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# Magnetotunneling Between Two-dimensional Electron Gases in InAs-AlSb-GaSb Heterostructures

## Abstract

We have observed that the tunneling magnetoconductance between two-dimensional (2D) electron gases formed at nominally identical InAs-AlSb interfaces most often exhibits two sets of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations with almost the same frequency. This result is explained quantitatively with a model of the conductance in which the 2D gases have different densities and can tunnel between Landau levels with different quantum indices. When the epitaxial growth conditions of the interfaces are optimized, the zero-bias magnetoconductance shows a single set of oscillations, thus proving that the asymmetry between the two electron gases can be eliminated.

The unusual energy-band alignment of heterostructures that combine InAs and GaSb (or their alloys) has made them attractive for electronic devices like interband-tunneling diodes and quantum-cascade lasers. Lately, those structures have also emerged as one of the leading candidates for “spin” devices, in which the electron’s spin states rather than its charge determine the operation of the device, be it a transistor Datta and Das (1990) or a resonant-tunneling diode. Koga et al. (2002)

In a III-V compound-semiconductor heterostructure with an asymmetric potential profile, the two spin subbands of the conduction band are split for non-zero in-plane wave vectors in the absence of a magnetic field. This splitting, frequently called Rashba splitting, Rashba (1960); Bychkov and Rashba (1984) is particularly large (several meV) in InAs because its band-structure parameters favor a large spin-orbit-coupling coefficient, and may lead to two populations of electrons with opposite spin orientations.

On the long road to practical spin devices, one of the first steps has been to establish unequivocally the presence of Rashba splitting in a given heterostructure, to determine its amount, and, if possible, to control it. The effect has manifested itself as a beating pattern in the Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations of the in-plane magnetoresistance. Luo et al. (1988); Das et al. (1990) Sometimes, an external electric field perpendicular to the layers has been used to further modify the relative carrier densities. Nitta et al. (1997) However, some experimental results on the Rashba splitting have been inconclusive. For instance, Brosig *et al.* did not observe any beating in the SdH oscillations of asymmetric InAs-AlSb quantum wells with various carrier densities; Brosig et al. (1999) and Heida *et al.* found no significant effect on the beating pattern by a gate voltage. Heida et al. (1998) Moreover, the presence of a beating pattern in magnetoresistance oscillations may signal a phenomenon quite different from spin splitting, for example mixing of the first-subband series with magneto-interband oscillations. Rowe et al. (2001)

Since some of the proposed spin devices rely on electron tunneling across a heterostructure, it is equally important to sort out effects in vertical transport that might be construed as evidence of spin splitting. Yamada et al. (2002) Recently we observed a beating pattern in the zero-bias tunneling magnetoconductance of an InAs-AlSb-GaSb-AlSb-InAs heterostructure with a potential profile adequate for a spin-filter device. González et al. (2001) However, that pattern was explained not as a consequence of Rashba splitting but in terms of tunneling between two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) with slightly different densities. González et al. (2001) This conclusion was based on an analysis that used a very simple magnetotunneling model, in which only one Landau level at a time participated in the tunneling process.

In this paper, we report a systematic magnetotunneling study using a variety of samples with different thickness for the GaSb well and the AlSb barriers, and employing a more elaborate transport model, which allows for tunneling involving several (energy-broadened) Landau levels simultaneously and in which the Landau-level index may not be conserved in the process. This study not only confirms the generality of our initial conclusion but also shows how the epitaxial growth of the heterostructures affects dramatically the beating pattern, which disappears when the materials interfaces are optimized.

The band profile common to the InAs-AlSb-GaSb-AlSb-InAs heterostructures discussed here is depicted in the central inset of Fig. 1, and in greater detail in Ref. González et al., 2001. Since the top of the valence band of GaSb is higher in energy than the bottom of the InAs conduction band, two-dimensional (2D) electrons accumulate in quasi-triangular wells formed at each of the two InAs interfaces. Ideally, the number of 2D electrons in each interface should be the same, and the sum of the two equal to the number of 2D holes left in the central GaSb valence-band well.

To illustrate the similarities and differences among the many structures we have studied, we focus on four heterostructures prepared by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at different institutions and in a time span of almost a decade: sample A, with GaSb and AlSb thicknesses of 75 Å and 25 Å, respectively; sample B, with corresponding 60 Å and 34 Å widths; and samples C and D, both with 82 Å and 31 Å GaSb and AlSb regions, respectively. gro  Samples A and B were grown a few weeks apart but several years earlier than samples C and D, which were grown on the same day, and as explained later, differed from each other only on the procedure followed to prepare one of the InAs-AlSb interfaces.

The central panel, (b), of Fig. 1 shows the zero-bias tunneling conductance versus magnetic field (perpendicular to the layers) for sample B, the focus of our earlier study. González et al. (2001) As discussed then, the magnetoconductance reveals SdH oscillations with a beating-like pattern between 0.5 T and 1.5 T, followed by doublet structures (unrelated to spin splitting) with varying relative intensities up to about 4 T. The conductance of sample A \[top panel, Fig. 2(a)\] exhibits a behavior qualitatively similar to that of sample B, although the characteristic fields and relative intensities of the doublet oscillations are somewhat different.

In sample C \[Fig. 1(c)\] there are also a beating-like pattern and a doublet region, but they are “squeezed” to a narrow field interval, between 0.4 T and 1.2 T, so some of the features are extremely sharp and easy to miss. Above 1.2 T a simple set of oscillations with a single period develops, and Landau-level spin splitting becomes visible at 3.5 T. Finally, the oscillatory behavior of the conductance of sample D \[Fig. 1(d)\] is simple throughout the entire field range, without any trace of beats or doublets (aside from spin splitting above 2 T).

A fast-Fourier-transform analysis of the conductance oscillations revealed the main frequency component, but failed to yield clear evidence of more than one component, except for sample B. This is not too surprising, in view of the poor beating pattern observed, particularly for samples A and C. When analyzed with the help of a simple model for the tunneling magnetoconductance, the beating and doublet structures found in sample B were attributed to small differences in the carrier densities of the 2D electrons at the InAs interfaces. González et al. (2001) In the following, we describe a similar approach to analyze the results of samples A to C using a model that keeps the essence of the previous one but is more general in the treatment of tunneling between Landau levels.

The basic assumption underlying our model is that the oscillations in the conductance observed in Fig. 1 are directly related to magnetic states of electrons in the InAs regions only. This assignment is based on the temperature dependence of the amplitude of those oscillations, from which an effective mass is extracted that agrees with the electronic effective mass in InAs. In our model we account for the Landau quantization of 2D electrons in both InAs accumulation regions but ignore the Landau quantization of holes in the GaSb quantum well. The hole gas is treated simply as a “window” through which electrons tunnel from one accumulation layer to the other. This simplification is reasonable, considering the small cyclotron energy of heavy holes (when compared to that of electrons in InAs) and the fact that we have not found any features in the experimental magnetoconductance that could be attributed to Landau-quantized holes.

With those premises, we model the conductance as due to tunneling between 2D electron gases (in general, with different electron density) separated by a potential barrier, first assuming that in-plane momentum is conserved throughout the process. We follow Lyo’s treatment, in which the tunneling conductance is expressed as Lyo (1998)

$$G=\frac{4\pi e^2g}{\mathrm{}}J_0^2\underset{n_1,n_2}{}\delta _{n_1,n_2}\times _{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}[f^{}(\zeta )]\rho _{1n}(\zeta )\rho _{2n}(\zeta )𝑑\zeta .$$
(1)
$`J_0`$ is the zero-field tunneling integral, $`g`$ is the Landau level degeneracy per spin, and $`n_i`$ is the Landau index for the $`i_{th}`$ layer. $`f^{}(\zeta )`$ is the energy derivative of the Fermi-Dirac distribution function at energy $`\zeta `$. The term $`\delta _{n_2,n_1}`$ (= 1 when $`n_2=n_1`$ and 0 otherwise) reflects the conservation of in-plane momentum in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. $`\rho _{in}`$ is the density of states (DOS) of the $`n_{th}`$ Landau level in the $`i_{th}`$ layer ($`i=1,2`$). To approximate Eq. (1), we use a Gaussian density of states

$$\rho _{in}(\zeta )=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi }\mathrm{\Gamma }}exp\left(\frac{(\zeta \epsilon _{in})^2}{2\mathrm{\Gamma }^2}\right),$$
(2)
with a half-width broadening

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }=\frac{1}{2}\frac{\eta \mathrm{}\omega _c}{H^{1/2}},$$
(3)
where $`\epsilon _{in}`$ is the energy of the $`n_{th}`$ Landau level in the $`i_{th}`$ layer, $`\eta `$ is a materials-dependent constant, $`\omega _c`$ is the cyclotron frequency, and $`H`$ is the magnetic field perpendicular to the interfaces.

