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# The chemistry of compact planetary nebulae Based on observations carried out with the IRAM 30m telescope. IRAM is supported by INSU/CNRS (France), MPG (Germany) and IGN (Spain).

## 1 Introduction

While planetary nebulae (PNe) are primarily identified from their optical emission arising in the ionized gas, they often contain a substantial amount of neutral gas which is a more direct relic of the mass lost on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). CO and H2 surveys of PNe have revealed that a large fraction of the gas in massive PNe is in molecular form (Huggins et al. 1996, Kastner et al. 1996). This molecular component may be dominant during a large part of the evolution of the nebulae, and thus plays a prominent role in the mass distribution and the shaping of PNe.

The molecular gas in PNe is affected by the large radiation fields from the central stars which are expected to cause a dramatic effect on the chemical composition. The studies of the chemistry of the neutral gas in PNe have been very scarce so far. Cox et al. (1992) observed the evolved PNe NGC 6072 and IC 4406 at millimetre wavelengths, and detected HCN, HNC, CN and HCO+ in both objects. More recently, Bachiller et al. (1997a) made a more complete study, covering an evolutionary sequence. If we except the two PPNe of their sample, five PNe were searched and detected over this large variety of molecular species: the young PN NGC 7027 and the evolved ones NGC 6720 (the Ring), M 4-9, NGC 6781 and NGC 7293 (the Helix). The molecular content of proto-PNe has also been investigated by observing some selected objects such as CRL 618 (Bujarrabal et al. 1988 ; Cernicharo et al. 2001), and OH 231.8+4.8 (Sánchez Contreras et al. 1997). It clearly appears from these studies that the chemical evolution is dominated by photodissociation, ion/radical-molecular reactions, and shocks. In particular, the survival of some molecules at well advanced stages of the evolution is made possible thanks to the shielding of the radiation, which is directly connected with the presence of inhomogeneities in the envelope. Very dense clumps, directly observed as cometary globules in the nearest PNe such as the Helix (Huggins et al. 1992, 2002), provide an environment which is well suited to the protection of the molecules and of its on-going chemistry. The chemistry of the PNe neutral envelopes has been modelled by several authors. The first work was done by Black (1978) who studied the neutral-ionized transition zone in an homogeneous nebula. Howe et al. (1992, 1994) modelled the evolution of a dense clump similar to those of the Helix nebula. More recently, Hasegawa et al. (2000) and Hasegawa & Kwok (2001) reported detailed models of the neutral envelope of NGC 7027, and Ali et al. (2001) constructed time-dependent gas-phase models which reproduce well the molecular abundances in evolved PNe such as NGC 6781, M4-9 and the Helix, observed by Bachiller et al. (1997a).

With the remarkable exception of NGC 7027, the previous chemical studies carried out so far have been mainly devoted either to rather evolved PNe (such as the Ring or the Helix) or to proto-PNe (such as CRL 618 or OH 231.8+4.8). We report here on high-sensitivity observations of molecular lines in a sample of 7 compact, young or intermediate-aged PNe, which improve our knowledge of the chemistry during the nebular development. The sample and the observations are presented in Sect. 2. An account of the results is given in Sect. 3. These results are discussed in Sect. 4 making particular emphasis on the chemistry of N-bearing compounds, on the formation of molecular ions, and on the importance of the clumpiness.

## 2 Sample and observations

### 2.1 PNe sample

Our sample is made of 6 compact PNe covering a wide range of evolutionary status and whose molecular chemistry has not been studied up to now. These are BV 5–1 (see Josselin & Bachiller 2001 for its CO content), K 3–94, K 3–24 (Josselin et al. 2000), M 1–13, M1–17 and IC 5117 (Huggins et al. 1996 and references therein). Although it was already observed by Bachiller et al. (1997a), as representative of young PNe, we also observed NGC 7027 for comparison and calibration purposes. Table 1 lists the main properties of the observed nebulae: the most usual name (Col. 1), standard galactic name (2), kinematic distance - based on the simple approximation for the velocity structure of the Galactic disk of Burton (1974) - (3), optical size of the ionized nebula (4), radial and expansion velocities measured in the CO(2–1) line (5, 6), integrated intensity of the CO(2–1) line (7), mass of the molecular envelope (8), and ratio Mm/Mi between the molecular mass and the ionized mass (9), which is a good indicator of the evolutionary stage, almost independent of the distance (Huggins et al. 1996). Concerning the distance, we have preferred the kinematic estimate over the statistical estimate, since we believe that the former is more precise in these cases (see Josselin et al. 2000 for details). Nevertheless, for NGC 7027, the best studied object in the sample, in accordance with previous works, we have assumed the standard estimate of 0.7 kpc (see e.g. Huggins et al. 1996).In the case of M 1-13, M 1-17 and IC 5117 the values of Mm and Mm/Mi have been re-scaled from those given by Huggins et al. (1996) according to our choice of distance (Mm $``$ distance2 and Mm/Mi $``$ distance-1/2)111the ionized mass is derived from the $`\lambda `$6 cm emission and the angular nebular size, resulting in a distance5/2 dependance, as shown by Gathier (1987)..

### 2.2 Observations

The observations were carried out with the IRAM 30-m radiotelescope on Pico Veleta (near Granada, Spain) in July 1999. The search for molecular emission was made simultaneously in four lines. We used SIS receivers operating in the bands around $`\lambda `$ 3 mm and $`\lambda `$ 1 mm with typical system temperatures of 150 and 300 K, respectively. The half-power beam width of the telescope is 22′′ and 10′′ at 3 and 1 mm respectively. The spectrometers were 256$`\times `$1 MHz filter banks providing a velocity resolution of 2.6 and 1.3 km/s at 3 and 1mm, respectively. The observations were done by wobbling the secondary mirror to a distance of 2 from the source. The pointing accuracy, checked every hour, was within 3′′. Calibration was achieved with a chopper wheel. The intensities given hereafter are in units of main beam brightness temperature.

## 3 Results

### 3.1 Spectra

Spectra obtained toward the sample of PNe are shown in Fig. 1. Table 2 lists the line integrated intensities and upper limits derived from such spectra. The integrated intensities for NGC 7027 are generally found to be compatible with those previously reported by Bachiller et al. (1997a). A significant difference was only found for the 13CO(2–1) line, for which we report an intensity higher by a factor of 30%. We caution that slight pointing errors can result in important differences in the line intensities of such compact objects, and we believe that the observations reported here were made with better pointing accuracy.

HCO+ is detected in all the PNe of our sample. At least one of the N-bearing molecules we looked for (HCN, HNC, CN) is also detected in every PN, the three molecules being detected in K 3-94 and M 1-17. The HNC(1–0) emission is weak, and we only have at best tentative detections. 13CO is detected in BV 5–1, M 1–17, K 3–24, IC 5117 and NGC 7027.

We also observed the N2H+(1–0) line in the sample. The first detection of this line in a circumstellar envelope was reported by Cox et al. (1993) in NGC 7027 (see their Table 1). A high-sensitivity spectrum taken toward NGC 7027 is shown in Fig. 2, and its intensity is found to be consistent with that reported by Cox et al. (1993). This line was not detected in any other PN. The detection limits are reported in Table 2.

### 3.2 Column densities and their evolution

Estimates of the column densities have been made under the usual assumptions of LTE and optically thin emission. The excitation temperature was assumed to be uniform and equal to 25 K, which is the kinetic temperature deduced from CO observations in a few other nebulae (see Bachiller et al. 1993). When the line was not detected, we used three times the upper limits to the integrated intensities given at a 1$`\sigma `$ level in Table 2 to derive upper limits in the corresponding column densities. The CN column densities have been calculated from the CN(2–1) line intensities, since this line is expected to be optically thinner than the CN(1–0) line and, in addition, the 2–1 observations provide higher resolution. It should be pointed out that the hyperfine structure of the CN spectrum may introduce some additional uncertainties in the estimates of column densities. This is because of the possible anomalous excitation through near-infrared pumping which can produce weak masers (Bachiller et al. 1997b). Unfortunately, the separation of the different hyperfine lines is very difficult in the case of our nebulae because of the complex kinematic structure of the line profiles, which often include 2 or 3 components at close velocities (see for instance the CO profiles in Huggins et al. 1996 and Josselin et al 2000). We thus simply assumed that the hyperfine line components within a fine group presented standard LTE ratios. The resulting column density estimates for all observed molecules are given in Table 3.

For all the observed species, in all objects other than NGC 7027, the column densities are relatively small which is an indication that the hypothesis of optically thin emission is probably appropriate. Even in NGC 7027, the large column densities may not be incompatible with optically thin emission (Hasegawa & Kwok 2001). However, the assumptions of LTE and uniform excitation temperatures are much more questionable. In fact, all the observed species but 13CO have high dipole moments ( $`>`$$``$ 1.5 Debye) and are thus expected to present sub-thermal populations.

In order to study the evolution of the abundances in the different nebulae, we thus decided to use ratios with respect to HCN (which was detected in all nebulae but IC 5117). Since HNC, CN and HCO+ have high dipole moments similar to that of HCN, non-LTE effects on the column densities should be of the same order of magnitude for these species so the column density ratios should be less affected by these uncertainties. Furthermore, Hasegawa & Kwok (2001) found that HCN, CN and HCO+ emission regions have similar sizes in the case of NGC 7027, while CO emission is more spatially extended. Beam dilution effects should thus be less important when comparing emission from the observed species but CO. Figure 3 displays the values of the HNC, CN and HCO+ column densities with respect to that of HCN. The column density ratios are plotted as a function of the molecular to ionized mass ratio (Mm/Mi). Data from Bachiller et al. (1997a) for CRL 2688, a typical post-AGB star and the youngest object in their sample, and NGC 7293 (Helix, their oldest PN) have been added, in order to stress the evolution of the abundances. Concerning CRL 2688, one should keep in mind that this object is too young for ionized gas to be present, so its abscissa is arbitrary. Furthermore, its HCN line is optically thick so the relative abundances should be considered as upper limits.

