.23)
Therefore, the configuration with a constant warp factor admitting Killing spinors is $`AdS_{d2}\times H^2.`$ These Killing spinors are given by

$$ϵ=e^{\frac{1}{2}V}ϵ_+^0\frac{(d2)}{(d3)}le^{\frac{1}{2}V}\left(\gamma _0t+\gamma _{\alpha _i}z^{\alpha _i}\right)ϵ_+^0+e^{\frac{1}{2}V}ϵ_{}^0,$$
(2.24)
where $`ϵ_\pm ^0`$ are constant spinors satisfying

$`(1\gamma _1)ϵ_\pm ^0`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\gamma _2\gamma _3ϵ_\pm ^0`$ $`=`$ $`\pm iϵ_\pm ^0.`$ (2.25)
Again, since the Killing spinors are independent of the transverse coordinates $`\theta `$ and $`\varphi `$, $`H^2`$ can be replaced by an arbitrary genus Riemann surface and the resulting solutions will still have the Killing spinors (2.24). The constant warp factor solution with Killing spinors we found represents the near horizon geometry of the magnetic brane with hyperbolic transverse space. We note that the Killing spinors of the near horizon geometry of the hyperbolic solution satisfy only the condition $`\gamma _2\gamma _3ϵ=\pm iϵ`$ whereas in the bulk they satisfy an additional constraint, namely, $`\gamma _1ϵ=ϵ`$. This “Killing spinor enhancement” is analogous to the enhancement of supersymmetry of the near horizon of BPS solutions of ungauged supergravity theories .

## 3 Curved Worldvolume Solutions and Killing Spinors

In this section we generalize our magnetic brane solutions by allowing for a general curved worldvolume. The gravitational equations of motion derived from the action (2.1) are given by

$$\widehat{R}_{\mu \nu }=\frac{(d2)}{(d3)}F_{\mu q}F_v^{\text{ }q}g_{\mu \nu }\left(\frac{1}{2(d3)}F_{pq}F^{pq}+(d1)l^2\right).$$
(3.1)
We make the following ansatz for the curved $`(d4)`$-magnetic brane:

$$ds^2=e^{2V(r)}h_{mn}dx^mdx^n+e^{2U(r)}dr^2+r^2\left(d\theta ^2+f^2d\varphi ^2\right).$$
(3.2)
where $`h_{mn}`$ is the metric of the $`(d3)`$-dimensional worldvolume assumed to depend only on the worldvolume coordinates $`x^m`$. For this ansatz we obtain for the Ricci tensor:

$`\widehat{R}_{mn}`$ $`=`$ $`R_{mn}h_{mn}e^{2V2U}\text{ }\left[(d3)V^2U^{}V^{}+V^{\prime \prime }+{\displaystyle \frac{2V^{}}{r}}\right],`$
$`\widehat{R}_{rr}`$ $`=`$ $`\left[(d3)\left(V^2U^{}V^{}+V^{\prime \prime }\right){\displaystyle \frac{2U^{}}{r}}\right],`$
$`\widehat{R}_{\theta \theta }`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{f^2}}\widehat{R}_{\varphi \varphi }=e^{2U}\left[\text{ }(d3)rV^{}rU^{}ke^{2U}+1\right],`$ (3.3)
where $`R_{mn}`$ is the Ricci tensor of the worldvolume. The equations of motion (3.1) then give

$`e^{2V}R_{mn}e^{2U}h_{mn}\left[(d3)V^2(U^{}{\displaystyle \frac{2}{r}})V^{}+V^{\prime \prime }\right]`$ $`=`$ $`h_{mn}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{k^2q^2}{(d3)r^4}}+(d1)l^2\right],`$
$`e^{2U}\left[(d3)\left[V^{\prime \prime }V^{}(U^{}V^{})\right]{\displaystyle \frac{2U^{}}{r}}\right]`$ $`=`$ $`\left[{\displaystyle \frac{k^2q^2}{(d3)r^4}}+(d1)l^2\right],`$
$`e^{2U}\left[(3d)rV^{}+rU^{}1+ke^{2U}\right]`$ $`=`$ $`\left[{\displaystyle \frac{k^2q^2}{r^2}}r^2(d1)l^2\right],`$ (3.4)
where we have used $`F_{\theta \varphi }=\pm kqf.`$ Examining the above equations, we find that the solutions

$$e^V=(lr)\left[1+\frac{k}{(d2)l^2r^2}\right]^{\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{d2}{d3}\right)},\text{ }e^U=\left[lr+\frac{k}{(d2)lr}\text{ }\right]^1\text{ }$$