The chemical potential, $`\mu `$, is determined by keeping the total carrier density constant Zawadzki and Lassnig (1984)

$$N_s=A\underset{n}{}\sqrt{\frac{2}{\pi }}\frac{1}{\gamma }_0^{\mathrm{}}\frac{1}{1+e^{z\mu ^{}}}e^{2y_n^2}𝑑z,$$
(4)
with

$$y_n=\frac{1}{\gamma }(z\frac{\epsilon _n}{k_BT}),$$

and $`A=eH/\pi \mathrm{}`$, $`\gamma =2\mathrm{\Gamma }/k_BT`$, $`z=\zeta /k_BT`$, and $`\mu ^{}=\mu /k_BT`$.

In the zero-temperature limit, Eq. (1) gets simplified to

$$G=\frac{4\pi e^2g}{\mathrm{}}J_0^2\underset{n}{}\rho _{1n}(\mu )\rho _{2n}(\mu \mathrm{\Delta }),$$
(5)
where $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\epsilon _2ϵ_1`$ is the energy difference between the two subbands at $`H=0`$, and therefore is proportional to the 2D carrier difference. Eq. (4) is also simplified accordingly.

With these T = 0 K equations, we can easily calculate the zero-bias tunneling conductance between two 2D electron gases with different carrier densities. The main trace in Fig. 2 (curve $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$) is the result of such a calculation, when the following parameters (corresponding to sample B) are used: m$`{}_{e}{}^{}=0.027`$ m0, $`\mathrm{\Delta }=4`$ meV, $`N_s=5.7\times 10^{11}`$ cm-2, and $`\eta `$ = 0.8. As seen in Fig. 2, even though $`\mathrm{\Delta }0`$ the calculated magnetoconductance exhibits only one set of oscillations, contrary to the experimental result of Fig. 1(b). The single set in the calculation is understandable: in Eq. (5) the product of two density of states for Landau levels whose centers are shifted by an energy $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ but have the same index (and therefore the same rate of change with field) still looks just like one single density of states. err

To explain the existence of more than one set of oscillations, in addition to different carrier densities in the 2D accumulation layers one needs to include the possibility of tunneling between Landau levels with different quantum numbers, in other words, to relax the in-plane momentum conservation law. Let us consider emitter and collector accumulation layers whose zero-field subband energies differ by an amount $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ as a result of different carrier densities. At low magnetic fields, that is, when $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ is larger than or comparable to the level broadening $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ and to the cyclotron energy $`\mathrm{}\omega _c`$, the Landau levels in one electrode are significantly misaligned with respect to those in the other electrode. Then, for a fixed field the dominant contribution to the density of states at the Fermi level will correspond to one Landau level for the emitter and to another for the collector \[see Fig. 3(a)\]. If we now allow for tunneling transitions in which $`\mathrm{\Delta }n0`$ more tunneling “channels” become open in Eq. (1).

On the other hand, at high fields, when $`\mathrm{}\omega _c`$ and $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ are much larger than $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$, the misalignment between Landau levels with the same index in the two electrodes becomes relatively insignificant \[see Fig. 3(b)\]. In other words, the contribution of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n0`$ channels to the conductance is important at low fields but diminishes rapidly as the field increases. The situation is illustrated in Fig. 2, where, in addition to the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$ channel, we show the individual contributions to the calculated conductance of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=13`$ channels.

In order to account quantitatively for the experimental dependence of the conductance on magnetic field, it is important to keep in mind that the contributions of the various $`\mathrm{\Delta }n`$ channels to the conductance may not all be the same. Their relative weight will depend on details of the scattering mechanisms responsible for the violation of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$ rule. In the absence of a theory that includes those details, we have determined that weight empirically from a fit of the experimental conductance to an appropriately modified Eq. (1).

Figure 4 compares the experimental and calculated conductance for sample B, using adequate probability ratios for $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$, 1 and 2. A good fit is obtained when the probability is proportional to $`(1+\mathrm{\Delta }n)^{1/2}`$. As seen in the figure, for fields approximately below 2 T the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=2`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=1`$ transitions are successively dominant. At about 2 T, the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$ transitions have comparable strength and their corresponding oscillations similar height, as highlighted by the short line over the experimental curve. Above 3 T the conductance is almost completely governed by the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$ transition.

The “cross-over” magnetic field (about 1.8 T in Fig. 4) at which the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=1`$ and $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$ contributions to the conductance are comparable is closely related to the difference between the subbands energies of the two 2D electron gases, or, equivalently, to the carrier asymmetry between the two gases. This asymmetry is affected by a small bias between the electrodes, which slightly changes the potential profile along the tunneling direction and the carrier density in the accumulation layers but does not alter the near-equilibrium condition (insignificant tunneling current) of this study. In the insert of Fig. 4 we show the value of the cross-over field for several biases, from -2 mV to +2 mV. With increasing positive bias (of the top electrode relative to the substrate electrode) the cross-over field increases, indicating an increasing asymmetry. On the other hand, with negative bias the field becomes smaller and the asymmetry decreases.

A fit of the calculated conductance to the experimental one yields the individual carrier densities in the 2D gases. The difference between the two densities, $`\mathrm{\Delta }N_e`$, and their average value, $`N_{ave}`$, are listed in Table 1, along with the subband energy difference $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$. A look at this table reveals the sensitivity of our analysis, which permits us to discern differences of less than 2 percent (sample C) in the two carrier populations. We can therefore say with confidence that in sample D, for which no double oscillations were observed even at the lowest fields (0.3 T), the two gases have essentially the same electron density.

What the above analysis does not explain is the physical origin of the carrier asymmetry and its difference from one sample to another. Could it be due to the Rashba effect, or is it caused by some external factor, for example the heterostructure growth process? Although it cannot be ruled out completely, it is unlikely that the former effect is the cause of the asymmetry summarized in Table I. The Rashba splitting is closely related to the electric field along the direction of the heterostructure’s potential profile, which in turn is proportional to the 2D electron density in the accumulation potential. If the Rashba splitting were behind the observed asymmetry, then for structures of comparable carrier densities, such as those in Table I, one would expect similar values for the parameter $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$. In sharp contrast, $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ ranges from 10.6 meV to 0 meV.

A far more likely explanation for the carrier asymmetry lies in the epitaxial growth process itself. Though the heterostructures were nominally symmetric with respect to the central GaSb layer, the actual structures might be slightly asymmetric. For instance, it is well known that dopants diffuse along the growth front. It is then possible for the effective thickness of the undoped InAs region near the substrate to be smaller than that near the surface of the structure, with the corresponding asymmetry in the accumulation-layer profile. A small unintentional difference in thickness for the AlSb barriers can also result in a difference in the amount of charge transferred to each of the InAs accumulation layers. Finally, the quality of the material interfaces might affect the number of interface states, which in InAs-AlSb-GaSb heterostructures are known to be a source of extrinsic charges.

This last possibility is vividly illustrated by comparing the behavior of samples C and D, which nominally have identical layer thicknesses. Their current-voltage characteristics were practically identical to each other from T = 300 K to 4.2 K, exhibiting large negative differential conductance even at room temperature. However, while sample C showed two sets of magnetoconductance oscillations \[see Fig. 1(c)\] and had $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ = 0.9 meV (see Table I), sample D showed a single set \[Fig. 1(d)\] and $`\mathrm{\Delta }`$ = 0. In addition, in sample D the spin splitting was well resolved at a lower field.

Samples C and D were grown one immediately after the other and under the same conditions, with one exception. The growth of both samples was optimized to form an InSb-type bond at the AlSb-InAs interfaces, which has been shown to produce a smoother interface than an AlAs-type bond. Nosho et al. (1999); Tahraoui et al. (2000) However, sample D was prepared by adding an extra 1/4 In monolayer on the bottom AlSb-InAs interface. This extra layer reduces interface roughness even further, as revealed by plan-view scanning tunneling microscopy. Nosho et al. (1999); Magno et al. (2001)

Since the observation of a double set of oscillations in the magnetoconductance requires both an asymmetry in the carrier density and a violation of the $`\mathrm{\Delta }n=0`$ condition, in principle it could be argued that the effect of the added smoothness at the interfaces of sample D is not to eliminate that asymmetry but just to reduce scattering processes that destroy Landau-level-index conservation. In fact, the reduction of scattering in sample D is evident in the appearance of ShH oscillations and spin splitting states at lower fields than for sample C.