Since, as mentioned before, Mm/Mi is a good indicator of the evolutionary state of the nebula, the abscissas in Fig. 3 can be considered as a time axis, and the lines connecting the values of the column density ratios should reflect the evolution of the abundance ratios. It is interesting to note some general trends in the abundance ratios. The most striking point is the dramatic increase in HCO+ abundance relative to HCN from post-AGB stars to PNe, by more than two orders of magnitude. A second-order noticeable effect is the slight decrease of the HCO+/HCN ratio from rather young PNe (Mm/Mi $``$ 10) to older ones. The CN abundance relative to HCN is observed to increase by a factor of about 20 from the youngest objects in the sample (NGC 7027 and M 1-17) to the oldest ones (Mm/Mi $``$ 0.2). We remind here that the rather high value found for CRL 2688 must be attributed to an under-estimation of the HCN column density. The increase in the CN abundance occurs essentially during the early stages of the PN evolution, the CN/HCN ratio becomes rather constant after then. The HNC/HCN column density ratio does not present a very clear tendency with age. But it should be pointed out that the HNC line was only tentatively detected in some of the objects, and that more sensitive HNC observations are needed before drawing any firm conclusion. Nevertheless, this ratio seems again to be relatively lower in the two youngest objects (HNC/HCN $`<`$$``$ 0.2) than in some more evolved ones (HNC/HCN up to $``$ 1). These values are in the range of those previously observed in other nebulae (Bachiller et al. 1997a) and estimated theoretically (Ali et al. 2001).

The examination of Fig. 3 also gives information about the evolutionary stages of the nebulae. For instance, M 1-17, which was previously suspected to be a young PN because of the presence of wide wings in its spectrum (Bachiller et al. 1991), presents a high Mm/Mi ratio. This, together with its molecular abundances (see Fig. 3), confirms now that M 1-17 is a very young object, similar in many respects to NGC 7027. On the other hand, BV 5-1, K 3-24 and K 3-94 seem to be at a well advanced evolutionary stage, close to that of NGC 7293.

A remarkable exception among the observed behaviours is the case of IC 5117, the only nebula not detected the in HCN 1–0 line, and with rather weak CN emission (only the CN 2–1 line was detected), which seems typical of an oxygen-rich chemistry, whereas ionized gas in IC 5117 appears carbon-rich (C/O$``$1.3, Hyung et al. 2001). A C/O ratio $`>`$1 is consistent with the idea that massive PNe as those in our sample result from the evolution of stars with intermediate masses (M $`>`$$``$ 3 M) and thus have experienced the 3$`^{\text{rd}}`$ dredge-up, which makes them carbon-rich. However the determination of the carbon abundance in IC 5117 is very uncertain. Furthermore, the existence of massive oxygen-rich PNe is not excluded, because of hot-bottom burning which could convert 12C into 13C and 14N, decreasing the relative abundance of carbon (Renzini & Voli 1981). One could also think about a chemical stratification in the nebula, as the molecular gas corresponds to mass ejection prior to that traced by ionized gas. Additional observations are needed to understand this peculiar PN.

### 3.3 Carbon isotopic ratio

In the case of PNe, the observed I(12CO(2–1))/I(13CO(2–1)) intensity ratio is expected to be a good indicator of the isotopic 12C/13C abundance ratio (see Palla et al. 2000). In fact, the intensity ratio equals the abundance ratio when the following assumptions are accomplished : (i) the 12CO(2–1) and 13CO(2–1) rotational levels are thermalized, (ii) the 12CO(2–1) and 13CO(2–1) are not very optically thick, and (iii) the beam filling factor is similar for both lines. Since the dipole moment of CO is small ($``$ 0.11 Debye), the first assumption is very plausible. In addition, saturation effects are expected to be negligible for most evolved PNe, since the I(CO(2–1))/I(CO(1–0)) ratio suggests optically thin emission (Huggins et al. 1996, Josselin et al. 2000). But this may not the case for the youngest PNe (such as NGC 7027 and M 1-17), for which the 12CO lines are probably optically thick; isotopic ratios for these objects should thus been considered as lower limits.

The validity of the hypothesis of equal beam filling depends directly on the spatial distribution of the CO isotopomers, and thus on selective processes of formation and destruction of the molecules. Two types of reactions may be important to determine the CO isotopomer ratio: selective photodissociation, 13CO being more easily photodissociated, and chemical fractionation through the reaction

$${}_{}{}^{12}CO+^{13}C^+^{13}CO+^{12}C^+$$
(1)
But these effects are generally thought to compensate each other (see Mamon et al. 1988 for a more detailed discussion). In summary, we believe that for most of the PNe discussed here, 12C/13C = I(12CO(2–1))/I(13CO(2–1)). The isotopomer ratios resulting from the observations are summarized in Table 4.

We find ratio values in the range $`10<^{12}\mathrm{CO}/^{13}\mathrm{CO}<\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}40}`$. The 12C/13C ratio was recently measured in some additional PNe by Palla et al. (2000) and Balser et al. (2002), and the values reported by these authors are in general agreement with the ones reported here. These values are below those expected from standard asymptotic giant branch models and suggest non-standard mixing processes.

We have estimated the mass of the progenitors of BV 5-1 and K 3-94, by assuming relevant stellar parameters taken from the Acker et al. (1992) catalogue, and by following the procedure described in Palla et al. (2000). For M 1-17, IC 5117 and NGC 7027, estimates are provided by Palla et al. (2000). For M 1-13 and K 3-24, the lack of the central star photometry prevents any realistic estimate to be done. Of the studied sample, BV 5-1 and K 3-94 appear to have the most massive progenitors, with $``$5.5 and $``$4.0 M, respectively (we note however that the estimate of the progenitor mass requires the previous estimate of the luminosity of the central star which in turn depends on the choice of the distance, which as discussed above remains quite uncertain). Then, when reported in Fig. 3 of Palla et al., the 12C/13C isotopic ratio appears consistent with the models they quote. We thus confirm that non-standard mixing processes should thus be important only in low-mass stars, as suggested by Charbonnel (1995).

## 4 Discussion

We next discuss the chemical processes which must be relevant in the case of the molecules observed here by strengthening the differences between the conditions prevailing in PNe from those of the interstellar medium. Special attention is devoted to the clumpiness of the neutral PN envelopes since clumping is expected to play a key role in the preservation and evolution of the molecular species.

### 4.1 The survival of molecules in PNe

The compact PNe discussed here sample the evolution of the chemistry from the younger objects to rather developed PNe. An interesting result from our observations is the continuity of the molecular content found for PNe with very different evolutionary status and morphologies. In particular, N-bearing molecules are present at all the sampled evolutionary stages. This finding is in contrast with the recent suggestion made by Hasegawa et al. (2000) that most molecules from the AGB remnant (except H2 and CO) are completely destroyed and then re-formed at the PN stage. Our observations suggest on the contrary that most molecular species survive during the transition from the AGB to the PN phase.

An exception to this continuity in the molecular content is provided by the sudden increase in the HCO+ abundance. This ion is expected to form in warm PDR-like regions such as the interface between ionized and molecular gas. Even if currently available models fail in reproducing the observed abundance, they clearly show that the abundance is sensitive to the total density (see e.g. Table 3 in Hasegawa & Kwok 2001). Additional observational probes of these PDR-like regions would be provided by measuring the CO+ and N2H+ abundances, but the corresponding observations would require higher sensitivity than that of the observations presented here.

### 4.2 Chemistry of N-bearing molecules

The chemistry of N-bearing molecules has been recently studied by Ali et al. (2001) with a detailed time-dependent chemical model suited to the conditions of evolved PNe, and by Hasegawa et al. (2000) and Hasegawa & Kwok (2001) for the particular case of NGC 7027. The CN/HCN ratio calculated by Hasegawa et al. (2000) is in the range 1.4 to 6.6, depending on the volume hydrogen density and the kinetic temperature, in good agreement with our average value ($``$2.6). The abundances of HCN and HNC calculated by Ali et al. (2001) are in general agreement with the observations reported here. However their abundance of CN is too high by a factor of $``$3.

The chemistries of the three observed molecules (HCN, HNC and CN) are intimately interconnected. CN is mainly produced through the photodissociation of HCN or HNC, both having similar unshielded rates ($``$ 1.4 10-9 s-1, Le Teuff et al. 2000). It is thus expected that CN is mainly located in a kind of shell surrounding the HCN/HNC regions, where the ambient UV radiation coming from the central star can penetrate to photodissociate HCN, HNC, and other related compounds. The CN and HCN emitting regions are thus not expected to be coincident, and the CN/HCN abundance ratio can strongly vary with the position in the nebula. The CN/HCN column density ratios provided above must be considered as average values.

One could ask about the potential importance of two body reactions in the chemistry of nitrogen. Reactions such as that of atomic carbon with NO and N2 or atomic nitrogen with CH or CS, should have negligible contributions, both because such reactions have comparatively lower rates and the reactants must have very low abundances. For example, atomic carbon is only present in a very thin transition region between molecular gas (CO) and ionized gas (C+), as carbon ionization potential and CO dissociation energy are similar ($``$ 11 eV).

One exception may be the reaction

$$O+HCNCN+OH$$
(2)
as atomic oxygen may be abundant in photodissociation regions. Unfortunately, the abundance of atomic oxygen is not well known in these regions, and it will certainly strongly depend on the carbon-rich or oxygen-rich character of the envelope. If atomic oxygen turned out to be significantly abundant, this reaction could accentuate the production of CN at the expense of HCN. Nevertheless, the presence of atomic oxygen can also contribute to the destruction of CN:

$$O+CNCO+N\text{or}NO+C$$
(3)
The relative importance of these processes should be examined in the peculiar case of PN IC 5117 (see Sect. 3.2).

In principle, HCN and HNC can convert to each other through hydrogen exchange reaction

$$H+HNCHCN+H$$
(4)
However, the forward reaction must be predominant since it has an activation energy four times smaller than the reverse reaction (Talbi et al. 1996). On the other hand, the HNC/HCN ratio is observed to decrease at increasingly high densities in interstellar clouds (Turner et al. 1997). The relatively low HNC/HCN ratio observed in PNe could then be due to the combination of moderate temperatures and densities prevailing in the molecular envelopes.

HCN and HNC can indeed react with several molecular ions such as HCO+, H$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$, H3O+ or C2H+ to form HCNH+, which after dissociative recombination will lead to CN, HCN or HNC in a ratio 2/1/1 (Le Teuff et al. 2000). As the abundance of molecular ions is expected to increase with the state of evolution (as the nebula is being progressively ionized), such reactions are expected to additionally enhance the CN/HCN ratio as the evolution proceeds.

