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# Gauge Fields, Geometric Phases, and Quantum Adiabatic Pumps

## Abstract

Quantum adiabatic pumping of charge and spin between two reservoirs (leads) has recently been demonstrated in nanoscale electronic devices. Pumping occurs when system parameters are varied in a cyclic manner and sufficiently slowly that the quantum system always remains in its ground state. We show that quantum pumping has a natural geometric representation in terms of gauge fields (both Abelian and non-Abelian) defined on the space of system parameters. We make explicit the similarities and differences with Berry’s geometric phase. Tunneling from a scanning tunneling microscope tip through a magnetic atom could be used to demonstrate the non-Abelian character of the gauge field.

Normally transport of electrical charge is dissipative (i.e., it produces heat). However, quantum adiabatic pumping Thouless83  provides a means in nanoscale electronic devices to use novel quantum effects to transport single electrons with minimal dissipation ag99 . Furthermore, it is also possible to pump electron spin without pumping charge sc01 ; a02 . Both charge s99  and spin wpmu03  pumping have been recently achieved experimentally, by cyclic variation of the gate voltages that control the shape of an open quantum dot. This motivated extensive theoretical research in this topic, especially on quantum charge pumping zsa99 ; saa00 ; ak00 ; ae001 ; mm01 . Quantum spin pumping opens the way for applications in spintronics. It is sometimes suggested, but not explicitly shown, that quantum pumping is related to Berry’s phase. As first emphasized by Berry b84 , discrete quantum systems have the counter-intuitive property that when some of the parameters controlling the system are slowly varied and brought back to their initial value the quantum state of the system is different to the initial state. That is, a quantum state may acquire a geometric phase $`\mathrm{exp}(i\gamma _C)`$ in addition to the normal dynamic phase $`\mathrm{exp}((i/\mathrm{})E(t)𝑑t)`$. This remarkable discovery may be recast in the language of holonomy theory s83 . Subsequent work showed that non-Abelian gauge potentials can arise as a result of degeneracies of energy levels of the system wz84 ; msw86 ; z88 . However, it is unlikely that adiabatic pumping, characteristic of quantum open systems considered in this Letter, results from Berry’s phase for closed discrete systems.

We present a systematic treatment of quantum adiabatic pumping in open systems in terms of parallel transport and gauge fields (both Abelian and non-Abelian) defined on the system parameter space, which reveals a unifying concept of geometric phase underlying scattering states. We make explicit the similarities and differences with Berry’s phase associated with cyclic variations of closed quantum systems (both degenerate and non-degenerate) (see Table 1). In the scattering approach developed by Brouwer b98 , based on an earlier work of Büttiker, Thomas, and Prêtre btp94 , a compact formula was presented for the pumped charge (current) in terms of the parametric derivatives of the time-dependent scattering matrix subjected to the modulating potential. We show that the pumped charge, given by Brouwer’s formula b98 , is essentially the geometric phase associated with the $`U(1)`$ subgroup of the gauge group $`U(M)`$ ($`M`$ is the number of channels in a certain lead), whereas the non-Abelian sector $`SU(M)`$ describes the adiabatic pumping associated with the internal degrees of freedom such as spin. Expressions are given for the gauge potentials associated with tunneling from an STM (scanning tunneling microscope) through a magnetic atom. We suggest an experiment which can be used to illustrate the non-Abelian character of the gauge field.

The quantum system. Consider a mesoscopic system with $`N`$ leads, and for the $`n`$-th lead there are $`M_n`$ channels. Our aim is to study quantum pumping by periodically varying a set of the independent external parameters $`X(X^1,\mathrm{},X^\nu ,\mathrm{},X^p)`$ slowly as a function of time $`t`$. In the scattering approach, the $`S`$ matrix is an $`𝒩\times 𝒩`$ matrix with $`𝒩`$ the total number of channels, $`𝒩=_{n=1}^NM_n`$. We define vectors $`𝐧_\alpha (S_{\alpha 1},\mathrm{},S_{\alpha 𝒩})`$ in terms of the rows of the scattering matrix $`S[X(t)]`$ associated with the $`n`$-th lead. The unitarity of the scattering matrix implies that these vectors are orthonormal $`𝐧_\alpha ^{}𝐧_\beta =\delta _{\alpha \beta },\alpha ,\beta =1,\mathrm{},M_n.`$ That is, this provides us with a smooth set of (local frame) bases $`𝐧_\alpha (t)`$.

The gauge potential. Assume that the parallel transport law

$$\mathrm{\Psi }_\alpha ^{}d\mathrm{\Psi }_\beta =0$$
(1)
holds for (fibre) vectors $`\mathrm{\Psi }_\alpha `$, where $`d\mathrm{\Psi }_\alpha `$ is the variation in $`\mathrm{\Psi }_\alpha `$ resulting from a variation $`dX`$ in the external parameters. If $`\mathrm{\Psi }_\alpha (0)=𝐧_\alpha (0)`$, i.e., the initial vector describing the scattering process in which the incident particle comes from the $`\alpha `$-th channel in the $`n`$-th lead, then the degeneracy of the channels implies that the transported vector $`\mathrm{\Psi }_\alpha (t)`$ must be a linear combination of all $`𝐧_\alpha (t)`$, $`\mathrm{\Psi }_\alpha (t)=_\beta U_{\alpha \beta }(t)𝐧_\beta (t)`$. Expressed another way, the transported vector describes a combined scattering process in which particles come from all channels in the $`n`$-th lead. Obviously, $`U(t)`$ is unitary, i.e., $`U(t)U(M_n)`$. Physically, this means certain information about where the incident particles come from is lost during parallel transport, and is encoded in the unitary matrix $`U(t)`$. Inserting into the parallel transport law in Eq. (1), we have

$$(U^1dU)_{\alpha \beta }=𝐧_\beta ^{}d𝐧_\alpha .$$
(2)
Since $`𝐧_\alpha `$ varies as the parameters $`X^\nu `$ vary with time, we can thus define the gauge potential $`A_{\alpha \beta \nu }𝐧_\beta ^{}_\nu 𝐧_\alpha ,`$ where $`_\nu /X^\nu `$ so that

$$(U^1dU)_{\alpha \beta }=\underset{\nu }{}A_{\alpha \beta \nu }dX^\nu .$$

This can be integrated in terms of exponential integrals. For the period $`\tau `$ of an adiabatic cycle, we have

$$(U(\tau ))_{\alpha \beta }=(\mathrm{P}\mathrm{exp}(\underset{\nu }{}A_\nu dX^\nu ))_{\alpha \beta },$$
(3)
where $`\mathrm{P}`$ denotes path ordering. Defining $`A_\nu A_\nu dX^\nu `$, one can see it is Lie algebra $`u(M_n)`$ valued and thus anti-Hermitian. $`A`$ plays the role of a gauge potential, as in the case of Berry’s phase wz84  for closed (discrete) quantum systems.