To discern between these possibilities we studied the tunneling magnetoconductance while a small bias was applied between the electrodes. Such bias is not expected to change significantly the scattering processes but it can affect the potential asymmetry, as we have seen above for sample B. Under a 5-meV bias, the magnetoconductance of sample D showed a clear double-oscillation behavior at low fields, indicative of two different electron populations. We can therefore conclude that the exceptional smoothness achieved in sample D leads to identical carrier densities in the two 2D electron gases.

In summary, we have shown that the presence of beating and double oscillations in the tunneling magnetoconductance between 2D electron gases in nominally symmetric heterostructures is due to the difference in the carrier densities of the two gases. The origin of this difference lies in an extrinsic asymmetry that can be eliminated by reducing interface roughness during the epitaxial growth process. In the samples with the smoothest interfaces the conductance showed a single set of oscillations from the lowest magnetic fields, spin splitting was resolved above 2 T, and beyond 10 T pronounced features were observed corresponding to fractional occupation of the magnetic levels. Mendez et al.  On the one hand, these results cast some doubts on the apparent strength of the Rashba splitting and its suitability for spin devices based on tunneling. On the other, the results are encouraging in that they show that, under optimum growth conditions, balanced populations of high-mobility 2D gases can be formed in InAs accumulation layers, with which 2D-2D interaction effects can be probed.

We are grateful to W. I. Wang, who provided some of the samples used in this study, and to B. Z. Nosho, L. J. Whitman, and B. V. Shanabrook for their assistance in developing MBE techniques applied to the growth of samples C and D discussed here. This work has been supported by the US Army Research Office and the Office of Naval Research.


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# The spectral-curvature parameter: an alternative tool for the analysis of synchrotron spectra

## 1 Introduction

Spectra of synchrotron sources from the radio to the X-ray regime reflect the energy distribution of relativistic particles, i.e. electrons whose energy distributions obey a power-law. In general, the synchrotron emissivity also follows a power-law (Pacholczyk 1970). While the conventional spectral indices only provide the spectral slope between the two observing frequencies, a multi-frequency data set can also disclose spectral curvatures over a larger frequency range. The significance of the shape of synchrotron spectra has been underlined early on by Kardashev (1962); Pacholczyk (1970); Pacholzcyk (1977); Jaffe & Perola (1973), who were among the first to describe and apply synchrotron loss models to flux densities obtained at several frequencies.

It is obvious that the information on the spectral shape of a source under the effects of ageing, adiabatic expansion etc. provides an important tool for understanding source evolution. If the injection of relativistic particles following a power-law is restricted to a certain region – the cores and/or hot spots of radio galaxies – and if the observation is performed with appropriate resolution, one can detect regional variations of spectral curvature by means of the above-mentioned physical processes. Since synchrotron and Inverse Compton losses are the main energy dissipation processes in radio galaxies, in particular at high and intermediate radio frequencies ($`>1`$ GHz), large efforts have been made to explain the variation of spectral curvatures – often by modeling two-frequency data – of radio galaxies with the synchrotron ageing theory (e.g. Alexander & Leahy 1987; Alexander 1987; Klein et al. 1995; Feretti et al. 1998; Murgia et al. 1999). A proper determination of parameters like the injection spectral index $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ (the spectrum of the electron distribution immediately after acceleration, $`N(E)E^p`$, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}=(p1)/2`$ or the break frequency $`\nu _{\mathrm{br}}`$ , the frequency at which spectral steepening occurs can be obtained with a spectral ageing analysis (e.g. Carilli et al. 1991; Mack et al. 1998; Murgia et al. 1999). This requires, however, the fitting of appropriate models with several parameters, thus high-quality measurements at many fequencies with a good signal-to-noise ratio are essential.

In order to fit synchrotron and Inverse-Compton losses, three models are widely used: The continuous injection (CI) model (Pacholczyk 1970) assumes a mixture of electron populations of various synchrotron ages. In this model, permanent replenishment of fresh particles is assumed so that the injection spectral index steepens to its final value of $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}+0.5`$ beyond the break frequency. The Kardashev-Pacholczyk (KP) model (Kardashev 1962; Pacholczyk 1970) merely includes a single injection of power-law distributed electrons. The pitch angles of the electrons are assumed to be constant with time. The high-frequency slope in this model is $`\frac{4}{3}\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}+1`$. The Jaffe-Perola (JP) model (Jaffe & Perola 1973) incorporates – similar to KP – a single injection but permits permanent pitch angle isotropization. Beyond the break frequency this model leads to an exponential steepening of the high-frequency spectrum. A sketch of the different tracks of the various ageing models in the classical $`\mathrm{log}(S)\mathrm{log}(\nu )`$ space can be found in the work of Carilli et al. (1991, see their Fig. 1).

In many cases the spectral ageing analysis yielded significant results. However, high-resolution multi-frequency studies of two prototypical nearby radio galaxies – 3C 449 (FR I type) by Katz-Stone & Rudnick (1997) and Cygnus A (FR II type) by Carilli et al. (1991), show trends that cannot be explained by the synchrotron ageing theory alone. The first problem is that jets and lobes (3C 449), and hot-spots and lobes (Cygnus A) have different injection spectra. The second problem to be dealt with is that of the microscopic physical conditions. While possible physical conditions such as turbulent magnetic fields and inverse-Compton scattering by cosmic microwave background photons favour the pitch-angle isotropized (JP) model, the observational results appear to support the constant pitch angle (KP) model. This could mean that the nature of the spectral curvature is more complex than expected from the synchrotron ageing theory alone.

Carilli & Barthel (1996) have pointed out the necessity of an appropriate empirical analysis that is not tied to any theoretical model in order to find the real trends in sources. Here we present a new method which can fulfill this requirement. It also aims at a quick determination of the injection spectral index and the best suited model to fit the observed spectrum. It fills the gap between the simple spectral index study and the much more complex spectral ageing analysis. It is also suited to provide first guesses of the parameters to be fit in a spectral ageing analysis, therefore making the fit procedure less susceptible to local minima in the error space.

## 2 The spectral curvature parameter-$`\alpha `$ diagram

This method is based on the so-called spectral curvature parameter (SCP). It is defined as
$`SCP\frac{\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}}{\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}+\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}}`$,
When displayed as a function of the spectral index $`\alpha `$ with
$`I_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$,
the SCP indicates how the spectrum evolves, starting from its pure power-law. As $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ is more sensitive to both spectral steepening and spectral flattening than $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}`$ (Pacholczyk 1970; Eilek & Hughes 1991; Carilli et al. 1991), we employ $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ as the counter axis of SCP. Though the classical $`log(S_\nu )`$ \- $`log(\nu )`$ diagram is the best way to test ageing models for a single-spectrum population, it is not a straight-forward tool to unveil different trends in an extended source. It is here where the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram has its power. Each spectrum is represented by a point in the SCP-$`\alpha `$ plane, and a lot of spectra from an extended source can be drawn in this plane.

Fig. 1 illustrates the schematic tracks of the power-law spectra undergoing synchrotron ageing. More realistic simulations of SCP–$`\alpha `$ diagram including the Inverse Compton equivalent field of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, i.e. $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$, are presented in what follows. The dash-dotted curved lines represent tracks where the break frequency has not yet reached the low-frequency regime (i.e. where $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}`$ is determined). The CI, KP and JP models produce different SCP ranges. This makes it easy to distinguish between the different models in the SCP-$`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ plane. Different injection spectral indices also follow different tracks.

Since both the CI and the KP model predict a power-law spectrum also beyond the break frequency, namely the so-called broken power-law (Eilek & Hughes 1991), we can calculate the maximum SCPs in these cases. For $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}=0.5`$, these are $`SCP_{\mathrm{CI},\mathrm{max}}0.33`$ and $`SCP_{\mathrm{KP},\mathrm{max}}0.54`$. In contrast, the high-frequency part of the JP model has a non-power-law curvature, viz. an exponential one. Therefore, the tracks of JP spectra asymptotically approach SCP$`=1.0`$. In any case, $`\alpha _\mathrm{h}>(\frac{4}{3})\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}+1`$ is predicted by the JP model only.