### 4.3 Molecular ions: HCO+ and N2H+

As already discussed by Bachiller et al. (1997a), a remarkable result concerning the chemical content of PNe is the rather high column densities of HCO+. The “standard” path of HCO+ formation which may dominate in dense interstellar clouds invokes the reaction of H$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ with CO, and thus requires a high formation rate of H$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ through cosmic-ray ionization of H2 (Turner 1995). However the survival of H$`{}_{}{}^{+}{}_{3}{}^{}`$ ion is expected to be very short, because of its very effective dissociative recombination (Bachiller et al. 1997a), so this process may not be efficient enough to explain the observed high abundances. It has been pointed out by Ali et al. (2001) that X-ray emission from the central hot star of PNe may also contribute to a high rate of ionization. In fact, the relatively high X-ray fluxes have been observed in several PNe (e.g.: Apparao & Tarafdar 1989) are believed to be generated from the central star (not from the nebula). The effect of such X-rays on the envelope can be particularly important in the case of compact PNe as these studied here.

An additional way to produce HCO+ is through the reaction

$$CO^++H_2HCO^++H$$
(5)
CO+ could be formed through charge transfer between H+ and CO, via the reaction

$$C^++OHCO^++H$$
(6)
or by the direct ionization of CO by the means, for instance, of the propagation of an ionizing front into the molecular gas of high CO abundance (Latter et al. 1993). The latter path may be dominant at least in some PNe. The initiation of such ionizing front is one of the characteristics of PPNe (Kwok 1993) and HCO+ seems indeed to form essentially during this stage (Bachiller et al. 1997a). Besides the formation of HCO+, the other main destruction process of CO+ is dissociative recombination. A column density $`N(\mathrm{CO}^+)>\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}\hspace{0.17em}10}^{12}`$ cm-2 can be expected and is consistent with the detection in NGC 7027 (Latter et al. 1993). A systematic search for this ion in PNe where HCO+ emission is intense would confirm this scenario.

HCO+ is mainly destroyed by dissociative recombination with electrons. These chemical processes are included in the detailed model of Ali et al. (2001) that leads to an abundance ratio HCO+/HCN$``$0.1, in reasonable agreement with the less evolved PNe of our sample, but significantly lower (by a factor of 5 to 10) that the values found in PNe at intermediate stage of evolution (see also Bachiller et al. 1997a). The observed trend in the evolution of HCO+ abundance seems to imply an increase in electron density during the late stages of PN evolution. Hasegawa & Kwok (2001) found that in NGC 7027 about 90% of carbon, which is a major source of electrons, is in the form of C+. Carbon with higher ionization degree (C2+ and C3+) is commonly observed toward more evolved PNe. An increase in the destruction process of HCO+ during the last evolutionary stages is thus expected and consistent with our observations. The abundance of HCO+ estimated by Hasegawa et al. (2000) for NGC 7027 is in general agreement with our observations, but it assumes that it is formed in gas at a temperature of $``$800 K. Observations of spectral lines from higher J levels (at higher frequencies) would be useful to estimate the gas physical conditions.

In molecular clouds, N2H+ is often thought to be associated with HCO+, since it is essentially formed through

$$H_3^++N_2N_2H^++H$$
(7)
But contrary to HCO+, no important alternative formation is expected. The abundance of N2H+ was however not reported in the models of Ali et al. (2001). The lack of other significant paths of formation, together with its high molecular dipole moment ($``$ 3.4 Debye) explains why we only detected this ion in NGC 7027. Assuming similar line intensity ratios in the other PNe, one needs to reach a rms $`<`$$``$ 0.5 mK to allow its detection, far below the limit we obtained. A deeper search for this ion would be interesting to examine any correlation with the temperature of the central star and in particular with its X-ray flux (when $`T_{}>\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}\hspace{0.17em}10}^5`$ K).

### 4.4 Clumpiness and PDR-like regions

Beside the evolutionary trends described above, a rather large dispersion of abundance ratios is observed for different values of Mm/Mi. Such scatter may be, at least partly, attributed to the the number and density of the clumps, which are expected to vary from one PN to another. Indeed these variations should act on the observed abundances by two ways. First, the degree of clumpiness (filling factor) can be different for different molecules in the highly fragmented envelopes of the more evolved objects such as BV 5–1 (Josselin & Bachiller 2001). Second, the survival of the molecules is expected to strongly depend on the number and density of the clumps which determine the shielding of dissociating UV radiation from the central star. Indeed, high resolution maps of the molecular envelopes of evolved PNe show that the molecular material is always confined within the ionized nebula (see e.g. Speck et al. 2002 for the Helix nebula and Josselin & Bachiller 2001 for BV 5–1), in contradiction with the simple image of an initially neutral homogeneous nebula being gradually ionized (“Strömgren sphere”). As confirmed by direct observations of some individual dense clumps in the Helix (Huggins et al. 1992, 2002), the molecules are in fact concentrated within dense blobs which reach a state of approximate dynamical equilibrium with the surrounding ionized material, and whose evolution is determined by their density, i.e. by their capability to be efficiently shielded from the ambient UV radiation. Any consistent chemical model of the neutral matter in PNe should thus take into account this clumpy structure which seems to be an essential ingredient of PNe.

## 5 Conclusions

The presence of molecular gas in compact PNe provides a unique opportunity to examine a rapidly evolving chemistry in a peculiar medium which is subjected to strong radiation fields. The observations reported in this paper show that some species such as HCO+ and CN are particularly abundant compared to envelopes around AGB stars or even to interstellar clouds. The chemical composition of the molecular envelopes in these compact PNe appears somewhat intermediate between the composition of proto-PNe (such as CRL 2688 or CRL 618) and well evolved PNe (such as the Ring, M4–9, or the Helix).

The molecular abundances are well explained, in general terms, by time-dependent gas-phase chemical models in which the ionization rate is enhanced by several orders of magnitude with respect to the average interstellar value (Ali et al. 2001, Hasegawa et al. 2000, Hasegawa & Kwok 2001). Thus, our observations confirm that the chemistry in the neutral shells of PNe is essentially governed by the high energy radiation from the hot central stars. Shocks due to fast winds which develop during the formation of the PN can also be important, but mainly during the proto-PN stage and in the regions where the jets impact on the envelope. The complexity of the chemical processes is increased by numerous factors linked to the properties of the central star and the geometry and degree of clumpiness of the envelope. The survival of molecules can only occur in well protected dense clumps, and a rich photo-chemistry very likely takes place at the surfaces of these PDR-like regions.

Although the main processes governing the chemistry in the neutral envelopes of PNe seem well identified, some significant discrepancies with the models remain to be understood. For instance the calculated CN/HCN ratio is a factor of $``$5 higher than the observed value, and the observed HCO+ abundances tend to be higher than those predicted by the models. In addition, as discussed by Hasegawa et al. (2000), some of the molecules observed in evolved PNe (such as the Ring or the Helix) could not be direct remnants from the AGB envelope, but newly formed species, this is the case of HCO+. However, the observations suggest that there is a continuity in the chemical composition from the proto-PN phase to the full photodissociation of the envelope, and that molecules like CO and HCN are progressively photo-dissociated.

Additional observations are now required to push up our understanding of this chemistry. The search for species such as CO+ would be useful to confirm the chemical networks invoked to explain the observed abundances.

###### Acknowledgements.

The authors acknowledge many interesting discussions and collaborative work on PNe with Drs. P. Cox, T, Forveille, and P.J. Huggins. RB acknowledges warm hospitality during a stay at GRAAL (University of Montpellier) during which part of this manuscript was written. EJ acknowledges partial financial support from french CNRS grant ATIPE and RB from spanish MCYT grant AYA2000-927.


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# 1 Total cross-section for 𝑒⁺𝑒⁻→𝐴⁰𝑍 as function of 𝑀_𝐴 at √𝑠=500 GeV (left panel) and for 𝑒⁺𝑒⁻→𝜈_𝑒𝜈̄_𝑒𝐴⁰ (right panel) at √𝑠=800 GeV

Single and pair production of MSSM Higgs bosons as a probe of scalar-pseudoscalar mixing at $`e^+e^{}`$ colliders***Talk given at the 10th International Conference on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Interactions, DESY, Hamburg, Germany, June 17–23, 2002.

Andrew Akeroyd1 and Abdesslam Arhrib2,3A. Arhrib is supported by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

1: KIAS, 207-43 Cheongryangri–dong, Dongdaemun–gu, Seoul 130–012, Korea

2: Max-Planck Institut für Physics, Föhringer Ring 6, 80805 München, Germany

3: LPHEA, Physics Department, Faculty of Science, P.O.Box 2390, Marrakesh, Morocco.

## Abstract

We study the associated production of the $`A^0`$ neutral CP–odd Higgs boson with a neutral gauge boson $`Z`$ as well as single production of $`A^0`$ via $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0`$ at the one loop level in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We show that the MSSM cross–section may be enhanced by light SUSY particles. Then we study the production processes $`e^+e^{}H_i^0Z`$, $`H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$ and $`H_i^0H_j^0`$ in the context of the MSSM with scalar-pseudoscalar mixing. In a given channel we show that the cross–section for all $`i`$ ($`=1,2,3`$) can be above 0.1 fb provided $`M_{H_{2,3}}<300`$ GeV. This should be detectable at a Next Linear Collider and would provide evidence for scalar–pseudoscalar mixing.

1. Recently, the phenomenology of the MSSM with complex SUSY parameters has received growing attention . Such phases give new sources of CP violation which may provide: electroweak baryogenesis scenarios and CP violating phenomena in K and B decays . It has been shown that by assuming universality of the gaugino masses at a high energy scale, the effects of complex soft SUSY parameters in the MSSM can be parametrized by two independent CP phases: the phase of the Higgsino mass term $`\mu `$ (Arg($`\mu `$)) and the phase of the trilinear scalar coupling parameters $`A=A_f`$ (Arg($`A_f`$)) of the sfermions $`\stackrel{~}{f}`$. The presence of large SUSY phases can give contributions to the electric dipole moments of the electron and neutron (EDM) which exceed the experimental upper bounds. In a variety of SUSY models such phases turn out to be severely suppressed by such constraints i.e. $`\mathrm{Arg}(\mu )<(10^2)`$ for a SUSY mass scale of the order of few hundred GeV .