Gauge transformation. The gauge group $`U(M_n)`$ originates from the unitary freedom in choosing local bases $`𝐧_\alpha (\alpha =1,\mathrm{},M_n)`$,

$$𝐧_{}^{}{}_{\alpha }{}^{}(t)=\underset{\beta }{}\omega _{\alpha \beta }(t)𝐧_\beta (t).$$

This amounts to different choices of the scattering matrix: $`S^{}(t)=\mathrm{\Omega }(t)S(t)`$ with $`\mathrm{\Omega }(t)`$ a diagonal block matrix, the $`n`$-th block of which is an $`M_n\times M_n`$ unitary matrix $`\omega (t)`$. Physically speaking, left multiplication of the scattering matrix $`S(t)`$ by $`\mathrm{\Omega }(t)`$ just redistributes the scattering particles among different incoming channels associated with a certain lead, which does not affect correlations at the scatterer and so the physics remains the same. The gauge potential $`A(t)`$ transforms as

$$A^{}(t)=d\omega \omega ^1+\omega A\omega ^1.$$
(4)
The gauge field strength defined by $`FdAAA`$ transforms covariantly $`F^{}=\omega F\omega ^1`$. Therefore, a $`U(M_n)U(1)\times SU(M_n)`$ gauge field is defined on a $`p`$-dimensional parameter space which drives the quantum pumping. The trace of $`U(\tau )`$ given by Eq. (3) is gauge-invariant.

Justification of parallel transport. Now we need to justify the assumption of the parallel transport law in Eq. (1). Physically, by “adiabatic” we mean that the dwell time $`\tau _p`$ during which particles scatter off the scatterer is much shorter than the time period $`\tau =2\pi /\omega _a`$ during which the system completes the adiabatic cycle. Here $`\omega _a`$ is a slow frequency characterizing the adiabaticity and $`\tau _p`$ is related to (but not determined alone by) Wigner time delay matrix $`\tau _w(s,E)iS^{}(s,E)S(s,E)/E`$ with $`E`$ being the energy of scattering particles and $`s`$ being the so called epoch defined as $`s=\omega _at`$ ae003 . Then the response to the variation of the particle distribution in a certain channel is only limited to channels associated with the same lead. That means we ignore any responses which involve channels in different leads. Such a response can be treated as dissipation, a correction to the adiabatic limit. Then, the parallel transport law in Eq. (1) follows from the parallel transport law for the wave function. The latter is a solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation $`i\mathrm{}_t|\mathrm{\Phi }(t)=H(t)|\mathrm{\Phi }(t)`$. As is well known, the Schrödinger equation induces a parallel transport law $`\mathrm{Im}\varphi (t)|_t\varphi (t)=0`$ aa87 , with $`|\varphi (t)\mathrm{exp}(ih(t)𝑑t)|\mathrm{\Phi }(t)`$, where $`h(t)=\mathrm{\Phi }|H|\mathrm{\Phi }/\mathrm{\Phi }|\mathrm{\Phi }`$. We can write the wave function $`|\varphi (t)`$ as a linear combination of all scattering states associated with a certain lead in the adiabatic case. Formally, $`|\varphi (t)=_\alpha c_\alpha |\psi _\alpha (t)`$, with $`|\psi _\alpha (t)`$ denoting the scattering states in which the scattered particles come from channels associated with the $`n`$-th lead, and $`c_\alpha `$ being arbitrary constants. Then we have $`\psi _\alpha (t)|_t\psi _\beta (t)=0`$. The adiabatic assumption implies that $`|\psi _\alpha (t)`$ may be expanded in terms of instantaneous asymptotic scattering states, $`|\psi _\alpha (t)=_\beta U_{\alpha \beta }(t)|\psi _\beta ^S(t)`$, with $`|\psi _\alpha ^S(t)=|\alpha _{in}+_{\beta =1}^𝒩S_{\alpha \beta }(t)|\beta _{out}`$, $`\alpha =1,\mathrm{},M_n`$. Here, $`|\alpha _{in}`$ and $`|\beta _{out}`$ denote, respectively, the incoming and outgoing scattering states, which are normalized such that they carry a unit flux. Substituting into the parallel transport law for $`|\psi _\alpha `$, one gets Eq. (2) which is equivalent to the parallel transport law for row vectors of the scattering matrix.

Quantum adiabatic pumping. In order to establish the connection between the geometric phase above and the quantum pumping charge, we need to consider the time-reversed scattering states $`|\widehat{\psi }_\alpha ^S(t)=|\widehat{\alpha }_{in}+_{\beta =1}^𝒩S_{\beta \alpha }(t)|\widehat{\beta }_{out}`$ with $`\widehat{}`$ denoting the counterparts under time reversal operation note , which constitute a solution of the Schrödinger equation for the time-reversed Hamiltonian $`\widehat{H}`$ at any given (frozen) time at the epoch scale ae003 . This gives rise to another gauge potential $`\widehat{A}_{\alpha \beta \nu }\widehat{𝐧}_\beta ^{}_\nu \widehat{𝐧}_\alpha `$ with $`\widehat{𝐧}_\alpha (S_{1\alpha },\mathrm{},S_{𝒩\alpha })`$, i.e., the column vectors of the scattering matrix $`S(t)`$. In this case, the gauge group arises from redistribution of scattering particles among different outgoing channels. If $`\widehat{𝐧}_\alpha ^{}(t)=_\beta \widehat{\omega }_{\alpha \beta }\widehat{𝐧}_\beta (t)`$, then the gauge transformation takes $`\widehat{A}^{}(t)=d\widehat{\omega }\widehat{\omega }^1+\widehat{\omega }\widehat{A}\widehat{\omega }^1`$. The gauge fields $`A`$ and $`\widehat{A}`$ are connected via time reversal operation. If we identify the emissivity into the $`\alpha `$-th channel in the $`n`$-th lead as $`\mathrm{Im}[\widehat{A}_{\alpha \alpha }/2\pi ]`$ btp94 , then we immediately reproduce Brouwer’s formula b98  describing charge pumping, which turns out to be associated with the Abelian subgroup $`U(1)`$,

$$Q=\frac{e}{2\pi }\mathrm{Im}\mathrm{Tr}\widehat{A},$$
(5)
with $`Q`$ being the charge transferred into the $`n`$-th lead during one cycle. That is, the charge transferred during adiabatic pumping is essentially the geometric phase associated with the charge sector $`U(1)`$. This also explains why Planck’s constant $`\mathrm{}`$ does not occur in the adiabatic quantum pumped charge (current), a peculiar feature different from the Landauer-Büttiker conductance. However, as is well known, the geometric phase is determined only up to a multiple of $`2\pi `$. This concerns global geometric properties, i.e., the winding number of the overall phase of the gauge transformation in Eq. (4), $`N1/(2\pi i)\mathrm{Tr}(d\widehat{\omega }\widehat{\omega }^1)`$. The requirement that all physical observables be invariant under the gauge transformation leads us to the conclusion that $`O(Q)=O(QeN)`$, with $`O`$ denoting any observable. This result has been noticed by Makhlin and Mirlin mm01 , without proper justification, for the counting statistics in quantum charge pumps (see also, Ref. ak00 ).