### 2.1 SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram and colour-colour diagram

An advantage of the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram with respect to the colour-colour diagram (Katz-Stone et al. 1993), is seen when the source has multiple $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$s. As predicted in the particle ageing theory, the track of an aged $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ do not leave immediately the $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}=\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ line (see Fig. 3). Because of the overlap of the $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}=\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ line and the spread of points parallel to it in the colour-colourdiagram (hereafter C-C diagram), trends in the source can not be easily identified. We emphasize that there are model dependent aspects in the spectral tomography or the classical synchrotron ageing analysis, (e.g. Alexander & Leahy 1987; Murgia et al. 1999).

For example, the synchrotron ageing analysis can hardly achieve a pixel-to-pixel study. The synchrotron ageing analysis is therefore done in a way with certain subdivided integrated areas. As a property of the integration, the obtained $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ is strongly biased by bright structures in these areas. The spectral tomography aimed at solving this problem. This technique isolates from an assumed or known $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ component a ’different’ component. The $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ of this ’different’ component is not directly obtained in the spectral tomography. The spectral tomography with multiple $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$s could be much more complex than the classical synchrotron ageing analysis(Katz-Stone & Rudnick 1994). The tool suggested here will extract $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$s without the bias due to bright structures and without complex tomographical mapping. It can serve as a ’precensor’, such as to select the area of integration in the synchrotron ageing analysis correctly, thus providing quite reliable physical parameters.

The clear bifurcations on the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram, between CI and KP/JP and between KP and JP, are further merits of the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram. On the other hand, the tracks of the different models beyond the $`\nu _{\mathrm{br}}`$ show overlaps on the C-C diagrms.

In both cases, i.e. CI and KP, straight vertical lines arise, while in the KP/JP and JP case the original curves are maintained. This fact makes the selection of the proper ageing model easier than in the C-C diagram. Of course, under the influence of CMB, this last argument is only true if $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$ is (much) stronger than $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$. The weak point of both, the C-C diagram and the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram is the loss of positional information of the spectra. In order to compensate for this weakness, we present the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram and the SCP map together. In this way, the position information of spectra can be restored. Some first results of this exercise will be shown in the next section.

## 3 Application to radio galaxies

In this section, we present SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagrams of three Giant Radio Galaxies (GRGs) and of a sample of Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) sources. The integrated spectra have been analyzed by Mack et al. (1998) for GRGs and by Murgia et al. (1999) for CSS sources with synchrotron ageing models. Error bars in the diagrams are $`\sigma _{\mathrm{scp}}`$ and $`\sigma _\alpha `$. These are estimated as shown below,
$`\sigma _{\mathrm{scp}}^2=\frac{4(\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}^2+\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}^2)}{(\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}+\alpha _{\mathrm{low}})^4}(\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}^2\sigma _{\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}}^2+\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}^2\sigma _{\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}}^2)`$
$`\sigma _\alpha =1/\mathrm{log}(\lambda _2/\lambda _1)\sqrt{(\sigma _{\mathrm{I},1}^2/I_1^2)+(\sigma _{\mathrm{I},2}^2/I_2^2)}`$.
$`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}`$ and $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ are the spectral indices ($`I_\nu \nu ^\alpha `$), obtained at low (e.g. $`<`$ 1 GHz) and at high (e.g. $`>`$ 1 GHz) frequencies, respectively. Since two independent spectral indices are needed for the SCP, observations over at least three different frequencies are necessary.

### 3.1 Giant Radio Galaxies

These objects are classified by their projected linear sizes. The measurements used here have been performed by Mack et al. (1997) at frequencies between 326 MHz and 10.6 GHz. We use four frequencies in our analysis, viz. 326 MHz, 610 MHz, 4.8 GHz and 10.6 GHz. We compute $`\alpha _{326\mathrm{M}\mathrm{H}\mathrm{z}}^{610\mathrm{M}\mathrm{H}\mathrm{z}}`$ as $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}`$, and $`\alpha _{4.8\mathrm{GHz}}^{10.6\mathrm{GHz}}`$ as $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$. All maps were convolved to a common resolution of $`150{}_{}{}^{\prime \prime }\times 150^{\prime \prime }`$, SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagrams were produced for brightness levels above $`3\sigma `$. In general, the low–frequency spectral indices in the lobes of all three sources remain relatively constant, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$. This means that neither ageing processes nor synchrotron self–absorption play an important rôle at low frequencies in the regions of interest. In what follows, we shall discuss the results for the three GRGs investigated here in detail. For the best performance, if needed, the cubic convolution interpolation method with a value of -0.5 is used when regridding (Park & Schowengerdt 1983). The linear convolution interpolation shows marginal difference.

#### 3.1.1 DA 240

The radio morphology of DA 240 is symmetric at low frequencies, but becomes increasingly asymmetric towards higher frequencies (Mack et al. 1997). At 326 MHz, DA 240 is seen as a ‘Fat Double’. The SW fat lobe has disappeared at 10.6 GHz, forming an elongated edge-darkened FR-I-type lobe. On the contrary, the NE lobe maintains its ‘fat round’ shape up to 10.6 GHz.

A fit to the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram yields steep injection spectra, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}0.82`$ (NE lobe) and $`0.94`$ (SW lobe). These unusually steep and asymmetric injection spectra have already been reported by Mack et al. (1998), viz. 0.76 and 0.97 for the NE and SW lobe respectively. Those authors used the synchrotron ageing technique. The difference of the injection spectral indices is relatively large in the NE lobe, since the region with SCP$`<0`$ of the NE lobe (Fig. 4) is included in the integrated synchrotron ageing calculation. Including this flatter-spectrum region, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}=0.5\mathrm{}`$ 0.85 makes the synchrotron ageing estimate uncertain. On the whole, our intuitive rapid estimation shows good agreement with their result.

Besides this asymmetry of the injection spectral indices, the two lobes reveal quite different trends in the diagram. The synchrotron ageing theory, the CI model and the KP/JP model, well describes the trend in the SW lobe (Fig. 5). The CI bifurcation is detected. On the other hand, the majority of the SCP values in the NE lobe are well below zero. This is a clear case of spectral flattening. The remaining points with SCP $`>0`$ are best fitted by the CI model. In the NE lobe $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ commences with 0.5, then increases to 0.8 below SCP $`<0`$. This is indicative of a non-relativistic strong shock as discussed in the last section. Since there is no clue of KP bifurcation (see Fig. 1) or outreach of JP spectra on the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram, due to the sensitivity limit of the observation, we can not definitely prefer any model to the others, except for region CI mentioned in Fig. 5. Comparing Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, it is found that the projected position of the CI bifurcation is the channel of the brightness peak of the SW lobe to the SW extremity. This possibly indicates that the physical condition of CI model, namely continuous injected electrons with no significant escape, is yet valid in this region.

#### 3.1.2 NGC 315

Spectral flattening is present over the whole source. The value $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}0.58`$ in the NW lobe is consistent with the estimate of Mack et al. (1998), who obtained 0.54 $`\mathrm{}`$ 0.59. On the other hand, we cannot properly estimate the injection spectral index of the SE lobe, due to the small number of points with SCP $`>0`$ and the large uncertainties. The general trend in the SE lobe implies a steep injection spectrum, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}1.0`$. The trends in the two lobes are neither symmetric nor asymmetric, but rather symmetric w.r.t the minor-axis (Fig. 7). At the southern ends of the two lobes, the spectral-upturning is striking. After that, towards the north, a gradual steepening follows.

The tracks of the NW and the SE lobe are well separated, which implies different injection indices, although the error is quite large. The reason for the extremely flat and even upturning curvature in the NW is unclear. Unresolved background sources or relativistic shocks could be the explanation. Enßlin et al. (2001) suggest that the relic NW tail of NGC 315 is re-accelerated by a cosmological shock wave. Our analysis demonstrates that the particles in both lobes have been re-accelerated. If the re-acceleration scenario is true, the spectral flattening implies that the energy threshold of this acceleration and/or $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$ of this region are higher than those of the injection spectrum. Spectral flattening plus an upturn are independent from possible missing short-spacing problems inherent to the 610 MHz WSRT data, since it would be detectable via the Effelsberg single dish multi-frequency observations at 2.6, 4.8 and 10.6 GHz (Mack et al. 1998) alone. However the prominence of the points with SCP $`<0`$ could be correlated with the angular size of the 610 MHz data. It can be speculated that this is a viable explanation for the prominence of SCP $`<0`$ in NGC315, which is by far the largest source in terms of angular size, $`\mathrm{\Phi }1\mathrm{deg}`$. On the other hand, a value $`\alpha `$ of our SCP–$`\alpha `$ diagram is also obtained from single-dish 4.8 and 10.6 GHz data and shows $`\alpha <\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$. The spectral flattening in NGC 315 is mainly because of a low $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$.