However, the possibility of having large CP violating phases can still be consistent with experimental data in any of the following three scenarios: i) Effective SUSY models , ii) Cancellation mechanism  and iii) Non-universality of trilinear couplings $`A_f`$ .
It is well known that the presence of SUSY CP violating phases induces mixing between the CP–even and CP–odd scalars, resulting in the 3 mass eigenstates $`H_1^0`$, $`H_2^0`$ and $`H_3^0`$ which do not have a definite CP parity. This mixing affects their phenomenology at present and future colliders, both in production mechanisms and decay partial widths .

In this study we will consider various production mechanisms for neutral Higgs bosons of the MSSM (with and without scalar-pseudoscalar mixing) in the context of a NLC with $`\sqrt{s}=500`$ GeV and $`800`$ GeV.

2. The study of the various production mechanisms of the CP–odd $`A^0`$ Higgs boson is well motivated since the discovery of such a particle would signify that the electroweak symmetry breaking is introduced by more that one Higgs doublet. The CP-odd $`A^0`$ possesses no tree–level coupling $`A^0`$ZZ and $`A^0`$WW, and so it cannot be produced at tree level neither via the Higgstrahlung process nor via W-W fusion. Both of those processes can be generated at one-loop order . The one-loop diagrams for $`e^+e^{}ZA^0`$ and $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0`$ can be found respectively in . For both processes, the calculation was performed within the dimensional regularisation scheme with the help of FeynArts and FormCalc .

For our numerical evaluation, we will take into account the following considerations: The CP conserving MSSM Higgs sector is parametrized by the CP-odd mass $`M_A`$ and $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$, taking into account radiative corrections to the lightest Higgs boson. We limit ourselves to the case where $`\mathrm{tan}\beta 2.5`$. The chargino/neutralino sector can be parametrized by the usual $`M_1`$, $`M_2`$ and $`\mu `$. We assume that $`M_1M_2/2`$ and $`\mu >0`$. In our analysis we will take into account the following constraints when the SUSY parameters are varied: i) the extra contribution $`\delta \rho `$ to the $`\rho `$ parameter  should not exceed the current limits from experimental measurements $`\delta \rho <10^3`$, ii) $`m_{\stackrel{~}{t}_1,\stackrel{~}{b}_1}>100`$ GeV, $`m_{\chi _1^\pm }>103`$ GeV, $`m_{\chi _1^0}>50`$ GeV and $`m_h>110`$ GeV.

Following the approach of  we assume a detection threshold of 0.1 fb for $`e^+e^{}A^0Z`$. This would give 50 events before experimental cuts for the expected luminosities of 500 fb-1. In the THDM this criterion would require $`\mathrm{tan}\beta 0.3`$, even for a light pseudoscalar .

We start by recalling that the THDM contribution to $`e^+e^{}A^0Z`$  in the small $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ regime is enhanced by the top quark contribution, leading to cross–sections of order 0.04 fb. In the large $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ regime the cross–section is suppressed and does not attain observable rates. In the MSSM we limit ourself to the case where $`\mathrm{tan}\beta 2.5`$, and consequently the THDM contribution is suppressed to the order of $`0.002`$ fb at $`\sqrt{s}=500`$ GeV. The light SUSY particles (charginos) can slightly enhance the cross section, see Fig. 1 (left pannel), but due to a cancellation between the vertex and box diagrams the light SUSY enhancement turns out to be not very promising. The maximum cross-section for light $`M_A`$ is about 0.005 fb for $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =2.5`$. As can be seen in Fig. 1, the cross-section can also be enhanced by polarizing the electron and positron beams.

Let us now discuss the single CP-odd Higgs boson production $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0`$. This one-loop process has contributions from: i) one-loop W-W fusion to $`A^0`$, ii) the one loop process $`e^+e^{}A^0Z`$ followed by Z decay to $`\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$, and iii) box diagrams . In our study we have omitted the five point-functions, since these five point-functions do not have any enhancement factor, like a top quark or a scalar top quark inside the loop. Hence their contribution is expected to be smaller. Ref.  evaluated the top-bottom contribution to $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0`$ coming from the one-loop W-W fusion to $`A^0`$.

In Fig. 1 (right panel), we plot the cross-section of $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0`$ in the 2HDM for 800 GeV center of mass energy. For the Higgs couplings and masses we use the MSSM values with radiative corrections to the lightest Higgs boson mass. We found cross-sections of order 0.01 fb (resp 0.0006 fb) for small $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =0.5`$ (resp $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =2.5`$) and light $`M_A<400`$ GeV.
Numerically, in the MSSM with real parameters, we found that even in the optimistic scenario where all SUSY particles are light (of order 200 GeV), $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =2.5`$, large $`A_{t,b}`$ and large $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$, the cross section does not receive a substantial enhancement. One concludes that the cross sections for $`e^+e^{}ZA^0`$ and $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0`$ are well below $`0.1`$ fb.

3. We now consider the effect of SUSY CP violating phases on the Higgs bosons production mechanisms. We will study the processes $`e^+e^{}Z^{}H_i^0Z`$ and $`e^+e^{}H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$ in the context of a NLC. Both mechanisms are mediated by the tree–level effective couplings $`H_i^0VV`$ $`(C_i`$), but their cross–sections have different phase space and $`\sqrt{s}`$ dependence. In the CP conserving case one of these couplings would be zero, corresponding to the absence of the coupling $`A^0VV`$. We will also study the production of neutral Higgs pairs, $`e^+e^{}H_i^0H_j^0`$ ($`ij`$). In the CP conserving MSSM, only the vertices $`Zh^0A^0`$ and $`ZH^0A^0`$ exist at tree–level while in the CP violating scenario all three couplings $`ZH_1^0H_2^0`$, $`ZH_1^0H_3^0`$ and $`ZH_2^0H_3^0`$ are generated at tree–level. Therefore an observable signal for all $`i(=1,2,3)`$ in a given mechanism ($`e^+e^{}ZH_i^0`$, $`e^+e^{}H_i^0H_j^0`$ or $`e^+e^{}H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$), would be a way of probing CP violation in the Higgs sector. We will calculate the tree–level rates of the above mechanisms in the context of the MSSM with scalar-pseudoscalar mixing, showing that in the most favourable scenarios this way of probing scalar–pseudoscalar mixing can be effective if $`M_{H_{2,3}}<300`$ GeV.

It has been shown  that sizeable scalar–pseudoscalar mixing is possible for large $`|\mu |`$,$`|A_t|>M_{SUSY}`$. In  the mass matrix $`_{ij}^2`$ is evaluated to one–loop order using effective potential techniques and includes large two–loop non–logarithmic corrections induced by one-loop threshold effects on the top and bottom quark Yukawa couplings. The public code which we will employ in our numerical analysis can be found in .

In the CP conserving MSSM, $`C_1=\mathrm{sin}(\beta \alpha )`$ while one of $`C_2`$,$`C_3`$ is identified as $`\mathrm{cos}(\beta \alpha )`$, and the other is identically zero. $`C_i0`$ corresponds to the couplings $`A^0ZZ`$ and $`A^0WW`$, which will take on a non–zero value at 1-loop. Hence to lowest order in the MSSM only $`H_1^0`$ and one of $`H_2^0`$, $`H_3^0`$ can be produced in the Higgsstrahlung and $`WW`$ fusion mechanisms, $`e^+e^{}Z^{}H_i^0Z`$ and $`e^+e^{}H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$. In the presence of SUSY phases all $`H_i^0`$ may be produced at tree–level via $`e^+e^{}Z^{}H_i^0Z`$, and an observable signal for all three $`H_i^0`$ would be evidence for CP violation in the Higgs sector. We stress here that the smallest of $`\sigma (e^+e^{}Z^{}H_i^0Z)`$ (resp $`\sigma (e^+e^{}W^{}W^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eH_i^0)`$) should exceed the maximum rate for $`e^+e^{}A^0Z`$ (resp $`\sigma (e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0)`$) in the context of the CP conserving MSSM, since the latter would constitute a “background” to any interpretation as scalar–pseudoscalar mixing. The previous section showed that these cross-sections in the CP conserving MSSM are expected to be comfortably below 0.1 fb. Note that the process $`e^+e^{}H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$ proceeds via the same couplings $`C_i`$, but possesses a different phase space and $`\sqrt{s}`$ dependence. This mechanism is competitive with the Higgsstrahlung process, and becomes the dominant one as $`\sqrt{s}`$ increases. We will also consider the mechanism $`e^+e^{}H_j^0H_k^0`$, which proceeds via the coupling $`ZH_j^0H_k^0`$, where $`ZZH_i^0=ZH_j^0H_k^0`$ for $`ijk`$.

In the MSSM (with or without SUSY phases), the properties of the lightest eigenstate $`H_1^0`$ become very similar to that of the SM Higgs boson in the decoupling region of $`M_{H^\pm }250`$ GeV. In this region, $`C_1`$ is very close to 1, and so the sum $`C_2^2+C_3^2`$ is constrained to be small (a consequence of the sum-rules). Therefore we expect that $`M_{H^\pm }250`$ GeV will allow larger values for the sum $`C_2^2+C_3^2`$, and thus observable rates for both $`H_2^0`$ and $`H_3^0`$ in the above mechanisms. Distinct signals for all three $`H_i^0`$ in a given channel would be evidence for scalar–pseudoscalar mixing Of course, other models with more than 2 Higgs doublets and/or additional singlets could provide multiple signals in these channels, e.g. the CP conserving NMSSM..

We now present our numerical results which we will generate with the fortran program cph.f . We note that this program does not include $`\chi ^+`$$`W`$$`H^\pm `$ contributions to the 1–loop neutral Higgs mass matrix, which have been shown to be sizeable in some regions of parameter space .

We are concerned with a NLC collider which has the ability to probe $`\sigma (e^+e^{}H_i^0Z,H_i^0H_j^0`$,$`H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu })0.1`$ fb, and so we are also interested in smaller values for $`C_2^2`$, $`C_3^2`$ and larger $`M_{H_i}`$. We shall be presenting results for the production cross–sections of all the above mechanisms. Note that the cross–sections for the processes $`e^+e^{}Zh^0/H^0`$, $`e^+e^{}Ah^0/H^0`$, $`e^+e^{}h^0H^0`$, $`e^+e^{}ZA^0`$ and $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eh^0/H^0`$ in the CP conserving MSSM are accurately known . Deviations from these rates would be evidence for scalar–pseudoscalar mixing.