To see the effects caused by non-Abelian gauge potentials, we need to consider gauge invariant quantities. Besides $`\mathrm{Tr}\widehat{U}(\tau )`$, we see that both the determinant and eigenvalues of $`\widehat{U}(\tau )`$ are gauge invariant. Actually, there are $`M_n`$ independent gauge invariant quantities such as the eigenvalues $`\mathrm{exp}[i\gamma _\alpha ]`$. On the other hand, there are $`M_n`$ independent simultaneous observables such as the pumping currents $`I_\alpha `$ flowing into the $`\alpha `$-th channel, which must be gauge invariant. Therefore, one may expect that the pumping currents $`I_\alpha `$ are some functions of $`\gamma _1,\mathrm{},\gamma _{M_n}`$. Because our argument only relies on gauge invariance and does not depend on any details of the system, such functions must be model-independent. Guided by the results for the so-called “Abelianized” non-Abelian gauge potentials, i.e., the gauge potentials which turn out to be diagonal in a certain gauge, we have

$$I_\alpha =\frac{1}{2\pi \tau }\gamma _\alpha .$$
(6)
This connects the physical observables with the eigenvalues of the geometric matrix phase. Especially, the charge pumping current $`I_c`$ corresponding to the Abelian sector $`U(1)`$ is $`I_c_\alpha I_\alpha =1/(2\pi \tau )_\alpha \gamma _\alpha `$. One may verify that this is consistent with Eq. (5) since $`\dot{Q}(t)=eI_c`$ and $`ddet\widehat{U}(t)=\mathrm{Tr}\widehat{A}(t)det\widehat{U}(t)`$. Alternatively, $`Q=e\mathrm{Im}\mathrm{ln}detU(\tau )`$. Similarly, we may define generalized “spin” pumping currents associated with the Cartan subalgebra of the non-Abelian sector $`SU(M_n)`$. The simplest non-Abelian case $`U(2)`$ is relevant to the charge and spin pumping.

Tunneling through a single magnetic spin. Consider the Hamiltonian which describes a system consisting of two leads coupled to a single site, the spin of which has an exchange interaction $`J`$ with a magnetic spin zb02 ,

$`H`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \underset{kL,R,\sigma }{}}ϵ_{k\sigma }c_{k\sigma }^{}c_{k\sigma }+J{\displaystyle \underset{\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}{}}d_\sigma ^{}\mathrm{\Omega }_{\sigma \sigma ^{}}d_\sigma ^{}`$ (7)
$`+{\displaystyle \underset{kL,R,\sigma ;\sigma ^{}}{}}(V_{k\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}c_{k\sigma }^{}d_\sigma ^{}+\mathrm{H}.\mathrm{c}.).`$
Here $`c_{k\sigma }^{}`$ and $`c_{k\sigma }`$ are, respectively, the creation and destruction operators of an electron with momentum $`k`$ and spin $`\sigma `$ in either the left ($`L`$) or the right ($`R`$) lead, and $`d_\sigma ^{}`$ and $`d_\sigma `$ are the counterparts of the single electron with spin $`\sigma `$ at the spin site. The quantity $`ϵ_{k\sigma }`$ are the single particle energies of conduction electrons in the two leads, which we will assume $`ϵ_{k\sigma }=v_F(|k|k_F)`$ with the convention that $`v_F=1`$, and the momentum is measured from the Fermi surface for electrons in leads. The electrons on the spin site are connected to those in the two leads with the tunneling matrix elements $`V_{k\sigma ,\sigma ^{}}`$. For simplicity, we assume symmetric tunneling barriers between the local spin and the leads, and only keep the spin-conserved coupling; viz. $`V_{L++}=V_L=V_{R++}=V_R=V`$ and $`V_{L+}=V_{L+}=V_{R+}=V_{R+}=0`$. The entries of the coupling matrix $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ take the form $`\mathrm{\Omega }_{++}=\mathrm{\Omega }_{}=\mathrm{cos}\theta `$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_+=\mathrm{\Omega }_+^{}=\mathrm{sin}\theta \mathrm{exp}(i\varphi )`$. The model is exactly soluble as far as the scattering matrix is concerned.

Once the scattering matrix is determined, our general formalism leads us to the non-Abelian gauge potential,

$$\widehat{A}=\widehat{A}_\theta d\theta +\widehat{A}_\varphi d\varphi ,$$
(8)
where $`\widehat{A}_\theta \widehat{A}_\theta ^1\sigma ^1+\widehat{A}_\theta ^2\sigma ^2+\widehat{A}_\theta ^3\sigma ^3`$ with $`\widehat{A}_\theta ^1=i(\mathrm{sin}(\delta _1\delta _2)\mathrm{cos}\theta \mathrm{cos}\varphi +(1\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2))\mathrm{sin}\varphi )/4`$, $`\widehat{A}_\theta ^2=i(\mathrm{sin}(\delta _1\delta _2)\mathrm{cos}\theta \mathrm{sin}\varphi (1\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2))\mathrm{cos}\varphi )/4`$, and $`\widehat{A}_\theta ^3=i(\mathrm{sin}(\delta _1\delta _2)\mathrm{sin}\theta )/4`$, and $`\widehat{A}_\varphi \widehat{A}_\varphi ^1\sigma ^1+\widehat{A}_\varphi ^2\sigma ^2+\widehat{A}_\varphi ^3\sigma ^3`$ with $`\widehat{A}_\varphi ^1=i(\mathrm{sin}(\delta _1\delta _2)\mathrm{sin}\theta \mathrm{sin}\varphi (1\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2))\mathrm{sin}\theta \mathrm{cos}\theta \mathrm{cos}\varphi )/4`$, $`\widehat{A}_\varphi ^2=i(\mathrm{sin}(\delta _1\delta _2)\mathrm{sin}\theta \mathrm{cos}\varphi +(1\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2))\mathrm{sin}\theta \mathrm{cos}\theta \mathrm{sin}\varphi )/4`$, and $`\widehat{A}_\varphi ^3=i(1\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2))\mathrm{sin}^2\theta /4`$. Here $`\delta _i(i=1,2)`$ are the phase shifts defined by $`\delta _1=2\mathrm{tan}^1(\mathrm{\Gamma }/(kJ))`$ and $`\delta _2=2\mathrm{tan}^1(\mathrm{\Gamma }/(k+J))`$ with the tunneling rate $`\mathrm{\Gamma }V^2`$.