#### 3.1.3 3C 236

This source is the largest known GRG, with $`d`$ 4.5 Mpc. It has a typical FR II morphology. Our value of $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ of 0.7 in the SE lobe (Fig. 11) is in the range of the integrated synchrotron ageing estimate of 0.5 to 0.7 by Mack et al. (1998). In the NW lobe, we obtain a steep $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ of 1.10. The integrated spectral index from synchrotron ageing theory for this lobe is 0.7.

The spectral flattening shown at the extremity of the SE lobe is due to a known background source (Mack et al. 1997). In the NW lobe, we find two different values of $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$, without any significant flattening. One of them is well fitted by a steep spectrum, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}1.10`$. The trend of these data clearly shows the synchrotron ageing in the lobe. In the backflow or so-called bridge region, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}0.7`$ yields the best fit. Such an injection discrepancy between hot-spots and lobes has been reported for Cygnus A (Carilli et al. 1991). The injection spectral indices of the hot spots and lobes of Cygnus A are 0.5 and 0.75, respectively. The difference $`\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}0.4`$ here is larger than in Cygnus A. In Cygnus A, the hot-spots have $`\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}0.25`$ flatter than their lobes, i.e. their backflows. 3C 236 has a steeper spectrum ($`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$) in the advancing region. An explanation for this $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ discrepancy (Carilli & Barthel 1996) has not been found so far.

### 3.2 CSS sources

SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagrams can also be used for the analysis of samples of sources for which only integrated flux densities are given. As an example we present the application of our method to a sample of 47 Compact Steep Spectrum (CSS) sources. Murgia et al. (1999) who have analyzed the flux densities of a sample of CSS sources in a profound synchrotron ageing study show that these sources have moderate spectral steepening, i.e. a difference of $`\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha 0.5`$ between low- and high-frequency spectral indices, which is predicted by the continuous injection model (CI). We have used this sample to test the SCP performance, which provides an alternative method for a quick analysis of synchrotron spectra. In essence, four frequencies 408 (327) MHz, 1.4GHz, 4.9 (5.0) GHz and 10.7 (10.6, 8.1) GHz, were used. When no data were available at these frequencies, the total intensity at the frequencies given above in the brackets were taken.

The points are found in the region where $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ does not exceed $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}+0.5`$. The obtained range of $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ values is rather wide. This confirms the results of Murgia et al. (1999). The fact that $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$s shows more scatter in the SCP-$`\alpha `$ analysis than in the synchrotron model estimation is due the effect synchrotron self-absorption. There is a clear trend that the sources with stronger $`B_{\mathrm{eq}}`$ and with smaller projected sizes have flatter $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$. These are the compact GHz-Peaked Spectrum (GPS) source candidates, since due to their extreme compactness $`d1\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}`$, synchrotron self-absorption is liekly to be effective. The sample does not shows any correlation with redshift. This implies that the intrinsic magnetic fields proponder by far over the magnetic field equivalent to the cosmic microwave background.

## 4 Discussion

The above analysis implies that all studied sources have a complex history. Now we discuss some possibilities. Before attempting any physical interpretation, we check again whether $`SCP1`$ could be generated by the possible missing short-spacing at 610 MHz. If anything, the possible missing short spacing at 610 MHz will steepen our $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}`$, which is already $`>0`$. Then,
$`SCP=\frac{\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}}{\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}+\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}}1`$, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}>0`$.
This is possible, if $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ or $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}0`$. $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ is not known. The $`SCP<0`$ trend can be emphasized, when $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}>\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ and $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}<1`$ are working together. But again the measured $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}`$ alone cannot explain the flattening up to $`SCP1`$. The trends in the sources are mainly due to the high-frequency curvature, $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$.

### 4.1 Expansion loss, Energy Cut–off and Synchrotron Self–absorption

Adiabatic expansion losses may play an important rôle as an energy loss process of synchrotron sources. However, as Carilli et al. (1991) already pointed out, although adiabatic expansion will shift the spectral break to lower frequencies, the expansion does not change the spectral curvature. Therefore, expansion losses will not affect the tracks of SCP–$`\alpha `$.

At low frequencies, there are also other physical processes that give rise to spectral curvature, such as spectral turn–overs by synchrotron self–absorption in regions of high particle densities, or by a low–energy cut–off in the particle distribution. In the SCP–$`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ plane (Fig. 2), the low-frequency turn-over produces SCP $`>1`$, which cannot be produced by any ageing processes. Strong self–absorption can even produce SCP $`<0`$ and will be important in the central core regions, if $`|\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}|>|\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}|`$. Since $`\alpha _{\mathrm{low}}`$ will eventually approach $`5/2`$ in the Rayleigh–Jeans limit, this will be possible.

### 4.2 Re-acceleration

All three GRGs exhibit spectral flattening in some parts. In particular, NGC 315 even shows signs of a spectral up–turn at high frequencies, and the majority of SCP points is under 0. Let us consider the case where the power-law injection spectrum is already established,
$`N(E)E^p,\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}=(p1)/2`$
and where Fermi acceleration is working. By the Fermi process, the particles in each energy bin will be re-accelerated such as to yield a power-law of the form $`N(E)E^q`$. For the non-relativistic strong shock, $`q=2`$. The final shape of these two power laws is described by the following integration:
$`N(E)E^q_{E_0}^EE_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{p}E_{}^{}{}_{}{}^{q1}𝑑E^{},q>1,p>1`$
where $`E_0`$ is low energy cut off. This can be approximated (Blandford & Eichler 1987; Eilek & Hughes 1991; Sohn 2003).

* for $`q<p`$, $`N(E)E^q`$, $`\alpha =(q1)/2`$
* for $`p<q`$, $`N(E)E^p`$, $`\alpha =(p1)/2`$

In case (i), spectral flattening and $`SCP<0`$ is expected (Fig. 2). An interesting result is that not every effective Fermi process results in a spectral flattening. In case (ii), the source will just look younger than indicated by its kinematic age, inferred from the shift of the break frequency towards higher frequencies (Parma et al. 1999). There is no flattening, since the energy distribution of the re-accelerated particles follow $`N(E)E^p`$, not $`E^q`$.

Since GRGs are extraordinary extended, they should have a weak magnetic field, $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$ (Mack et al. 1998) and/or undergo re–acceleration processes during in their lifetime.

Considering the confusion of spectra of different components with different spectral indices the observed high frequency spectral flattening indicates that the flatter spectrum component is younger and secondary, i.e. re–accelerated. Otherwise we would not see the high frequency flattening, if the flatter spectrum component is as old as the steeper spectrum component. Or if the flatter spectrum component is dominant, then we would see only the flatter spectrum component in the radio frequency range and then there would be no spectral flattening.

### 4.3 (Equivalent) Magnetic fields

The magnetic field $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$ and the equivalent field of the cosmic microwave background, $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$ determine the curvature beyond $`\nu _{\mathrm{br}}`$. In some models (e.g. Eilek & Arendt (1996)) magnetic fields produce a power-law spectrum when they are ordered in a power-law form. However, we restrict our discussion to the curvature beyond $`\nu _{\mathrm{br}}`$, and to a simple homogeneous magnetic field $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$ plus $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$. Many radio galaxies as well as GRGs have weak magnetic fields (Feretti et al. 1998; Mack et al. 1998; Parma et al. 1999), assuming that the equipartition estimation yields the strength of the magnetic field of the radiation region, $`B_{\mathrm{eq}}=B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$. The JP model becomes more appealing since it allows for pitch angle isotropization on a much shorter time scale than the radiation lifetime, $`\tau _{\mathrm{iso}}\tau _{\mathrm{sync}}`$. However, KP ‘like’ spectra are observed (e.g. Carilli et al. (1991)). In order to explain such KP spectra, variable $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$ fields were introduced (Tribble 1993; Eilek et al. 1997). In Tribble’s model, the magnetic field has a Maxwellian distribution, while in Eilek’s model, magnetic fields are filamented, therefore have approximately two components, $`B_{\mathrm{strong}}`$ and $`B_{\mathrm{weak}}`$. But again, any of these models requires that some portion of their $`B`$ fields is stronger than the equivalent $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$ to such as to produce the KP-like spectrum.