are still valid provided the worldvolume metric is Ricci-flat, i.e.,

$$R_{mn}=0.$$
(3.5)
For example, the four-dimensional Schwarzchild metric can be taken as the worldvolume of a seven-dimensional magnetic brane with a flat, spherical or hyperbolic transverse space. If we demand that our curved branes admit Killing spinors, then the Killing spinor equation (2.2) will imply, for $`\gamma _2\gamma _3ϵ=\pm iϵ`$ and $`\gamma _1ϵ=ϵ,`$ that

$$_mϵ=0,$$
(3.6)
where $`_m`$ is the covariant derivative for the metric $`h_{mn}`$. The dependence of the Killing spinors on the transverse coordinates is still the same as in the Minkowski worldvolume case. Therefore, for the curved magnetic branes to admit Killing spinors in $`d`$ dimensions with the projection conditions as stated, their $`\left(d3\right)`$-dimensional worldvolume must admit parallel spinors.

As has been demonstrated in , the integrability of (3.6) implies the following condition (no summation for $`m`$):

$$R_{mn}R_{mp}g^{np}ϵ=0.$$
(3.7)
A manifold satisfying the condition (3.7) is called Ricci-null. A Riemannian manifold has no null vectors, in which case (3.7) simply implies that $`R_{mn}=0`$, i.e. Riemannian Ricci-null manifolds are Ricci-flat and thus satisfy Einstein’s equations of motion. However, in a Lorentzian spacetime, the integrability condition (3.7) does not necessarily imply Ricci-flatness. In searching for curved magnetic brane solutions with Killing spinors, we may consider two types of worldvolume metrics with parallel spinors, static metrics with a covariantly constant time-like vector and nonstatic metrics with covariantly constant light-like vector. The metric of a static worldvolume with parallel spinors is given by

$$ds^2=dt^2+ds^2(X)$$
(3.8)
where $`X`$ is a Ricci-flat Riemannian manifold admitting parallel spinors. The number of parallel spinors depends on the holonomy group of the manifold $`X`$ (see  for a discussion). For a nonstatic worldvolume, we consider a gravitational $`pp`$ wave which by definition is a spacetime admitting a parallel null vector. General $`d`$-dimensional Lorentzian metric admitting a parallel null vector was given many years ago by Brinkmann . This metric can be written in the form

$$ds^2=2dx^+dx^{}+a(dx^+)^2+b_idx^idx^++g_{ij}dx^idx^j$$
(3.9)
where $`i=1,\mathrm{},d2`$, and $`_{}a=0,`$ $`_{}b_i=0,`$ $`_{}g_{ij}=0.`$ Possible holonomy groups of supersymmetric Brinkmann waves for $`d11`$ as well as explicit Ricci-flat supersymmetric Brinkmann waves and warped product solutions were given in  to which we refer the reader for extensive details. As an example, we consider the seven dimensional magnetic brane where the worldvolume is given by a four-dimensional spacetime. Four-dimensional static Ricci-flat metrics are automatically flat and therefore one needs to consider nonstatic metrics of the form (3.9) to get curved worldvolumes. In this case, the holonomy of the metric must be $`^2`$ Spin(3,1) for it to admit a parallel spinor. The metric with this holonomy group was constructed in  and is given by

$$ds^2=2dx^+dx^{}+a(dx^+)^2+bϵ_{ij}x^jdx^idx^++dx^idx^i,\text{ for }i,j=1,2$$
(3.10)
where $`b=b(x^+)`$ and $`a=a(x^+,x^i)`$ are arbitrary functions. For the equations of motion to be satisfied one must choose $`b^2=\frac{1}{4}\mathrm{\Delta }a,`$ where $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is the Laplacian on functions of $`x^i.`$

## 4  <br>Conclusions

We have studied the Killing spinors of magnetic brane solutions of the $`d`$-dimensional AdS Einstein-Maxwell theories. The magnetic charge of these solutions is related to the inverse of the cosmological constant. We also generalized the solutions of  to include Ricci-flat worldvolumes. Thus Ricci-flat solution of $`(d3)`$-dimensional Einstein gravity can be embedded in a magnetic brane solution of $`d`$-dimensional AdS Einstein-Maxwell theory. If we demand that the $`d`$-dimensional curved solution admits Killing spinors, then the ($`d3)`$-dimensional Ricci-flat worldvolume must admit parallel spinors. To construct worldvolumes with parallel spinors one can consider a class of solutions which are locally isometric to a product $``$ $`\times `$ $`X,`$ with $`X`$ being a Ricci-flat Riemannian manifold admitting parallel spinor. The other class of worldvolumes with Killing spinors that one can consider are those given by indecomposable Lorentzian spacetimes with a covariantly constant light-like vector. These spacetimes are a subclass of Brinkmann waves. Restricting the holonomy of these spaces in order to have parallel spinors in not enough to ensure Ricci-flatness and therefore the equations of motion impose extra conditions.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank N. N. Khuri and his group at the Rockefeller University for their hospitality during the preparation of this work.