The gauge field strength $`\widehat{F}`$ then takes the form $`\widehat{F}=i(1\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2))\stackrel{}{n}\stackrel{}{\sigma }d\mathrm{\Omega }/4`$. Here $`d\mathrm{\Omega }=\mathrm{sin}\theta d\theta d\varphi `$ is the invariant area element and $`\stackrel{}{n}=(\mathrm{sin}\theta \mathrm{cos}\varphi ,\mathrm{sin}\theta \mathrm{sin}\varphi ,\mathrm{cos}\theta )`$ is the direction of the magnetic spin. Obviously, this is just a simple rotation of the standard form $`\widehat{F}=i(\alpha ^21)\sigma ^3d\mathrm{\Omega }/2`$. Up to a gauge transformation, this is the same non-Abelian gauge potential, found by Moody et al. msw86  for a diatomic molecule. This is consistent with a theorem, proved in fm80 , stating that the rotationally invariant connection on the sphere is essentially unique. To establish the relation between $`\alpha `$ and $`\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2)`$, we need to calculate the gauge invariant quantity $`\mathrm{Tr}\widehat{F}\widehat{F}`$, with $`\widehat{F}`$ being the dual of $`\widehat{F}`$. Then we have $`\alpha ^2=(3\mathrm{cos}(\delta _1\delta _2))/2`$. When $`J=0`$, i.e., in the absence of the direct exchange interaction between electrons and the local spin, the gauge field is a pure gauge because $`\widehat{F}=0`$. Since the Pauli matrices are traceless, we have $`\mathrm{Tr}\widehat{A}=0`$, meaning that charge pumping is absent in the model under consideration. That implies $`\gamma _+=\gamma _{}`$. Therefore, the spin pumping current defined by $`I_s=I_+I_{}`$ becomes $`I_s=\gamma _+/(\pi \tau )`$.

One can compute a phase factor $`\widehat{U}_{SR}`$ which is obtained from the time-reversed counterpart of Eq. (3) for a “spherical rectangle (SR)”. From $`1/2\mathrm{T}\mathrm{r}\widehat{U}_{SR}=\mathrm{cos}\pi \tau I_s`$, the spin pumping current $`I_s`$ may be extracted and is shown in Fig. 1 as a function of system parameters for two different paths, $`C_1`$ and $`C_2`$. The spin pumping current takes its maximum value around the resonant scattering lines $`k=\pm J`$.

Possible experiments. A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) has been used to detect a quantum mirage around a single magnetic cobalt atom placed on a non-magnetic metallic copper surface Manoharan00 . Electron spin resonance (ESR)-STM experiments Farle98  have advanced to the point that they have spatial resolution at the level of a few spins Ralph01 . The STM setup as shown in Fig. 1 A should make it possible to observe gauge invariant spin pumping via a single magnetic atom on the surface of the substrate. To measure the spin pumping current $`I_s`$, one could replace one of the leads by a ferromagnetic one. The spin pumping current can then be measured via the charge pumping currents.

Acknowledgments. We thank Urban Lundin, Gerard Milburn, and Christoph Renner for valuable discussions. Thanks also go to Markus Büttiker, Claudio Chamon, and Frank Wilczek for enlightening comments and encouragement. This work was supported by the Australian Research Council.


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# Three-body recombination at large scattering lengths in an ultracold atomic gas

## Abstract

We study three-body recombination in an optically trapped ultracold gas of cesium atoms with precise magnetic control of the s-wave scattering length $`a`$. At large positive values of $`a`$, we measure the dependence of the rate coefficient on $`a`$ and confirm the theoretically predicted scaling proportional to $`a^4`$. Evidence of recombination heating indicates the formation of very weakly bound molecules in the last bound energy level.

Three-body recombination, the process of two particles forming a compound while interacting with a third particle, is of general importance in many-body systems. Understanding three-body processes has for a long time been a challenge in many areas of physics. In dilute ultracold atomic gases, where unique experimental access to interparticle interactions is available, three-body recombination leads to the formation of diatomic molecules. The possibility to trap and cool such molecules and thus to realize ultracold molecular ensembles Masnou-Seeuws and Pillet (2001) or atom-molecule mixtures Donley et al. (2002) holds great prospects for future research in the field of quantum gases.

The main experimental challenge for measuring three-body recombination is to distinguish three-body losses from two-body losses. In magnetic traps, this is in general difficult, as dipolar relaxation is present as an inherent two-body loss mechanism. In the special case of magnetically trapped 87Rb, experiments could nevertheless provide reliable data because of the anomalously weak two-body decay in this species Burt et al. (1997); Söding et al. (1999). As a more general approach, optical traps allow to store atoms in the lowest internal state where two-body loss is fully suppressed for energetic reasons Stamper-Kurn et al. (1998). Three-body recombination in bosonic systems with large $`s`$-wave scattering length $`a`$ has been explored in experiments utilizing Feshbach resonances in 23Na Stenger et al. (1999) and 85Rb Roberts et al. (2000). The results demonstrate the dramatic enhancement of loss processes near such resonances.

In the case of large positive $`a`$, theoretical studies Fedichev et al. (1996); Nielsen and Macek (1999); Esry et al. (1999); Bedaque et al. (2000) predict formation of molecules in a weakly bound $`s`$ level and deduce scaling of the three-body recombination rate with $`a`$ to the fourth power. Recombination is discussed in terms of the event rate $`\nu _{\text{rec}}=\alpha _{\text{rec}}n^3`$ per unit volume and time, where $`n`$ denotes the particle density. In the low-energy limit, the universal scaling law for the characteristic parameter $`\alpha _{\text{rec}}`$ is given as $`\alpha _{\text{rec}}=C\mathrm{}a^4/m`$ Fedichev et al. (1996), where $`m`$ is the mass of the atom, and $`C`$ a dimensionless factor. Predictions for $`C`$ give values between 0 and $``$70 Fedichev et al. (1996); Nielsen and Macek (1999); Esry et al. (1999); Bedaque et al. (2000), with oscillatory behavior between $`C=0`$ and $`C_{\text{max}}=67.9`$ expected for strong variations of $`a`$ on a Feshbach resonance Bedaque et al. (2000). Previously available experimental data on three-body recombination for various species roughly agree with the general trend of a universal $`a^4`$ scaling, with evidence for deviations from this scaling law near a Feshbach resonance Stenger et al. (1999).

In this work, we employ an optical trap to measure three-body recombination in an ultracold thermal gas of 133Cs in the $`6^2`$S$`{}_{1/2}{}^{},F=3,m_F=3`$ absolute ground state. In this state, the scattering length varies strongly with an applied magnetic field $`B`$ through a combination of broad and narrow Feshbach resonances at low field strengths Chin et al. (2000); Leo et al. (2000). The values of $`a`$ as a function of $`B`$ have been calculated to high precision Jul . This tunability allows us to conduct experiments in a range of precisely controlled large positive values of $`a`$, where the condition of recombination into a weakly bound $`s`$ level is well fulfilled. Detailed measurements of the time evolution of both atom number and temperature allow us to quantify both three-body loss and heating.