In any case, KP–like spectra are only possible when there is a strong magnetic field, with respect to $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$. Therefore, the existence of KP spectra indicates that synchrotron radiation is the most important energy loss process in the region considered here. Furthermore, the variation of $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$, if any, will cause a broadening of the spectral turn-over at low frequencies.

## 5 Summary and conclusions

We have investigated an alternative and very efficient method for the analysis of synchrotron spectra. We apply it both, to extended sources (like GRGs) and to the integrated flux densities of a sample of CSS sources. For all of them a thorough synchrotron ageing study has been performed which can be used for comparison. The information obtained from the spectral curvatures is manifold. The hot spots and jets possess pure power-law spectra, with particle ageing as expected. The spectral curvatures of the lobes exhibit both, spectral steepening and flattening.

In DA 240, there are CI spectra at the SW extremity, while KP/JP spectra show up around the bright core of the SW lobe. We cannot find any bifurcation in the diagram, which serves as the definite distinction between the KP model and the JP model. More sensitive and/or higher-frequency observations are needed to reveal the bifurcation between the KP and JP models as shown between CI and KP/JP in DA 240. If a KP bifurcation is seen, it can be interpreted as an identification of the existence of a strong $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}`$, i.e. $`B_{\mathrm{sync}}>B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$. As seen in Fig. 18, KP spectra can be identified. Otherwise, the spectra would look like JP spectra, due to the influence of the isotropic nature of $`B_{\mathrm{CMB}}`$.

The high-frequency spectral indices start at values of around 0.5, which is indicative of non-relativistic strong shock acceleration. A possible origin of the shock could be the interaction of radio galaxies with their surrounding IGM/ICM (e.g. Enßlin et al. 2001). Adiabatic expansion, the other significant energy loss process, does not affect the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram. The results demonstrate that the SCP provides crucial parameters for the continuum spectrum of synchrotron radiation, without the more complex modeling.

Three characteristics that we have found in GRGs are not yet explained. The first is the origin of the asymmetry of the injection spectra of the radio lobes. Second, the physical explanation of the systematic flattening of $`\alpha _{\mathrm{high}}`$ compared to $`\alpha _{\mathrm{inj}}`$ is unknown. Third, there is a critical change of the re-acceleration efficiency showing up in the low- and high-frequency regime. We will investigate the environments of GRGs to find the possible reason.

In conclusion, it can be stated that the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram proves to be an efficient method to derive important properties of synchrotron spectra which otherwise can be determined only with the much more complex synchrotron ageing analysis. The SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram and SCP map are especially useful to analyze a large number of sources and a large number of spectral points in a source. In those cases, the complex spectral analysis will give better estimation. However, this alternative tool provides fast estimates without losing accuracy significantly and provides an overview which is important to understand synchrotron sources. Compared to the C-C diagram, the SCP-$`\alpha `$ diagram extracts injection spectral indices and possible synchrotron ageing models in a source more efficiently.

###### Acknowledgements.

BWS is grateful to Heino Falke for discussions of the various shock acceleration conditions. KHM was supported by a Marie-Curie Fellowship. The authors are grateful to the anonymous referee for her/his fruitful comments.


text:
# A study of higher dimensional inhomogeneous cosmological model

## I Introduction

Usually, cosmological solutions to Einstein’s field equations are obtained by imposing symmetries  on the space-time. One of the reasonable assumptions (in an average sense) is the spatial homogeneity. But when we consider cosmological phenomena over galactic scale or in smaller scale (detailed structure of the black body radiation) then we should drop the assumption of homogeneity i.e., inhomogeneous solutions are useful.

Szekeres  in 1975 gave a class of inhomogeneous solutions representing irrotational dust for the metric of the form (known as Szekeres metric)

$$ds^2=dt^2e^{2\alpha }dr^2e^{2\beta }(dx^2+dy^2)$$

Subsequently, the solutions have been extended by Szafron  and Szafron and Wainwright  for perfect fluid and they studied asymptotic behaviour for different choice of the parameters involved. Later Barrow and Stein-Schabes  gave solutions for dust model with a cosmological constant and showed the validity of the Cosmic ‘no-hair’ Conjecture.

In this work, we find inhomogeneous solutions for ($`n+2`$)-dimensional Szekeres space-time with perfect fluid and a cosmological constant. The paper is organized as follows: The basic equations are presented in section II while the solutions have been written in section III. An asymptotic study of particular solutions are given in section IV. Finally the paper ends with a short discussion in section V.

## II Basic Equations

The metric for the ($`n+2`$)-dimensional Szekeres space-time is in the form

$$ds^2=dt^2e^{2\alpha }dr^2e^{2\beta }\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}dx_i^2$$
(1)
where $`\alpha `$ and $`\beta `$ are functions of all the ($`n+2`$) space-time variables i.e.,

$$\alpha =\alpha (t,r,x_1,\mathrm{},x_n),\beta =\beta (t,r,x_1,\mathrm{},x_n).$$

The Einstein equations for the perfect fluid with a cosmological constant is of the form

$$G_{\mu \nu }=\mathrm{\Lambda }g_{ab}+(\rho +p)u_\mu u_\nu pg_{\mu \nu }$$
(2)
where $`\rho `$ and $`p`$ are energy density and isotropic pressure measured by an observer moving with with the fluid, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ is the cosmological constant and $`u_\mu `$ is the fluid flow four vector. Since $`u=/t`$, the flow lines are geodesics and the contracted Bianchi identities imply that pressure is a function of $`t`$ only i.e., $`p=p(t)`$. As there is no restriction on the energy density so $`\rho `$ is in general a function of all the ($`n+2`$) variables i.e., $`\rho =\rho (t,r,x_1,\mathrm{},x_n)`$ and hence no equation of state is imposed.

Now from the non-vanishing components of the field equations (2) for the above metric (1), we have

$`n\dot{\alpha }\dot{\beta }+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}n(n1)\dot{\beta }^2e^{2\beta }{\displaystyle \underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}}\{\alpha _{x_i}^2+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(n1)(n2)\beta _{x_i}^2+(n2)\alpha _{x_i}\beta _{x_i}+\alpha _{x_ix_i}`$
$$+(n1)\beta _{x_ix_i}\}+e^{2\alpha }\{n\alpha ^{}\beta ^{}\frac{1}{2}n(n+1)\beta ^2n\beta ^{\prime \prime }\}=\mathrm{\Lambda }+\rho $$
(3)
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}n(n+1)\dot{\beta }^2+n\ddot{\beta }{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}n(n1)e^{2\alpha }\beta ^2e^{2\beta }{\displaystyle \underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}}\left\{{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(n1)(n2)\beta _{x_i}^2+(n1)\beta _{x_ix_i}\right\}`$
$$=\mathrm{\Lambda }p$$
(4)
$`\dot{\alpha }^2+\ddot{\alpha }+(n1)\dot{\alpha }\dot{\beta }+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}n(n1)\dot{\beta }^2+(n1)\ddot{\beta }+e^{2\alpha }\{(n1)\alpha ^{}\beta ^{}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}n(n1)\beta ^2`$
$`(n1)\beta ^{\prime \prime }\}e^{2\beta }{\displaystyle }_{ij=1}^n\{\alpha _{x_j}^2+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}(n2)(n3)\beta _{x_j}^2+\alpha _{x_jx_j}+(n2)\beta _{x_jx_j}+(n3)\alpha _{x_j}\beta _{x_j}\}`$
$$e^{2\beta }\left\{(n1)\alpha _{x_i}\beta _{x_i}+\frac{1}{2}(n1)(n2)\beta _{x_i}^2\right\}=\mathrm{\Lambda }p$$
(5)
$$\alpha _{x_j}(\alpha _{x_i}+\beta _{x_i})+\beta _{x_j}(\alpha _{x_i}+(n2)\beta _{x_i})\alpha _{x_ix_j}(n2)\beta _{x_ix_j}=0,(ij)$$
(6)
$$\dot{\alpha }\beta ^{}\dot{\beta }\beta ^{}\dot{\beta }^{}=0$$
(7)
$$\dot{\alpha }\alpha _{x_i}+\dot{\beta }\beta _{x_i}\dot{\alpha }_{x_i}(n1)\dot{\beta }_{x_i}=0$$
(8)
$$\alpha _{x_i}\beta ^{}\beta _{x_i}^{}=0$$
(9)
where dot, dash and subscript stands for partial differentiation with respect to $`t`$, $`r`$ and the corresponding variables respectively (e.g., $`\beta _{x_i}=\frac{\beta }{x_i}`$) with $`i,j=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$.