In our numerical analysis we will choose the CP violating benchmark scenario (CPX) which maximizes the CP violating effects: $`\stackrel{~}{M}_Q=\stackrel{~}{M}_t=\stackrel{~}{M}_b=M_{SUSY}=1`$ TeV, $`\mu =4`$ TeV, $`|A_t|=|A_b|=2`$, $`|m_{\stackrel{~}{B}}|=|m_{\stackrel{~}{W}}|=0.3`$ TeV. Note that $`\mu `$ will be taken real while we allow a CP phase in the soft tri-linear parameters $`A_t`$ and $`A_b`$. The CP phases of $`A_t`$ and $`A_b`$ are chosen to be equal. In addition, we choose the charged Higgs mass and $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$ as free parameters.

Our strategy to probe the scalar–pseudoscalar mixing requires the identification of the Higgs signals as distinct resonances. The inclusion of the phases in $`A_t`$ and $`A_b`$ breaks the near degeneracy among $`M_{H_2}`$ and $`M_{H_3}`$ , and gives sufficient splittings to allow identification of separate resonances for $`H_2^0`$ and $`H_3^0`$. These splittings may be $`>10`$ GeV, which is sufficiently large for a NLC  to resolve the separate peaks. This will lead to three different peaks in the Higgsstrahlung and $`WW`$ fusion processes and motivates us to present the individual cross–sections for $`e^+e^{}ZH_i^0`$ and $`e^+e^{}\nu \overline{\nu }_eH_i^0`$ for $`i=1,2,3`$. It has been shown in  that the inclusion of SUSY phases may drastically change the size of the couplings $`ZZH_1^0`$ and $`ZH_1^0H_2^0`$ for low and intermediate $`\mathrm{tan}\beta `$. In such cases the bound on the light Higgs boson obtained at LEPII may be weakened to $`<60`$ GeV for large CP violation in the MSSM Higgs sector. We study the potential of a NLC to discover such a weakly coupled Higgs.

In Fig. 2 the left plots depict regions of $`\sigma (e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eH_i^0`$) in the plane ($`M_{H_i}`$,arg($`A_t`$)) for $`\sqrt{s}=800`$ GeV, $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =6`$, and $`M_{SUSY}=1`$ TeV. In all plots the charged Higgs mass has been varied in increments from 140 $``$ 400 GeV, which determines the values of $`M_{H_i}`$. As it can be seen in the plot, $`H_1^0`$ discovery is possible over most of the ($`M_{H_1}`$,arg($`A_t`$)) plane, with small unobservable regions where $`\sigma (e^+e^{}ZH_1^0)<0.1`$ fb which occur for $`\mathrm{arg}(A_t)1.5`$ and $`M_{H_1}<105`$ GeV.

$`ZZH_2^0`$ is maximized for $`M_{H_2}<150`$ GeV and is minimized for $`\mathrm{arg}(A_t)1.5`$ and $`M_{H_2}>150`$ GeV. For $`H_2^0`$ and $`H_3^0`$, both $`\sigma (e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eH_{2,3}^0`$) can be observable over a wide region of the plane, even up to relatively large mass values e.g. for $`\mathrm{arg}(A_t)=1`$, $`\sigma (e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eH_{2,3}^0)0.1`$ fb for $`M_{H_2}275`$ and $`M_{H_3}310`$ GeV. Note that the scalar–pseudoscalar composition of $`H_2^0`$ and $`H_3^0`$ can change with increasing $`M_{H_i}`$ e.g. for low $`\mathrm{arg}(A_t`$), one can see that $`H_3^0`$ is dominantly CP-even scalar for low masses, and has a much larger cross–section than for that for $`H_2^0`$. As $`M_{H_{2,3}}`$ increases, $`H_2^0`$ has the larger CP-even scalar component and may be produced with an observable rate for $`M_{H_2}350`$ GeV. The cross section for $`e^+e^{}ZH_i`$ has a similar shape as the one for $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eH_i`$, but with this process one can probe scalar-pseudoscalar mixing only up to $`M_{H_2}250`$ GeV and $`M_{H_3}270`$ GeV both at $`\sqrt{s}=500`$ and $`800`$ GeV.

In Fig. 2 (right panels) we show $`\sigma (e^+e^{}H_i^0H_j^0`$) in the plane $`(M_{H_i},\mathrm{arg}(A_t))`$ for $`\mathrm{tan}\beta =6`$, and $`M_{SUSY}=1000`$ GeV. Due to its phase space suppression, this mechanism offers smaller cross–sections than the Higgsstrahlung and $`WW`$ fusion processes, and consequently it is not as effective at probing the scalar–pseudoscalar mixing. Using the fact that $`C_i^2=C_{jk}^2`$ for $`ijk`$, the behaviour of pair production $`e^+e^{}H_i^0H_j^0`$ can be roughly understood from the rate of the WW fusion process $`e^+e^{}\nu \overline{\nu }H_k^0`$. As can be seen from the plots, there are some similarities between $`e^+e^{}H_i^0H_j^0`$ and $`e^+e^{}\nu \overline{\nu }H_k^0`$, for $`ijk`$. However, $`\sigma (e^+e^{}H_1^0H_{2,3}^0`$) has an observable rate in the region where the Higgsstrahlung and $`WW`$ fusion processes have very suppressed rates.

4. To conclude, we have studied various production mechanisms for neutral Higgs bosons in the MSSM in the context of a high–energy $`e^+e^{}`$ collider. We computed the cross–section for the production mechanisms $`e^+e^{}A^0Z`$ and $`e^+e^{}\nu _e\overline{\nu }_eA^0`$ in the framework of the MSSM. Such processes proceed via higher order diagrams and are strongly model dependent. In the MSSM light SUSY particles may give an enhancement to the cross–sections but such not sufficient to be observable at NLC.

We then studied the production processes $`e^+e^{}H_i^0Z`$, $`H_i^0H_j^0`$ and $`H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$ in the context of the MSSM with SUSY CP violating phases. We showed that in a given channel the cross–section for all $`H_i^0`$ ($`i=1,2,3`$) can be observable at a Next Linear Collider and would provide evidence for scalar–pseudoscalar mixing. At $`\sqrt{s}=500`$ GeV the coverage of $`e^+e^{}H_i^0Z`$ and $`H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$ are comparable, with observable cross–sections for $`M_{H_2}250`$ GeV and $`M_{H_3}270`$ GeV for the most favourable choice of $`\mathrm{arg}(A_t)`$. At $`\sqrt{s}=800`$ GeV, the process $`e^+e^{}H_i^0\nu _e\overline{\nu }_e`$ offers superior coverage, with a reach up to $`M_{H_{2,3}}300`$ GeV in the most favourable cases. The scalar–pseudoscalar mixing causes a mass splitting between $`H_2^0`$ and $`H_3^0`$ which should be sufficient for separate peaks to be resolved at a NLC. The mechanism $`e^+e^{}H_1^0H_{2,3}^0`$, while less effective for probing scalar–pseudoscalar mixing, can comfortably detect $`H_1^0`$ in the region of suppressed coupling $`VVH_1^0`$.


text:
# 1 Introduction

## 1 Introduction

One of the most impressive theoretical constructions of the past century is undoubtedly the standard cosmological model based on the general relativistic Friedmann-Lemaître-Robertson-Walker (FLRW) metric. Not only it does explain the Hubble law, but it also led Gamov to predict the presence of a cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, detected many years later. Despite its many successes, such as the explanation of nucleosynthesis, this model is not exempt from drawbacks. Indeed, the standard scenario cannot satisfactorily explain the observed flatness of space-time nor the homogeneity of the CMB (the horizon problem) or the generation of cosmological perturbations responsible for the big structures of the universe. In order to remedy to these problems one is forced to assume an era of formidable expansion of the scale factor of the metric. This is the inflation scenario. However, as argued in , such an inflationary phase cannot eliminate the initial big-bang singularity of standard cosmology.

In order to deal with such a singularity one might need a quantum description of gravity. Presently, string theory seems to be the best candidate for describing the gravitational effects of matter at very small scales. In this theory, fundamental particles are described by tiny one dimensional strings embedded in external background fields. These backgrounds are not chosen arbitrarily. The internal coherence of string theory imposes constraints on the background fields, in particular the metric of space-time. Indeed, one demands that the two dimensional non linear sigma model description of the propagation of strings in these backgrounds should be invariant under Weyl transformations. This leads to the vanishing of the so called Weyl anomaly functions (or the generalized beta functions). This requirement results in a generalization of Einstein’s equations of general relativity. Moreover, these Weyl anomaly equations can be viewed as equations of motion of an action (the string effective action) containing the Einstein-Hilbert term. This action describes the low energy excitations of string theory (the metric, the dilaton and the antisymmetric tensor).

Another important property of string theory is a set of transformations known as T-duality. These T-dualities relate seemingly two inequivalent sets of backgrounds. A string propagating in a space-time endowed with a first background would present the same dynamics when moving in another space-time endowed with a dual background. The natural area where the effects of these dualities might be observed is in cosmology. In seminal papers , Veneziano and Gasperini have shown that a combination of Abelian T-duality, leading to an inversion of the scale factor of a flat FLRW metric (scale factor duality), together with a time reversal operation lead to a phase of inflation. This inflation is driven by a growing dilaton leading to a strong gravitational interaction. This phase (the dual phase) is valid for negative values of the time parameter and is called the pre-big-bang phase. However, the initial big-bang singularity is always present in this theory. It is sandwitched between two phases: the original flat FLRW solution and its Abelian dual.

Therefore, a suitable matching of the two phases must be found if one is to avoid the big-bang singularity. The answer to this problem could be found by including $`\alpha ^{}`$ corrections in the string effective action ($`\alpha ^{}`$ is the loop parameter of the two dimensional sigma model). The original analyses of Gasperini and Veneziano were carried out for the lowest order in $`\alpha ^{}`$. Higher order contributions in $`\alpha ^{}`$ might be able to deal with the high curvature states typical of a big-bang singularity. The problem of regularization of the big-bang singularity (the graceful exit problem) by means of higher $`\alpha ^{}`$ contributions have been theoretically investigated in  and numerically in . These studies indicate that the pre-big-bang cosmology could provide the necessary phase of inflation as well as a solution to the pre-big-bang singularity. This theory, however, still has its own drawbacks .