The three-body loss rate coefficient $`L_3`$ is related to $`\alpha _{\text{rec}}`$ via $`L_3=n_l\alpha _{\text{rec}}`$, where $`n_l`$ denotes the number of atoms lost from the trap per recombination event. Therefore, the central relationship for comparing measurements to theory is

$$L_3=n_lC\frac{\mathrm{}}{m}a^4.$$
(1)
In the recombination process the molecular binding energy $`\epsilon `$ is set free as kinetic energy. The molecule and the third atom receive $`\epsilon /3`$ and $`2\epsilon /3`$, respectively. Since usually $`\epsilon `$ is large compared to the trapping potential depth, both are expelled from the trap, setting $`n_l=3`$. However, the binding energy of the weakly bound last energy level of the dimer is given by $`\epsilon =\mathrm{}^2/\left(ma^2\right)`$ Landau and Lifshitz (1977), and at very large scattering length values $`\epsilon `$ may be below the trap depth and the third atom cannot escape. If the potential of the atom trap does not confine the molecule, the dimer is lost and $`n_l=2`$. If, however, the molecule is trapped and stays within the atom cloud, it may quickly quench its high vibrational excitation in an inelastic collision with a fourth trapped atom. The large amount of energy released in this situation expels the collision partners, making $`n_l=3`$. In either case, the kinetic energy of the remaining atom is distributed in the ensemble, giving rise to recombination heating.

Our measurements are conducted in a nearly isotropic optical dipole trap formed by two crossed 100 W CO2-laser beams focused to a waist of 600 $`\mu `$m Weber et al. (2003). A vertical magnetic field gradient of 31 G/cm cancels gravity for the $`6^2`$S$`{}_{1/2}{}^{},F=3,m_F=3`$ absolute ground state of Cs. The optical trapping forces are so weak that no other $`m_F`$ substate can be held against the gravitational force, thus perfect spin polarization of the sample is enforced by the trap itself. We have measured the trap frequencies by exciting small oscillations along the principal axes, the geometric average results to $`\overline{\omega }/(2\pi )=14.5\pm 0.5`$ Hz. The trap depth is $`k_B\times 12`$ $`\mu `$K; $`k_B`$ denotes the Boltzmann constant. Trap heating is extremely weak, from long-time measurements we can give an upper bound for the heating rate of $`0.2`$ nK/s. The background gas limited $`1/e`$ lifetime is $``$$`180`$ s.

After loading the dipole trap Weber et al. (2003), the ensemble cools down by plain evaporation within the first 10 s to $`3\times 10^6`$ atoms at $`T=1`$ $`\mu `$K, $`1/12`$ of the trap depth. To avoid further evaporative loss and cooling in our measurements, we cool the sample well below this limit. This is achieved by forced radio frequency evaporative cooling in the magnetic levitation field. We apply a radio frequency resonant with the Zeeman splitting between two $`m_F`$ substates. In the vertical levitation gradient this acts as height selective removal from the trap, effecting 1D evaporative cooling. Evaporation proceeds at a bias field of $`B=75`$ G to tune the scattering length to 1200 $`a_0`$ ($`a_0=0.053`$ nm denotes Bohr’s radius), which at the low initial peak density of $`3\times 10^{11}`$ cm-3 keeps the elastic scattering rate at $``$$`200`$ s-1, high enough for efficient cooling. A simple 7 s two-segment linear sweep of the radio frequency provides $`1.3\times 10^6`$ atoms at 450 nK (peak phase-space density $`D4\times 10^3`$). Some measurements have been taken at 200 nK starting temperature; to reach this, we appended another linear 5 s rf ramp, leaving $`4\times 10^5`$ atoms in the trap ($`D10^2`$). Temperature and atom number are measured by taking an absorption image with typically 50 ms of expansion in the levitation field after switching off the CO2 lasers. For the expansion, the bias field is in all measurements set to 75 G to ensure constant conditions.

In a first set of measurements, we have recorded the atom number and temperature of the trapped sample after a holding time of 10 s at fixed magnetic fields varied between 10 G and 100 G foo (a). Figure 1 shows the data in comparison to the calculated scattering length Jul , which includes Feshbach resonances involving $`s`$\- and $`d`$-wave channels. Additional resonances involving closed $`g`$-wave channels are marked by arrows. The Feshbach resonances have been observed in previous experiments through light-induced two-body losses Chin et al. (2000); Chin (2001) and described theoretically Leo et al. (2000); Chin (2001). In our measurements, all resonances appear as prominent loss and heating features. Over the full range, both atom number and temperature show a clear correlation with the magnitude of the scattering length.

To obtain more quantitative results on recombination loss and heating, we have studied the time evolution of the atom number $`N`$ and temperature $`T`$ at various magnetic fields. Figure 2 shows a typical measurement at $`B=56`$ G. Integrating the local three-body loss rate $`L_3n^3`$ over the sample gives $`\dot{N}/N=L_3n^2`$. Expressing the average density in terms of the directly accessible quantities $`N`$ and $`T`$, we replace $`L_3n^2`$ by $`\gamma N^2/T^3`$, where $`\gamma =L_3\left(m\overline{\omega }^2/2\pi k_B\right)`$$`{}_{}{}^{3}/\sqrt{27}`$. With an additional loss term $`\alpha N`$ for background gas collisions, we obtain a differential equation for the atom number,

$$\frac{dN}{dt}=\alpha N\gamma \frac{N^3}{T^3}.$$
(2)
Atom loss through three-body recombination leads to “anti-evaporation” heating. With its $`n^3`$ dependence, three-body recombination predominantly happens in the region of highest density in the trap center. The mean potential energy foo (b) of an atom undergoing a three-body process can be calculated by integrating over a thermal distribution with weights proportional to $`n^3`$, which yields $`\frac{1}{2}k_BT`$. As the ensemble average is $`\frac{3}{2}k_BT`$, for each lost atom an excess energy of $`1k_BT`$ remains in the sample. To account for recombination heating, we introduce an additional constant energy $`k_BT_h`$ per lost atom. Relating the total heating energy $`k_B(T+T_h)`$ to the average energy $`3k_BT`$ of a trapped particle yields $`\dot{T}/T=(\dot{N}/N)`$ $`k_B(T+T_h)/(3k_BT)`$, and we obtain an expression for the temperature evolution,

$$\frac{dT}{dt}=\gamma \frac{N^2}{T^3}\frac{\left(T+T_h\right)}{3}.$$
(3)
Equations (2) and (3) form a set of two coupled nonlinear differential equations for $`N`$ and $`T`$. Using an iterative approach foo (c), we do a least-squares fit of the numerical solutions of both equations to the experimental data. For the data in Fig. 2, the fit is plotted as solid lines. Fit parameters are $`\alpha `$, $`\gamma `$ and $`T_h`$. Error estimates for the fit parameters are based on varying one parameter up and down, resp., to the points where $`\chi ^2`$ increases by one, while optimizing the other parameters Bevington and Robinson (1992).