From equations (7) and (9) after differentiating with respect to $`x_i`$ and $`t`$ respectively, we have the integrability condition

$$\dot{\beta }_{x_i}\beta ^2=0,i=1,2,\mathrm{},n$$
(10)
Thus, if $`\beta ^{}0`$ we must have $`\dot{\beta }_{x_i}=0,i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$. In the following section we shall consider the following possibilities

$$(i)\beta ^{}0,(ii)\beta ^{}=0,\dot{\beta }_{x_i}=0,i=1,2,\mathrm{},n$$

to get solutions of the field equations.

## III Solutions to the Field Equations

In this section we shall solve the field equations (3)-(9) using the above restrictions separately.

Case I: $`\beta ^{}0`$

Here due to the restrictions $`\dot{\beta }_{x_i}=0,i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$ we have from the field equations (7) and (9), the form of the metric coefficient as

$$e^\beta =R(t,r)e^{\nu (r,x_1,\mathrm{},x_n)}$$
(11)
and

$$e^\alpha =R^{}+R\nu ^{}$$
(12)
Now substituting these forms for the metric coefficient in equation (4) we have the differential equations for $`R`$ and $`\nu `$ as

$$R\ddot{R}+\frac{1}{2}(n1)\dot{R}^2+\frac{1}{n}(p(t)\mathrm{\Lambda })R^2=\frac{n1}{2n}f(r)$$
(13)
and

$$e^{2\nu }\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}\left\{(n2)\nu _{x_i}^2+2\nu _{x_ix_i}\right\}=f(r)n$$
(14)
with $`f(r)`$ as arbitrary function of $`r`$ alone.

Equation (13) can be integrated once to have the first integral

$$\dot{R}^2=\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{n(n+1)}R^2+f(r)+\frac{F(r)}{R^{n1}}\frac{2}{n}R^{1n}p(t)R^n𝑑R$$
(15)
where $`F(r)`$ is another arbitrary function of $`r`$ (appears due to integration).

Also from (14) the solution for $`\nu `$ will be

$$e^\nu =A(r)\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}x_i^2+\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}B_i(r)x_i+C(r)$$
(16)
with the restriction

$$\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}B_i^24AC=f(r)1$$
(17)
for the arbitrary functions $`A(r),B_i(r),i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$ and $`C(r)`$.

Further, to solve $`R`$ completely let us consider $`p`$ as a polynomial in $`t`$ as

$$p(t)=p_0t^a$$
(18)
($`p_0`$ and $`a`$ are positive constants) and we have the general solution for $`R`$ as

$$R^{\frac{n+1}{2}}=\{\begin{array}{ccc}\sqrt{t}\left\{C_1J_\xi [\frac{2\sqrt{c}}{|a2|}t^{\frac{a2}{2}}]+C_2Y_\xi [\frac{2\sqrt{c}}{|a2|}t^{\frac{a2}{2}}]\right\}\hfill & & \\ & & \\ \sqrt{t}\left\{C_1J_\xi [\frac{2\sqrt{c}}{|a2|}t^{\frac{a2}{2}}]+C_2J_\xi [\frac{2\sqrt{c}}{|a2|}t^{\frac{a2}{2}}]\right\}\hfill & & \\ & & \\ C_1t^{q_1}+C_2t^{1q_1}\hfill & & \end{array}$$
(19)
according as $`\xi `$ is an integer, non-integer and $`a=2`$. Here $`C_1`$ and $`C_2`$ are arbitrary functions of $`r`$ and we have chosen

$$\xi =\frac{1}{a2},c=\frac{(n+1)p_0}{2n},q_1=\frac{1}{2}(1+\sqrt{14c}).$$

It is to be noted that to derive the above solution we have chosen $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0=f(r)`$. However, for non-zero $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ (but $`f(r)=0`$) the solution is possible only for $`a=0`$ and $`2`$ as

$$R^{\frac{n+1}{2}}=\{\begin{array}{ccc}C_1Cos\{t\sqrt{\frac{n+1}{2n}(p_0\mathrm{\Lambda })}\}+C_2Sin\{t\sqrt{\frac{n+1}{2n}(p_0\mathrm{\Lambda })}\},\text{when}a=0\hfill & & \\ & & \\ \sqrt{t}\left\{C_1J_\zeta [\frac{it\sqrt{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}{\sqrt{2}}\sqrt{1+\frac{1}{n}}]+C_2Y_\zeta [\frac{it\sqrt{\mathrm{\Lambda }}}{\sqrt{2}}\sqrt{1+\frac{1}{n}}]\right\},\text{when}a=2\hfill & & \end{array}$$
(20)
with $`\zeta =\frac{1}{2}\sqrt{1\frac{2(n+1)p_0}{n}}`$ .

Further, if we consider the dust model (i.e., $`p(t)=0`$) then the above solution (19) simplifies to $`R^{(n+1)/2}t`$. Hence for the usual 4D (i.e., $`n=2`$) the scale factor $`R`$ grows as $`t^{2/3}`$ as in the usual Friedmann model.

Now, the physical and kinematical parameters have the following expressions

$$\rho =\frac{n}{2}\frac{F^{}+(n+1)F\nu ^{}}{R^n(R^{}+R\nu ^{})}\frac{p_0}{t^a}$$
(21)
$$\theta =\frac{R\dot{R}^{}+(n+1)R\dot{R}\nu ^{}+n\dot{R}R^{}}{R(R^{}+R\nu ^{})}$$
(22)
$$\sigma ^2=\frac{n}{8(n+1)(n1)^2}\left[\frac{2R^{n1}(Rf^{}2R^{}f)+(n1)(RF^{}(n+1)R^{}F)}{\dot{R}R^n(R^{}+R\nu ^{})}\right]^2$$
(23)
Case II: $`\beta ^{}=\dot{\beta }_{x_i}=0,i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$

In this case from the field equations we have the form of the metric functions

$$e^\beta =R(t)e^{\nu (x_1,x_2,\mathrm{},x_n)}$$
(24)
and

$$e^\alpha =R(t)\eta (r,x_1,x_2,\mathrm{},x_n)+\mu (t,r)$$
(25)
Then as before from the field equation (4) we have similar differential equations in $`R`$ and $`\nu `$ as

$$R\ddot{R}+\frac{1}{2}(n1)\dot{R}^2+\frac{1}{n}(p(t)\mathrm{\Lambda })R^2=\frac{n1}{2n}K$$
(26)
and

$$e^{2\nu }\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}\left\{(n2)\nu _{x_i}^2+2\nu _{x_ix_i}\right\}=Kn$$
(27)
with $`K`$, an arbitrary constant.

Here we take the solution for $`\nu `$ in the form

$$e^\nu =P\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}x_i^2+\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}Q_ix_i+S$$
(28)
where the arbitrary constants $`P,Q_i(i=1,2,\mathrm{},n)`$ and $`S`$ are restricted as before

$$\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}Q_i^24PS=K1$$
(29)
Now to determine the function $`\eta `$, we have from the field equation (6)

$$\frac{^2(e^\nu \eta )}{x_ix_i}=0$$
(30)
and then from the field equation (5) we have the solution

$$e^\nu \eta =u(r)\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}x_i^2+\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}v_i(r)x_i+w(r)$$
(31)
with $`u(r),v_i(r)(i=1,2,\mathrm{},n)`$ and $`w(r)`$ as arbitrary functions.

Further, to obtain the function $`\mu `$ we use the following combination of the field equations namely,

$$\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}G_{x_i}^{x_i}G_r^r=(n1)(\mathrm{\Lambda }p(t))$$
(32)
and the resulting differential equation in $`\mu `$ is

$$R\ddot{\mu }+(n1)\dot{R}\dot{\mu }+\mu \left[\ddot{R}+\frac{2}{n}(p(t)\mathrm{\Lambda })R\right]=g(r)$$
(33)
with

$$g(r)=(n1)\left[2(uS+wP)\underset{i=1}{\overset{n}{}}v_iQ_i\right]$$
(34)
For explicit solution if we choose $`p(t)`$ as in the previous case (see eq.(18)) then the explicit form for $`R`$ is same as in equation (19) except here $`C_1`$ and $`C_2`$ are arbitrary constants and we have chosen $`K=\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$. Similarly, we have the same solutions (20) for non-zero $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$. But we note that the differential equation (33) is not solvable for any value of $`n`$. In fact only for $`n=3`$ (i.e., for five dimension) we have the complete solution

$$\mu R=d_1t^{q_2}+d_2t^{1q_2}$$
(35)
for $`a=2`$ and $`q_2=\frac{1}{2}\left(1+\sqrt{1\frac{8p_0}{3}}\right)`$ with $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=g(r)=0`$.