In this paper, we would like to investigate the role of a more complicated T-duality, namely non-Abelian duality, in cosmology. Our aim is to figure out if a pre-big-bang picture can be implemented for a background corresponding to a non flat FLRW space-time. This space-time presents a natural setting for the application of non-Abelian T-duality. We are also motivated by the fact that the string effective action is invariant under non-Abelian T-duality transformations . We are able to find a restricted region of the dual phase where a pre-big-bang approach does indeed apply. The difficulty in reaching a conclusion regarding the whole dual phase stems from the absence of any symmetries in the dual backgrounds. This situation is very typical of non-Abelian T-duality and is due to its non reversibility .

The paper is organized as follows: In section 2, we formulate the general problem and summarize the main results of non-Abelian T-duality. In particular, an expression relating the matter content in the original theory and its dual counterpart is given. This relation is essential for the extension of T-duality transformations in the presence of matter fields. We briefly recall, in section 3, the important features of the pre-big-bang cosmological model. Our example, based on a non flat FLRW metric, is studied in section 4. Finally, we present our conclusions and outlook in section 5.

## 2 String effective action and T-dualities

Our starting point is the following model as defined by the action

$`S=S_{\mathrm{eff}}+S_{\mathrm{mat}},`$ (2.1)
where $`S_{\mathrm{mat}}`$ denotes the action for the matter content of some cosmological model and $`S_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ is the low energy effective action of string theory given by

$`S_{\mathrm{eff}}={\displaystyle d^DX\sqrt{G}e^\phi \left[R+(\phi )^2\frac{1}{12}H_{MNP}H^{MNP}+\mathrm{\Lambda }\right]}.`$ (2.2)
In this expression, $`G`$ is the determinant of the metric $`G_{MN}`$ and $`R`$ is the associated Ricci scalar. The field $`\phi `$ is the usual dilaton and $`H_{MNP}`$, defined by $`H_{MNP}=_MB_{NP}+_NB_{PM}+_PB_{MN}`$, is the torsion of the antisymmetric field $`B_{MN}`$. Finally, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ stands for a possible cosmological constant. In the absence of matter fields, the equations of motion of the action $`S`$ would reduce to the vanishing of the Weyl anomaly coefficients $`\overline{\beta }^{(\omega )}`$ defined by

$`\overline{\beta }_{MN}^{(G)}`$ $``$ $`R_{MN}+_M_N\phi {\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}H_{MPQ}H_{N}^{}{}_{}{}^{PQ},`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{MN}^{(B)}`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}^PH_{MNP}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}H_{MNP}^P\phi ,`$
$`\overline{\beta }^{(\phi )}`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}^2\phi +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}_P\phi ^P\phi {\displaystyle \frac{1}{24}}H_{MNP}H^{MNP}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{4}}.`$ (2.3)
In the presence of matter, however, the equations of motion of the action $`S`$ can be cast in the following form

$`\overline{\beta }_{MN}^{(G)}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}G_{MN}E^{(\phi )}+e^\phi T_{MN}^{(G)},`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{MN}^{(B)}`$ $`=`$ $`e^\phi T_{MN}^{(B)},`$
$`E^{(\phi )}`$ $`=`$ $`e^\phi T^{(\phi )},`$ (2.4)
where

$`E^{(\phi )}`$ $``$ $`\overline{\beta }_{PQ}^{(G)}G^{PQ}4\overline{\beta }^{(\phi )},`$
$`T_{MN}^{(G)}`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{G}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S_{\mathrm{mat}}}{\delta G^{MN}}},`$
$`T_{MN}^{(B)}`$ $``$ $`G_{MP}G_{NQ}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{G}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S_{\mathrm{mat}}}{\delta B_{PQ}}},`$
$`T^{(\phi )}`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{G}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\delta S_{\mathrm{mat}}}{\delta \phi }}.`$ (2.5)
We have allowed here the matter to depend on the dilaton as well as the antisymmetric tensor field. This is in order to have the most general setting for our scenario.

Let us now briefly recall the T-duality transformations present in the string effective action $`S_{\mathrm{eff}}`$. The origin of these transformations resides in the two dimensional non-linear sigma model description of string theory . We will consider here the simplest version of these transformations. In order to do so, the target space coordinates $`X^M`$ are split as $`(x^\mu ,y^i)`$ where we assume that an isometry group acts on the coordinates $`y^i`$ only. The dependence on $`y^i`$ of the metric $`G_{MN}`$ and the antisymmetric tensor $`B_{MN}`$ appears only through the one form $`e_i^ady^i`$. In other words, our backgrounds are such that

$`G_{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`G_{\mu \nu }(x),`$
$`B_{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`B_{\mu \nu }(x),`$
$`G_{\mu i}`$ $`=`$ $`Z_{\mu a}(x)e_i^a(y),`$
$`B_{\mu i}`$ $`=`$ $`W_{\mu a}(x)e_i^a(y),`$
$`G_{ij}`$ $`=`$ $`e_i^a(y)S_{ab}(x)e_j^b(y),`$
$`B_{ij}`$ $`=`$ $`e_i^a(y)v_{ab}(x)e_j^b(y),`$
$`\phi `$ $`=`$ $`\phi (x),`$ (2.6)
Here, $`e_i^a(y)`$ are vielbeins satisfying

$$_ie_j^a_je_i^a=f_{bc}^ae_i^be_j^c$$
(2.7)
and $`f_{bc}^a`$ are the structure constants of the non-Abelian isometry group acting on the string backgrounds.

With these assumptions, the string effective action $`S_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ remains invariant when the original backgrounds $`\omega =(G_{MN},B_{MN},\phi )`$ are replaced by their duals $`\stackrel{~}{\omega }=(\stackrel{~}{G}_{MN},\stackrel{~}{B}_{MN},\stackrel{~}{\phi })`$ . The latter are given by

$`\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`G_{\mu \nu }\overline{S}^{ab}(Z_{\mu a}Z_{\nu b}W_{\mu a}W_{\nu b})+\overline{A}^{ab}(Z_{\mu a}W_{\nu b}W_{\mu a}Z_{\nu b})`$
$`\stackrel{~}{B}_{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`B_{\mu \nu }\overline{A}^{ab}(Z_{\mu a}Z_{\nu b}W_{\mu a}W_{\nu b})+\overline{S}^{ab}(Z_{\mu a}W_{\nu b}W_{\mu a}Z_{\nu b})`$
$`\stackrel{~}{G}_{\mu i}`$ $`=`$ $`(Z_{\mu a}\overline{A}^{ab}+W_{\mu a}\overline{S}^{ab})\eta _{bi}`$
$`\stackrel{~}{B}_{\mu i}`$ $`=`$ $`(Z_{\mu a}\overline{S}^{ab}+W_{\mu a}\overline{A}^{ab})\eta _{bi}`$
$`\stackrel{~}{G}_{ij}`$ $`=`$ $`\eta _{ia}\overline{S}^{ab}\eta _{bj}`$
$`\stackrel{~}{B}_{ij}`$ $`=`$ $`\eta _{ia}\overline{A}^{ab}\eta _{bj}`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\phi }`$ $`=`$ $`\phi \mathrm{ln}\left(detM_{ab}\right),`$ (2.8)
where $`\eta _{ia}`$ is a unit matrix and $`E_a^i`$ are the inverses of the vielbeins $`e_a^i`$. Moreover, $`\overline{S}^{ab}`$ and $`\overline{A}^{ab}`$ are the symmetric and antisymmetric parts of the inverse of

$`M_{ab}(S_{ab}+v_{ab})+y^i\eta _{ic}f_{ab}^c.`$ (2.9)
The non-Abelian T-duality transformations lead also to some relations between the Weyl anomaly coefficients of the original backgrounds and the Weyl anomaly coefficients of the dual backgrounds444The equations of motion and the Weyl anomaly functions for the dual theory are obtained from those of the original model by replacing the untilded quantities by tilded ones.. These are given by

$`\overline{\beta }^{(\stackrel{~}{\omega })}={\displaystyle \underset{\omega }{}}{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{\omega }}{\delta \omega }}\overline{\beta }^{(\omega )}.`$ (2.10)
It is remarkable that the duality transformations leave invariant the quantity $`E^{(\phi )}`$ . Namely,

$`E^{(\stackrel{~}{\phi })}=E^{(\phi )}.`$ (2.11)
In this paper we will consider exclusively bloc-diagonal backgrounds ($`Z_{\mu a}=W_{\mu a}=0`$). The calculation of the partial derivatives $`\delta \stackrel{~}{\omega }/\delta \omega `$, given at the end of ref. , shows that, in a bloc-diagonal case, the previous relations (2.10) take the form

$`\overline{\beta }_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}}{\delta G_{PQ}}}\overline{\beta }_{PQ}^{(G)}+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}}{\delta B_{PQ}}}\overline{\beta }_{PQ}^{(B)},`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}}{\delta G_{PQ}}}\overline{\beta }_{PQ}^{(G)}+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}}{\delta B_{PQ}}}\overline{\beta }_{PQ}^{(B)}.`$ (2.12)
Our aim here is to study, for a simple model, non-Abelian duality transformations in the presence of matter fields. The demand that these transformations are still a symmetry of the full action $`S`$ will require the original matter tensors $`T^{(\omega )}`$ to have dual counterparts $`T^{(\stackrel{~}{\omega })}`$. Indeed, using the equations of motion of the original and dual models together with the relations in (2.11, 2.12), one can show that

$`e^{\stackrel{~}{\phi }}T^{(\stackrel{~}{\phi })}`$ $`=`$ $`e^\phi T^{(\phi )},`$
$`e^{\stackrel{~}{\phi }}T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`e^\phi \left[{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}}{\delta G_{PQ}}}G_{PQ}\stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}\right)T^{(\phi )}+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}}{\delta G_{PQ}}}T_{PQ}^{(G)}+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}}{\delta B_{PQ}}}T_{PQ}^{(B)}\right],`$
$`e^{\stackrel{~}{\phi }}T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ $`=`$ $`e^\phi \left[{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}}{\delta G_{PQ}}}G_{PQ}T^{(\phi )}+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}}{\delta G_{PQ}}}T_{PQ}^{(G)}+{\displaystyle \frac{\delta \stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}}{\delta B_{PQ}}}T_{PQ}^{(B)}\right].`$ (2.13)
The matter sector in the dual theory will be determined for our cosmological model. Before tackling this issue, we will start by a short review of pre-big-bang cosmology.