The data obtained for $`L_3`$ as a function of magnetic field is plotted in Fig. 3. The inset shows an expanded view of data taken on the 48 G Feshbach resonance. The error bars represent the statistical errors derived from the fit as described above, which typically range around 20%. The systematic uncertainty is larger: Due to the scaling of $`L_3`$ with $`N^2\overline{\omega }^6`$, small errors in these values amount to large differences in the result obtained for $`L_3`$. Taking the uncertainty in the trap frequency and an estimated 30% in atom number, the systematic error can be up to a factor of two.

In order to compare our data to theory, we do a least-squares fit of the expected scaling law \[Eq. (1)\] to our measurements, using the calculated $`a(B)`$ Jul . Single fit parameter is $`n_lC`$. The resulting curve is drawn as a solid line in Fig. 3. The data clearly confirm the universal $`a^4`$ scaling. In our experimental range, where $`a`$ varies by less than a factor of two, we do not find any indication of resonant behavior in $`C`$ foo (d). The result from the fit is $`n_lC=225`$, corresponding to $`C=75`$ for $`n_l=3`$ or $`C=112`$ for $`n_l=2`$. In comparison to theory, both values are somewhat above the upper limit of $`C_{\text{max}}70`$, but in good agreement within our systematic error limit.

The inset in Fig. 3 shows the data on the 48 G Feshbach resonance. In order to model the shape of the loss feature, we have to take into account the width of the sample in the vertical $`B`$ field gradient and the unitarity limitation at the finite temperature. The theory curve is convoluted with a gaussian of full $`1/e`$ width 260 mG, which is given by the vertical extension of the $`n^3`$ distribution of the trapped sample. A cutoff in $`a`$ accounts for the unitarity limitation; the cutoff value of 1800 $`a_0`$ results from a least-squares fit to the data. Our $`B`$-field scale is slightly adjusted for an optimum match with theory by introducing a 40 mG shift, which is well within our calibration accuracy.

Via the condition $`ka1`$, the inverse wavenumber $`k^1=\left[4k_BTm/(\pi \mathrm{}^2)\right]`$-1/2 characterizes the crossover to the zero-energy limit. At 450 nK, $`k^1=1500`$ $`a_0`$; at 200 nK, $`k^1=2250`$ $`a_0`$. Correspondingly, the 450 nK data on the Feshbach resonance show a strong effect from the unitarity limitation, while the data taken at 200 nK starting conditions follow the expected scaling law up to the maximum $`a1500`$ $`a_0`$.

Our results on recombination heating are displayed in Fig. 4. A trend towards smaller $`T_h`$ at higher magnetic fields, corresponding to higher scattering lengths $`a`$, is visible. At large values of $`a`$ close to the Feshbach resonance, the values are correspondingly very small. We compare the data to the scenario that the recombination heating arises just from the binding energy $`\epsilon `$ of the last bound state of the dimer. As the atom involved in the three-body recombination process receives $`2\epsilon /3`$, the recombination heat per lost atom results to $`k_BT_h=2\epsilon /(3n_l)`$. Therefore, we assume $`k_BT_h`$ to be between $`2\epsilon /9`$ ($`n_l=3`$) and $`\epsilon /3`$ ($`n_l=2`$). This range is shown as shaded area in Fig. 4 foo (e). This simple model shows reasonable agreement with the experimental data. Our heating measurements thus provide evidence of the formation of very weakly bound ultracold molecules.

From the apparent effect of recombination heating, we can draw an important conclusion for the efficiency of evaporative cooling towards quantum degeneracy in gases with large positive scattering length. If temperatures are very low ($`k_BT\epsilon `$) and the atom that carries $`2\epsilon /3`$ cannot immediately escape from the trap, recombination heating has a detrimental effect much worse than mere three-body loss. For efficient evaporation it is thus imperative to avoid the hydrodynamic collision regime and to implement a three-dimensional evaporation scheme. In our cooling experiments on optically trapped cesium Weber et al. (2003) these conditions indeed turned out to be essential for the attainment of Bose-Einstein condensation.

The molecules formed in recombination are likely to remain trapped in our setup. A previous experiment shows evidence of trapping of the Cs2 dimer in a CO2-laser trap Takekoshi et al. (1998). Away from Feshbach resonances, the magnetic dipole moment of the dimer in its last bound state has the same value as the sum of the dipole moments of two single Cs atoms, so that the levitation trap can hold the molecules under the same conditions as the atoms. This offers an intriguing way to study atom-molecule interactions both in ultracold thermal clouds and Bose-Einstein condensates. Moreover, the Feshbach resonances allow to change the molecular magnetic moment in a controlled way and thus to separate the molecules from the atoms to prepare pure molecular samples.

###### Acknowledgements.

We thank C. Greene for useful discussions and P. Julienne for providing us with the scattering length data. We gratefully acknowledge support by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) within SFB 15 (project part 16) and by the European Union in the frame of the Cold Molecules TMR Network under contract No. HPRN-CT-2002-00290.


text:
# Bouncing pre-big bang on the brane

## I Introduction

According to the singularity theorems sing , it is impossible to avoid the big bang singularity within the context of General Relativity, at least if some “reasonable energy conditions” hold. In particular, the Einstein equations tell us that in order to have a bounce (namely a transition from a contracting to an expanding phase) in a flat or open universe 111In the case of a closed universe it is possible to find bouncing solutions without violating the NEC. However, such solutions are somehow pathological, being them unstable, or requiring some kind of fine tuning, see for example curv ; in the present treatment curvature-driven bouncing solutions will not be considered., the so-called Null Energy Condition (NEC) (which for a perfect fluid states $`\rho +p0`$) must be violated.

A violation of the NEC is usually considered unacceptable in that it generally implies a violation of causality, but this is not always the case. For example, in various extended theories of gravity it is possible that terms coming from modifications of General Relativity (e.g. close to the Planck scale) give an (apparent, and thus not troublesome) violation of the NEC if they are interpreted as sources in the modified Einstein equations; consequently, they can also drive the evolution of the scale factor trough a bounce. In such cases the main theoretical problem does not come from the apparent violation of the NEC, but from our ignorance on the exact nature and form of the new terms; this fact casts some doubt on the reliability of the bouncing solutions that can be obtained in this way.

This is exactly what happens in the pre-big bang model prebig , where the connection of the pre- to the post-big bang phase (henceforth, the graceful exit) can be actually mapped into a bounce if one uses Einstein frame variables, and thus requires the use of NEC-violating terms exitprob . Such terms are already incorporated in the model (they are loop and high curvature corrections dictated by string theory, and the violation of the NEC by means of such effective sources is considered to be acceptable), but our knowledge of their exact form is far from being complete. As a consequence, all the realizations of the graceful exit presented so far exits  can not be taken as completely reliable in that they imply some assumption on the exact form of these loop and high curvature corrections 222In general Brans-Dicke models the situation is more variegated and a bouncing behavior can be obtained in some cases, see PPeter ..