Further, the physical and kinematical parameters have the expressions as

$$\rho =\frac{2n\dot{\mu }\dot{R}K}{2\mu R}+\frac{n}{n1}\left[\frac{\eta (R^2\ddot{\mu }n\mu R\ddot{R})(n1)\mu ^2\ddot{R}}{\mu R(\mu +\eta R)}\right]p(t)$$
(36)
$$\theta =\frac{R\dot{\mu }+n\mu \dot{R}+(n+1)R\dot{R}\eta }{R(\mu +\eta R)}$$
(37)
$$\sigma ^2=\frac{n}{2(n+1)}\left[\frac{R\dot{\mu }\dot{R}\mu }{R(\mu +\eta R)}\right]^2$$
(38)
Finally, for simple dust case we have the solution for $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$ in terms of hypergeometric function as

$$\sqrt{C_1}(tt_0)=R^{\frac{n+1}{2}}{}_{2}{}^{}F_{1}^{}[\frac{1}{2},\frac{n+1}{2n2},\frac{3n1}{2n2},\frac{(n+1)^2}{4nC_1}f(r)R^{n1}]$$
(39)
But for non-zero $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ we can have solution only for $`n=3`$ as

$$R^2=C_1e^{t\sqrt{\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}}+C_2e^{t\sqrt{\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}}\frac{f(r)}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}$$
(40)
However, we can have an integral equation from (15) (with $`p=0`$) as

$$tt_0=\frac{dR}{\sqrt{\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{n(n+1)}R^2+f(r)+\frac{F(r)}{R^{n1}}}}$$
(41)
and we have the following particular solutions :

(i) $`F(r)=0`$

$$R=\sqrt{\frac{(n+1)f(r)}{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}}Sinh\left[(tt_0)\sqrt{\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{n(n+1)}}\right]$$

(ii) $`f(r)=0`$ (i.e., $`K=0`$ in Case II)

$$R^{\frac{n+1}{2}}=\sqrt{\frac{(n+1)F(r)}{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}}Sinh\left[(tt_0)\sqrt{\frac{(n+1)\mathrm{\Lambda }}{2n}}\right]$$

(iii) $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$ ($`n=3`$)

$$R^2=\frac{1}{3}f(r)(tt_0)^2\frac{3F(r)}{f(r)}$$

(iv) $`f(r)=\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$

$$R^{\frac{n+1}{2}}=\frac{n+1}{2}\sqrt{F(r)}(tt_0)$$

(v) $`f(r)=F(r)=0`$

$$R=e^{(tt_0)\sqrt{\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{n(n+1)}}}$$

Also for the dust $`\mu `$ has the solution

$$R=\mu =\left[C_1e^{t\sqrt{\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}}+C_2e^{t\sqrt{\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{3}}}\frac{K}{\mathrm{\Lambda }}\right]^{\frac{1}{2}}$$
(42)
for $`n=3`$.

## IV Asymptotic Behaviour

We shall now discuss the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions presented in the previous section for both perfect fluid and dust model separately. The co-ordinates vary over the range : $`t_0<t<\mathrm{};\mathrm{}<r<\mathrm{};\mathrm{}<x_i<\mathrm{},i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$.

### IV.1 Perfect fluid model

As $`p0,p0`$ so we must have $`\frac{1}{2}<q_1<1`$. We shall first consider the case when $`a=2`$. For large $`t`$ (Case I i.e., $`\beta ^{}0`$)

$$R^{\frac{n+1}{2}}t^{q_1}$$

$$\rho \frac{n}{2}(F^{}+(n+1)F\nu ^{})t^{2q_1}$$

$$pt^2$$

$$\theta t^1$$

$$\sigma ^2t^2$$

For Case II, we have similar behaviour for large $`t`$ together with $`\mu t^{\stackrel{~}{q}_1}`$ where $`\stackrel{~}{q}_1`$ is the value of $`q_1`$ for $`n=3`$ and also we have $`\frac{1}{2}<\stackrel{~}{q}_1<1`$. Thus as $`t\mathrm{}`$, ($`p,\rho `$) fall off faster compare to ($`\theta ,\sigma `$), while the scale factor $`R`$ (and $`\mu `$) gradually increases with time. So the model approaches isotropy along fluid world line as $`t\mathrm{}`$.

### IV.2 Dust model

For the dust case with non-zero $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ (and $`n=3`$) we have for large $`t`$,

$$\mu =Re^{t\sqrt{\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{6}}}$$

$$\rho =\rho _0,aconstant$$

$$\theta =\theta _0,aconstant$$

$$\sigma =\sigma _0,aconstant$$

We note that for Case I$`\rho _0=\sigma _0=0`$ while for Case II we have $`\rho _00,\sigma _00`$. Thus universe will behave locally like de-sitter model in Case I though the global geometry will be different. However, in Case II the universe will not isotropize and for large $`t`$ the measure of anisotropy and expansion scalar become finite constant.

## V Concluding Remarks

In this paper, we have found cosmological solutions for ($`n+2`$)-dimensional Szekeres form of metric with perfect fluid (or dust) as the matter distribution. We can classify the solutions in two categories namely, (i) $`\beta ^{}0`$ and (ii) $`\beta ^{}=0`$. The first set of solutions are known as quasi-spherical solution while second class of solutions are termed as cylindrical type of solutions.

However, if we assume the arbitrary functions $`A(r)`$, $`B_i(r)`$ and $`C(r)`$ to have the constant values namely $`A(r)=C(r)=\frac{1}{2}`$ and $`B_i(r)=0`$ (for all $`i=1,2,\mathrm{},n`$) i.e., if we have chosen the arbitrary function $`f(r)`$ to be zero then using the transformation

$`\begin{array}{cccc}x_1=Sin\theta _nSin\theta _{n1}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}Sin\theta _2Cot\frac{1}{2}\theta _1\hfill & & & \\ & & & \\ x_2=Cos\theta _nSin\theta _{n1}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}Sin\theta _2Cot\frac{1}{2}\theta _1\hfill & & & \\ & & & \\ x_3=Cos\theta _{n1}Sin\theta _{n2}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}Sin\theta _2Cot\frac{1}{2}\theta _1\hfill & & & \\ & & & \\ \mathrm{}.\mathrm{}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}\mathrm{}\hfill & & & \\ & & & \\ x_{n1}=Cos\theta _3Sin\theta _2Cot\frac{1}{2}\theta _1\hfill & & & \\ & & & \\ x_n=Cos\theta _2Cot\frac{1}{2}\theta _1\hfill & & & \end{array}`$ (54)
the Szekeres metric (1) with the solution (11), (12), (16) reduces to the ($`n+2`$)-dimensional spherically symmetric metric

$$ds^2=dt^2R^2dr^2R^2d\mathrm{\Omega }_n^2$$

It is to be noted that if the arbitrary functions $`A,B_i,C`$ depend on $`r`$, then we can not get the above spherical form of the space-time. So these arbitrary functions play an important roll to identify the nature of the space-time.

Finally, the study of asymptotic behaviour shows that some of the solutions will become isotropic at late time while there are solutions for which shear scalar remains constant throughout the evolution. Thus Cosmic ‘no-hair’ Conjecture is not valid for all solutions. This violation of Cosmic ‘no-hair’ Conjecture is not unusual because the Szekeres metric may not have always non-positive 3-space curvature scalar. Also in this higher dimensional Szekeres space-time we have solutions which expands as de Sitter in some directions but not in other directions.

Acknowledgement:

It is a pleasure to thank J. D. Barrow for inspiration to take up this higher dimensional Szekeres model and for his valuable comments and discussions in the preliminary draft of the paper. One of the authors (U.D) is thankful to CSIR (Govt. of India) for awarding a Senior Research Fellowship.

References:
$`[1]`$ O. Heckmann, E. Schiicking; in : L. Witten (Ed.): Gravitation, an Introduction to current research, NewYork, Wiley (1962).
$`[2]`$ P. Szekeres, Commun. Math. Phys. 41 55 (1975).
$`[3]`$ D. A. Szafron, J. Math. Phys. 18 1673 (1977).
$`[4]`$ D. A. Szafron and J. Wainwright J. Math. Phys. 18 1668 (1977).
$`[5]`$ J. D. Barrow and J. Stein-Schabes, Phys. Letts. 103A 315 (1984).