## 3 Abelian pre-big-bang cosmology

The pre-big-bang picture was put forward by Veneziano and Gasperini . Its main ingredient is the use of Abelian T-duality in a string cosmological model. The space-time is four dimensional with coordinates $`X^M=(t,y^i)`$ where $`y^i=(x,y,z)`$. The original backgrounds are chosen to be given by

$`G_{MN}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{diag}(1,a^2(t),a^2(t),a^2(t)),`$
$`B_{MN}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\phi `$ $`=`$ $`\phi (t).`$ (3.1)
The non-vanishing components of the Weyl anomaly coefficients $`\overline{\beta }^{(\omega )}`$ are

$`\overline{\beta }_{00}^{(G)}`$ $`=`$ $`\ddot{\phi }3\dot{H}3H^2,`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{ij}^{(G)}`$ $`=`$ $`\delta _{ij}a^2[\dot{H}+3H^2H\dot{\phi }],`$ (3.2)
and

$`E^{(\phi )}`$ $`=`$ $`12H^2+6\dot{H}2\ddot{\phi }6H\dot{\phi }+\dot{\phi }^2+\mathrm{\Lambda }.`$ (3.3)
The Hubble function is defined by the usual relation $`H(t)\frac{d}{dt}\mathrm{ln}a(t)`$.

The coupling of the matter in this model is that of a perfect fluid, as in standard cosmology. The matter tensors $`T_{MN}^{(\omega )}`$ are such that

$`T_{MN}^{(G)}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{diag}(\rho ,pa^2,pa^2,pa^2),`$
$`T_{MN}^{(B)}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`T^{(\phi )}`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (3.4)
The equations of motion corresponding to the action $`S`$ are

$`\ddot{\phi }3\dot{H}3H^2`$ $`=`$ $`e^\phi \rho ,`$
$`\dot{H}+3H^2H\dot{\phi }`$ $`=`$ $`e^\phi p,`$
$`12H^2+6\dot{H}2\ddot{\phi }6H\dot{\phi }+\dot{\phi }^2+\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (3.5)
The original backgrounds in (3.1) possess three translation symmetries (Abelian isometries). The application of Abelian T-duality transformations  leads to the following dual backgrounds

$`\stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{diag}(1,a^2(t),a^2(t),a^2(t)),`$
$`\stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\phi }`$ $`=`$ $`\phi (t)6\mathrm{ln}a(t)`$ (3.6)
The corresponding non-vanishing dual Weyl anomaly coefficients $`\overline{\beta }^{(\stackrel{~}{\omega })}`$ are as follows

$`\overline{\beta }_{00}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`\ddot{\phi }3\dot{H}3H^2,`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{ij}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`\delta _{ij}a^2[\dot{H}+3H^2H\dot{\phi }],`$ (3.7)
and

$`E^{(\stackrel{~}{\phi })}`$ $`=`$ $`12H^2+6\dot{H}2\ddot{\phi }6H\dot{\phi }+\dot{\phi }^2+\mathrm{\Lambda }.`$ (3.8)
If we now suppose, in analogy with the original model, that the matter fields in the dual model are such that

$`T^{(\stackrel{~}{\phi })}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{diag}(\stackrel{~}{\rho },\stackrel{~}{p}a^2,\stackrel{~}{p}a^2,\stackrel{~}{p}a^2),`$ (3.9)
then the equations of motion of the dual theory are

$`\ddot{\phi }3\dot{H}3H^2`$ $`=`$ $`e^{\stackrel{~}{\phi }}\stackrel{~}{\rho },`$
$`\dot{H}+3H^2H\dot{\phi }`$ $`=`$ $`e^{\stackrel{~}{\phi }}\stackrel{~}{p},`$
$`12H^2+6\dot{H}2\ddot{\phi }6H\dot{\phi }+\dot{\phi }^2+\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (3.10)
These equations are the same as the ones in (3.5) provided that the matter fields in the original model and its dual are related by

$`e^\phi \rho `$ $`=`$ $`e^{\stackrel{~}{\phi }}\stackrel{~}{\rho },`$
$`e^\phi p`$ $`=`$ $`e^{\stackrel{~}{\phi }}\stackrel{~}{p}.`$ (3.11)
Therefore, the duality transformations of $`S_{\mathrm{eff}}`$ can be extended to the full action $`S=S_{\mathrm{eff}}+S_{\mathrm{mat}}`$. Notice also that if the original matter obeys the equation of state $`\rho =\alpha p`$, where $`\alpha `$ is a constant, then the matter in the dual theory satisfies the equation of state $`\stackrel{~}{\rho }=\alpha \stackrel{~}{p}`$. We deduce that if $`\alpha `$ is positive then the pressure in the dual phase must be negative.

Let us now examine the cosmological effects of Abelian T-duality. We suppose, for simplicity, that the dilaton field is constant $`\phi =\phi _0`$ and the cosmological constant vanishes. In this case, the last equation of (3.5) leads to $`a(t)\sqrt{t}`$ while the two others yield the equation of state $`\rho =3p`$. Hence the universe is in a radiation dominated era. The energy density $`\rho `$ is related to the scale factor $`a`$ by $`\rho a^4`$. An important property of this standard cosmological solution is that of not being defined for all values of $`t`$ and has a big-bang singularity at $`t=0`$.

The idea behind pre-big-bang cosmology is to seek a solution which is defined for all values of $`t`$ and avoids the big-bang singularity. This solution is found through the use of T-duality transformations combined with a time reversal operation. Indeed, the equations of motion of the original model (3.5) as well as those of the dual theory (3.10) are form invariant under $`tt`$.

The pre-big-bang picture can be summarized by the graph in Figure 1.

One starts from the original solution (region I) as defined by

$`a`$ $``$ $`\sqrt{t},`$
$`\rho `$ $`=`$ $`3pa^2,`$
$`\phi `$ $`=`$ $`\phi _0`$ (3.12)
and constructs region II by applying a T-duality transformation. Region VI is reached by a time reversal operation on the solution of region II. Therefore, one obtains for region IV the following solution

$`\stackrel{~}{a}`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\sqrt{t}}},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\rho }`$ $`=`$ $`3\stackrel{~}{p}\stackrel{~}{a}^2,`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\phi }`$ $`=`$ $`\phi _03\mathrm{ln}(t);.`$ (3.13)
This solution is defined for negative times and a full account of its characteristics can be found in .

Gasperini and Veneziano suggested that by taking region IV when $`t`$ is negative and region I when $`t`$ is positive, one might avoid the big-bang singularity. However, this requires a non trivial mechanism for matching these two branches. We refer the reader to  for more details on this subject.

## 4 Non-Abelian T-duality in pre-big-bang cosmology

Our goal in this article is to apply non-Abelian T-duality transformations to a cosmological model with a pre-big-bang scenario in sight. This is motivated by the fact that most of the interesting cosmological metrics present, in a natural way, non-Abelian isometries. We therefore consider a four dimensional FLRW space-time described by the coordinates $`X^M=(t,y^i)`$ with spherical spatial coordinates $`y^i=(R,\mathrm{\Theta },\mathrm{\Phi })`$. The string metric is described by

$`G_{MN}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{diag}(1,{\displaystyle \frac{a^2(t)}{1kR^2}},a^2(t)R^2,a^2(t)R^2\mathrm{sin}^2(\mathrm{\Theta })).`$ (4.1)
The other string background fields are given by

$`B_{MN}=0,\phi =\phi _0.`$ (4.2)
Notice that the spatially flat case, corresponding to $`k=0`$, is the one treated in the previous section. We will assume from now on that $`k`$ is different from zero.

In order to find the dual backgrounds, one has to cast the metric in a form suitable for the application of the formalism of non-Abelian T-duality. Therefore, one must determine the vielbeins of the spatial metric. We distinguish two cases. The first corresponds to $`k`$ negative. This case is identified with the isotropic Bianchi V space. The Lie algebra of the isometry transformations of Bianchi V are known to have tracefull structure constants $`f_{ab}^a0`$. It is precisely for this kind of Lie algebras that non-Abelian T-duality does not apply. This problem with Bianchi V was first revealed in  and further examined in . For this reason, this case will not be considered any further.

The second case deals with $`k`$ positive. This corresponds to the isotropic Bianchi IX space whose isometry Lie algebra is $`SU(2)`$ with $`f_{ab}^a=0`$. Since there is only one maximally symmetric three dimensional metric with a constant positive curvature, a change of coordinates can be found  to bring the metric in (4.1) into the form

$`ds^2`$ $`=`$ $`dt^2+h(t)\mathrm{Tr}\left[\left(g^1dg\right)\left(g^1dg\right)\right],`$ (4.3)
$`=`$ $`dt^2+h(t)\delta _{ab}e_i^ae_j^bdu^idu^j,`$
$`=`$ $`dt^2+h(t)\left(du^2+dv^2+dw^2+2\mathrm{cos}(v)dudw\right).`$
In this expression, $`g`$ is an element of the Lie group $`SU(2)`$. It is parametrized by $`g=e^{uT_3}e^{vT_1}e^{wT_3}`$, where $`T_a`$ are related to the usual Pauli matrices $`\sigma _a`$ by $`T_a=\sigma _a/2i`$. The function $`h(t)`$ is defined by $`h(t)=a^2(t)/4k`$ and the vielbeins are given by

$`e_i^a(y)=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}\mathrm{sin}(v)\mathrm{sin}(w)& \mathrm{cos}(w)& 0\\ \mathrm{sin}(v)\mathrm{cos}(w)& \mathrm{sin}(w)& 0\\ \mathrm{cos}(v)& 0& 1\end{array}\right).`$ (4.7)
The indices $`a`$ and $`i`$ denote, respectively, the lines and rows of $`e_i^a`$.