In the brane world scenario the situation is quite different: due to the presence of interaction terms between the brane and the bulk, a bounce can quite easily be obtained without any NEC violation and without the need of any quantum gravity or high curvature effect. This has been obtained for example in MuhPel  by means of a slight modification of the Randall-Sundrum model RaSu  (for other considerations on bouncing brane world models, see also MedKam ).

Generally speaking, one expects a bouncing universe in the brane world scenario to be less difficult to obtain because it does not require a dramatic change in the structure of bulk spacetime. In other words, since in the Randall-Sundrum picture the singularity can be avoided by a timelike trajectory, there is no need to introduce NEC violating sources in order to eliminate it (as is needed in standard cosmology, where the big bang singularity is spacelike): rather, it is sufficient to prevent the brane trajectory from reaching it. So, in some sense, the singularity is still there in the bulk (for which the singularity theorems are, after all, still valid), but simply a brane observer never comes close to it.

This paper is organized as follows: in section II, after having discussed the general conditions for a bounce in a brane world model, I will apply these considerations to a gravi-dilaton scenario, where an explicit solution will be found in the Einstein frame. Brane models in the presence of a scalar field have already been studied in ChamRe , brdil  and foffa ; in particular some bouncing solutions have already been found in ChamRe  for a domain wall in the presence of a Liouville potential. In the present treatment, which extends the work of ChamRe  in that it is valid for a generic matter content on the brane, the emphasis will be put on the string frame behavior: in fact in section III the bouncing solution will be transformed in the string frame and it will be compared with what one obtains in the pre-big bang model, whose basic features will also be briefly recalled. It will be shown that such a solution can be seen as a realization of a graceful exit in a pre-big bang model, and that this exit can be realized without any use of quantum or high curvature corrections, and is thus under complete control. This is a concrete realization of the idea (suggested in foffa ) that in brane world models there is room for dealing with problems which are difficult or intractable in more conventional scenarios.

A few comments and remarks will then conclude the paper.

## II Bouncing universe in a brane world scenario

### II.1 General conditions for a bounce

Following Shiro , we write the projected Einstein equations on the brane as

$`G_{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`8\pi G_N\tau _{\mu \nu }+{\displaystyle \frac{d1}{d}}\kappa ^2\left[{}_{}{}^{}T_{\nu \mu }^{}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{d+1}}\left(d{}_{}{}^{}T{}_{}{}^{}T\right)h_{\mu \nu }\right]\mathrm{\Lambda }_dh_{\mu \nu }+\kappa ^4\pi _{\mu \nu }E_{\mu \nu },`$ (1)
where $`\tau _{\mu \nu }`$ is the energy momentum tensor on the brane, $`{}_{}{}^{}T_{\mu \nu }^{}`$ and $`{}_{}{}^{}T`$ are, respectively, the projections parallel and perpendicular to the brane of the bulk energy momentum tensor333In the Randall-Sundrum model only a cosmological constant is allowed to be present in the bulk, according to the prescription that the matter fields should be confined on the brane. Since in this work we are going to analyze a gravi-dilaton system, the dilaton field is also allowed to propagate in the bulk, and $`T_{\mu \nu }`$ is meant to represent the bulk energy momentum tensor related to this field., $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_d`$ the effective cosmological constant on the brane, $`E_{\mu \nu }`$ the projection on the brane of the bulk Weyl tensor, $`h_{\mu \nu }`$ the induced metric on the $`(d+1)`$-brane, $`\kappa `$ the bulk gravitational coupling, $`G_N`$ the effective brane Newton constant and, finally, $`\pi _{\mu \nu }`$ a term quadratic in $`\tau _{\mu \nu }`$ given by the following expression:

$`\pi _{\mu \nu }`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4}}\tau _{\alpha \mu }\tau _\nu ^\alpha +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4d}}\tau \tau _{\mu \nu }+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{8}}\tau ^{\alpha \beta }\tau _{\alpha \beta }h_{\mu \nu }{\displaystyle \frac{1}{8d}}\tau ^2h_{\mu \nu }.`$ (2)
By making a flat FRW ansatz for $`h_{\mu \nu }`$ (as already stated, curvature-driven bounces will not be considered here), and a perfect fluid one for the energy momentum tensors $`\tau _\nu ^\mu (\rho ,\stackrel{}{p})`$, $`{}_{}{}^{}T_{\nu }^{\mu }(R,\stackrel{}{P})`$, one can write an equation for the time derivative of the Hubble parameter on the brane:

$`\dot{H}`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{d}}\kappa ^2\left(R+P\right)\left({\displaystyle \frac{8\pi G_N}{d1}}+{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa ^4}{4d}}\rho \right)\left(\rho +p\right){\displaystyle \frac{d+1}{d(d1)}}E_0^0.`$ (3)
As can be read in this equation, if the Weyl tensor is set to zero, it is impossible to have $`\dot{H}>0`$, a necessary condition for a bounce, without violating the NEC either in the bulk or on the brane, or without having $`\rho <0`$ (this last condition deriving from the term $`\rho \left(\rho +p\right)`$, which comes from the explicit expression of $`\pi _{\mu \nu }`$ in terms of $`\rho `$ and $`p`$). Thus, if one wants to realize a bounce without resorting to “exotic” forms of matter, one has to consider the case of a nonvanishing projected Weyl tensor. More precisely:

$`E_0^0<0\dot{H}>0.`$ (4)
The bouncing solution presented in MuhPel  exploits exactly this kind of mechanism.

### II.2 Gravi-dilaton system and relevant equations

With the previous condition in mind, let’s consider the following gravi-dilaton system in the Einstein frame

$`S`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{\kappa ^2}}{\displaystyle \mathrm{d}^{d+2}x\sqrt{g}\left[\frac{1}{2}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }\right)^22\mathrm{\Lambda }e^{\gamma \mathrm{\Phi }}\right]}+`$ (5)
$`{\displaystyle \mathrm{d}^{d+1}y\left[\sqrt{h}\left(\frac{2K^\pm }{\kappa ^2}+\lambda e^{\alpha \mathrm{\Phi }}\right)_m(\chi _m;\stackrel{~}{h}_{\mu \nu })\right]},`$
where the brane matter fields $`\chi _m`$ are coupled to the dilaton through the conformally rescaled brane metric $`\stackrel{~}{h}_{\mu \nu }`$, defined as

$`\stackrel{~}{h}_{\mu \nu }=e^{2\xi \mathrm{\Phi }}h_{\mu \nu }.`$ (6)
The bulk equations of motion and junction conditions are immediately derived ($`Z_2`$ symmetry is assumed):

$`\{\begin{array}{c}_{\mu \nu }=\frac{1}{2}_\mu \mathrm{\Phi }_\nu \mathrm{\Phi }+\frac{2}{d}g_{\mu \nu }\mathrm{\Lambda }e^{\gamma \mathrm{\Phi }}\hfill \\ ^2\mathrm{\Phi }=2\mathrm{\Lambda }\gamma e^{\gamma \mathrm{\Phi }},\hfill \end{array}`$ (9)
$`\{\begin{array}{c}K_{\mu \nu }=\frac{\kappa ^2}{4}\left[\tau _{\mu \nu }\frac{1}{d}\left(\tau \lambda e^{\alpha \mathrm{\Phi }}\right)h_{\mu \nu }\right]\hfill \\ n\mathrm{\Phi }=\frac{\kappa ^2}{2}\left(\xi \tau +\alpha \lambda e^{\alpha \mathrm{\Phi }}\right),\hfill \end{array}`$ (12)
being $`n_\mu `$ the normal to the brane pointing into the bulk, $`K_{\mu \nu }_\mu n_\nu `$, and $`\tau _{\mu \nu }\frac{2}{\sqrt{h}}\frac{\delta _m}{\delta h^{\mu \nu }}`$.