To simplify matters, we assume a vanishing cosmological constant ($`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$). These backgrounds leads to

$`E^{(\phi )}=6\left[{\displaystyle \frac{\ddot{a}}{a}}+\left({\displaystyle \frac{\dot{a}}{a}}\right)^2+{\displaystyle \frac{k}{a^2}}\right].`$ (4.8)
The other non-vanishing Weyl anomaly function $`\overline{\beta }^{(\omega )}`$ are

$`\overline{\beta }_{00}^{(G)}`$ $`=`$ $`3{\displaystyle \frac{\ddot{a}}{a}},`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{ij}^{(G)}`$ $`=`$ $`G_{ij}F(t),`$
$`F(t)`$ $``$ $`\ddot{a}/a+2\left(\dot{a}/a\right)^2+2k/a^2.`$ (4.9)
We also take the matter present in the universe to be described by the energy-momentum tensor

$`T_{MN}^{(G)}=\left(\begin{array}{cc}\rho & 0\\ 0& pG_{ij}\end{array}\right),T^{(\phi )}=T_{MN}^{(B)}=0.`$ (4.12)
The equations of motion are then

$`E^{(\phi )}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`3{\displaystyle \frac{\ddot{a}}{a}}`$ $`=`$ $`e^{\phi _0}\rho ,`$
$`F(t)`$ $`=`$ $`e^{\phi _0}p,`$ (4.13)
Combining these three equations leads to the equation of states $`\rho =3p`$. Hence, as in the Abelian case, the matter is in a radiation form. One can then show that $`C=(e^{\phi _0}\rho a^4)/3`$ is constant in time and the general solution for the equations of motion is given by

$`a(t)=\sqrt{C^{}}\left[1\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{t}{\sqrt{C^{}}}}\right)^2\right]^{\frac{1}{2}},`$ (4.14)
where $`C^{}=C/k^2`$. The graph of $`a(t)`$ is shown in Figure 2. This solution has a big-bang singularity at $`t=0`$ and a big-crunch singularity at $`t=2\sqrt{C^{}}`$.

Now we are in a position to construct the dual backgrounds as explained in the second section of this paper. One obtains, after a coordinate transformation from $`(t,u,v,w)`$ to $`(t,r,\theta ,\varphi )`$ , the following dual backgrounds555The change of variables is given by $`u=r\mathrm{sin}(\theta )\mathrm{cos}(\varphi ),v=r\mathrm{sin}(\theta )\mathrm{sin}(\varphi ),w=r\mathrm{cos}(\theta )`$.

$`\stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}`$ $`=`$ $`\mathrm{diag}(1,{\displaystyle \frac{1}{h(t)}},{\displaystyle \frac{h(t)r^2}{\mathrm{\Delta }}},{\displaystyle \frac{h(t)r^2\mathrm{sin}^2(\theta )}{\mathrm{\Delta }}}),`$
$`\stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{r^3\mathrm{sin}(\theta )}{\mathrm{\Delta }}}\left(\begin{array}{cccc}0& 0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& 0& 1\\ 0& 0& 1& 0\end{array}\right),`$ (4.19)
$`\stackrel{~}{\phi }`$ $`=`$ $`\phi (t)\mathrm{ln}(h\mathrm{\Delta }),`$ (4.20)
where $`\mathrm{\Delta }=h^2(t)+r^2`$. One can see that the metric of this dual backgrounds is still isotropic, due to the presence of the element $`d\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2(\theta )d\varphi ^2`$ in the expression of $`ds^2`$. But it is not homogeneous anymore. This kind of metric must then have a center.

The non-vanishing Weyl anomaly coefficients $`\overline{\beta }^{(\stackrel{~}{\omega })}`$ of these dual backgrounds are

$`E^{(\stackrel{~}{\phi })}`$ $`=`$ $`E^{(\phi )},`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{23}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ $`=`$ $`2r^3\mathrm{sin}(\theta ){\displaystyle \frac{h^2}{\mathrm{\Delta }^2}}F(t),`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{00}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{3C}{(4k)^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{h^2}},`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{11}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{F(t)}{h}},`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{22}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{r^2h(h^2r^2)}{\mathrm{\Delta }^2}}F(t),`$
$`\overline{\beta }_{33}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{r^2\mathrm{sin}^2(\theta )h(h^2r^2)}{\mathrm{\Delta }^2}}F(t),`$ (4.21)
By injecting these expressions in the equations of motion of the dual theory, we are led to the following form for the dual energy-momentum tensor

$`T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}=\left(\begin{array}{cccc}\stackrel{~}{\rho }& 0& 0& 0\\ 0& \stackrel{~}{p}_1\stackrel{~}{G}_{11}& 0& 0\\ 0& 0& \stackrel{~}{p}_2\stackrel{~}{G}_{22}& 0\\ 0& 0& 0& \stackrel{~}{p}_3\stackrel{~}{G}_{33}\end{array}\right).`$ (4.26)
An explicit calculation yields the following expressions for the energy density and pressures appearing in $`T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$

$`\stackrel{~}{\rho }`$ $`=`$ $`3K{\displaystyle \frac{h^2+r^2}{h}},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_1`$ $`=`$ $`K{\displaystyle \frac{h^2+r^2}{h}},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_2`$ $`=`$ $`K{\displaystyle \frac{h^2r^2}{h}},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_3`$ $`=`$ $`\stackrel{~}{p}_2,`$ (4.27)
where $`K`$ is defined by $`K=e^{\phi _0}C/(4k)^2`$. Furthermore, the equations of motion of the dual theory are fulfilled only if

$`T^{(\stackrel{~}{\phi })}`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$
$`T_{23}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ $`=`$ $`2K\stackrel{~}{B}_{23}h.`$ (4.28)
This means that in the dual phase, the matter depends on the dual antisymmetric tensor $`\stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}`$. This is to be contrasted with the original theory where we have set $`B_{MN}=0`$ (implying $`T_{MN}^{(B)}=0`$). The non-vanishing of $`\stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}`$ and $`T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ breaks the isotropy observed in the dual metric $`\stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}`$. We should mention that the expressions of $`T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{G})}`$, $`T_{MN}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ and $`T^{(\stackrel{~}{\phi })}`$ are compatible with the formal relations in (2.13).

## 5 Discussion

Let us now investigate whether one can set a pre-big-bang scenario based on the original backgrounds and their duals. As before, the equations of motion are still form invariant under time reversal $`tt`$. Our original solution has two singularities and the pre-big-bang picture, based on non-Abelian duality and time reversal transformations, would be expected to avoid these singularities. This task, however, is difficult to achieve due to the fact that the dual backgrounds do not carry the symmetries of their original counterparts. Nonetheless, some conclusions can be reached in some limiting procedure. Two cases, depending on the relative values of $`r^2`$ and $`h^2`$, emerge naturally in the study of the dual backgrounds.

The first of these two cases corresponds to the situation when $`r^2<<h^2`$. The dual backgrounds tend then to the following expressions

$`\stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{diag}(1,{\displaystyle \frac{1}{h}},{\displaystyle \frac{r^2}{h}},{\displaystyle \frac{r^2\mathrm{sin}^2(\theta )}{h}}),`$
$`\stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}`$ $``$ $`0,`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\phi }`$ $``$ $`\phi _03\mathrm{ln}h.`$ (5.1)
Similarly, the dual matter fields are described by

$`\stackrel{~}{\rho }`$ $``$ $`3Kh,`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_1`$ $``$ $`\stackrel{~}{p}=Kh,`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_2`$ $``$ $`\stackrel{~}{p}=Kh,`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_3`$ $``$ $`\stackrel{~}{p}=Kh,`$
$`T_{23}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ $``$ $`0.`$ (5.2)
In this limiting zone, the universe is described by a flat FLRW metric with a scale factor given by $`1/\sqrt{h(t)}`$. Furthermore, the only matter present is that of a perfect fluid obeying the equation of state $`\stackrel{~}{\rho }=3\stackrel{~}{p}`$. One can, therefore, define a Hubble function $`\stackrel{~}{H}=\frac{d}{dt}\mathrm{ln}\sqrt{h}`$.

In analogy with the Abelian pre-big-bang scenario, we construct in this limit a similar setting as represented in Figure 3. The Hubble function of region I is that of the original theory, while region IV corresponds to the metric in (5.1) but for negative $`t`$.

As one can see, the behaviors of $`H(t)`$ and $`\stackrel{~}{H}(t)`$ are similar to what happened in the Abelian case (see Fig.1) near the big-bang singularity. Here again, one must solve the graceful exit problem (the matching of the two branches). There are, however, two other singularities (big-crunch) when $`t\pm 2\sqrt{C^{}}`$ (see Fig. 2). We speculate that higher order corrections in $`\alpha ^{}`$ might cure the model of all these singularities.

The other limiting case corresponds to $`r^2>>h^2`$. Although, we are not able to construct a pre-big-bang cosmology for this limit, its study reveals some interesting features. The dual backgrounds in this zone tend to

$`\stackrel{~}{G}_{MN}`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{diag}(1,{\displaystyle \frac{1}{h}},h,h\mathrm{sin}^2(\theta )),`$
$`\stackrel{~}{B}_{MN}`$ $``$ $`r\mathrm{sin}(\theta ),`$
$`\stackrel{~}{\phi }`$ $``$ $`\phi _0\mathrm{ln}(hr^2).`$ (5.3)
On the other hand, the dual matter is represented by the quantities

$`\stackrel{~}{\rho }`$ $``$ $`3K{\displaystyle \frac{r^2}{h}},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_1`$ $``$ $`K{\displaystyle \frac{r^2}{h}},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_2`$ $``$ $`K{\displaystyle \frac{r^2}{h}},`$
$`\stackrel{~}{p}_3`$ $``$ $`K{\displaystyle \frac{r^2}{h}},`$
$`T_{23}^{(\stackrel{~}{B})}`$ $``$ $`2Khr\mathrm{sin}(\theta ).`$ (5.4)
We notice that the $`r`$ coordinate gets a special status in these backgrounds. The dual metric contains a sphere of radius $`\sqrt{h}`$ and whose surface is described by the coordinates $`\theta `$ and $`\varphi `$. When $`h`$ is big the $`r`$ direction shrinks while the sphere expands. The opposite happens for small $`h`$. This situation is similar to the procedure of dynamical compactification encountered in Kaluza-Klein cosmologies . Furthermore, the pressure along the $`r`$ direction is negative.

In conclusion, we have managed to put forward a pre-big-bang cosmological scenario in a very particular region ($`r^2<<h^2`$) in the dual phase. However, a global study of the full dual phase seems at the moment out of reach. The lack of symmetries in the dual backgrounds (absence of isotropy or homogeneity) does not allow a construction of a Hubble function. Therefore, a comparison with the original FLRW backgrounds is not, in general, possible.

Finally, we should mention that we have analysed another cosmological model based on Poisson-Lie T-duality. Unfortunately, the dual backgrounds are even more involved and do not reveal any known features. This shows all the difficulties whenever one deviates from the flat case of Abelian T-duality (scale factor duality). As already remarked in , this is very puzzling from a string point of view: a fundamental string does not see any differences between two backgrounds related by any T-duality transformations. Therefore, the role of isotropy and homogeneity in string cosmology is certainly worth investigating.