If one makes the following static ansatz for the bulk metric

$`\mathrm{d}s_{bulk}^2=F(r)^2\mathrm{d}T^2+B(r)^2\mathrm{d}r^2+A(r)^2\mathrm{d}\stackrel{}{x}_d^2,`$ (13)
which implies

$`\mathrm{d}s_{brane}^2=\mathrm{d}t^2+A[r(t)]^2\mathrm{d}\stackrel{}{x}_d^2,`$ (14)
then the junction conditions can be explicitly written as

$`H^2\left({\displaystyle \frac{\dot{A}}{A}}\right)^2={\displaystyle \frac{\kappa ^4}{16d^2}}(\rho +\rho _\lambda )^2\left({\displaystyle \frac{A^{}}{AB}}\right)^2,`$ (15)
$`\dot{\rho }+H\left[d(1+w)\rho +\alpha \left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}{\displaystyle \frac{A}{A^{}}}\right)\rho _\lambda +{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2d}}\left(\mathrm{\Phi }^{}{\displaystyle \frac{A}{A^{}}}\right)^2(\rho +\rho _\lambda )\right]=0,`$ (16)
$`(\rho +\rho _\lambda )\mathrm{\Phi }^{}\left({\displaystyle \frac{A}{A^{}}}\right)=2d\xi \rho \left(dw1\right)2d\alpha \rho _\lambda ,`$ (17)
where $`\dot{A}\frac{dA}{dt}`$, $`A^{}\frac{A}{r}`$, $`w\frac{p}{\rho }`$, and $`\rho _\lambda \lambda e^{\alpha \mathrm{\Phi }}`$. The first two equations, coming from the junction conditions for $`K_{\mu \nu }`$, can be seen as the effective Friedmann equation and energy conservation equation on the brane (note the anomalous terms containing $`\mathrm{\Phi }^{}`$ in the latter, coming from the interactions of the dilaton with the brane), while the last one is the junction condition for the dilaton.

### II.3 Bulk solution and brane equation

It is now sufficient to know an explicit bulk solution and to plug it in eqns. (15), (16), (17) in order to have an explicit set of equations for the evolution of the brane. All the static bulk solutions with the symmetry given by eq. (13) are known (see charm ); here only the following simple class of solutions if considered:

$`\{\begin{array}{c}\mathrm{d}s_{bulk}^2=h(r)r^{s+\frac{2}{d}}\mathrm{d}t^2+\frac{r^{s+\frac{2}{d}}}{h(r)}\mathrm{d}r^2+r^{\frac{2}{d}}\mathrm{d}\stackrel{}{x}_d^2\hfill \\ \left[h(r)=\left(\frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{s}r^se^{\gamma \mathrm{\Phi }_0}+C\right),s=\frac{\gamma ^2}{2}\frac{d+1}{d}\right],\hfill \\ \\ \mathrm{\Phi }=\mathrm{\Phi }_0\gamma \mathrm{log}r.\hfill \end{array}`$ (22)
Particularly relevant for the following will be the role of the integration constant $`C`$, which can be shown to be zero iff the bulk Weyl tensor is vanishing.

Now one has to plug the bulk solution into the explicit junction conditions. First of all, eq. (17) gives two constraints on the parameters of the model, namely

$`\gamma =2\xi (dw1),\alpha ={\displaystyle \frac{\gamma }{2}}.`$ (23)
Then, since the dilaton behavior is known, the energy conservation equation (16) can be used to find out how the energy density depends on $`r`$, and thus on $`A(r)=r^{\frac{1}{d}}`$: one finds

$`\rho =R_0A^{d\left(1+w+\frac{\gamma ^2}{2}\right)},`$ (24)
with $`R_0`$ an integration constant. A similar equation for $`\rho _\lambda `$ follows trivially from its definition in terms of the dilaton.

Finally, everything can be plugged in the equation for $`H`$, which one can rewrite as

$`H^2={\displaystyle \frac{\kappa ^4}{16d^2}}\left(\rho ^2+2\rho _\lambda \rho +\rho _\lambda ^2\right){\displaystyle \frac{1}{d^2}}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{2\mathrm{\Lambda }}{s}}e^{\gamma \mathrm{\Phi }_0}A^{d\gamma ^2}+CA^{d\frac{\gamma ^2}{2}d1}\right].`$ (25)
By taking into account of eq. (24), one can see that without the contribution of the Weyl tensor, it is impossible to obtain a bouncing solution with $`w1`$ (as is implied by the NEC and by the positivity $`\rho `$). In fact, under these assumptions, the first term on the r.h.s. of (25) turns out always to be dominant over the others for small $`A`$, and consequently the solution can not be driven towards a bounce. Thus the only strategy for getting a bouncing solution is to consider the action of the last term, the one related to the Weyl tensor.

Moreover, the definition of $`\rho _\lambda `$ in terms of $`\mathrm{\Phi }`$ implies that $`\rho _\lambda ^2`$ has exactly the same $`A`$-dependence of the first term in the squared brackets in eq. (25). One can take advantage of this fact by requiring an exact cancellation between these two terms in the effective Friedmann equation, cancellation that is realized if $`\frac{\kappa ^4}{32}\lambda ^2=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{s}`$. This condition is the counterpart of the fine tuning required in the Randall-Sundrum model between the brane tension and the bulk cosmological constant in order to have a vanishing effective brane cosmological constant.

### II.4 Getting the bounce

Eq. (25) can be rearranged in such a way that it has the form

$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\dot{A}^2+V(A)=0,`$ (26)
so that the evolution of the system can be easily studied as the evolution of a point particle of unit mass and zero energy which moves in the potential $`V(A)`$ given by

$`V(A)={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2d^2}}\left[CA^{p_1}{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa ^4}{16}}\left(R_0^2A^{p_2}+2\lambda R_0e^{\frac{\gamma }{2}\mathrm{\Phi }_0}A^{p_3}\right)\right],`$ (27)
with

$`p_1={\displaystyle \frac{d\gamma ^2}{2}}d+1,p_2=2d(1+w)d\gamma ^2+2,p_3=p_2+d(1+w).`$ (28)
The parameters $`\gamma `$ and $`\xi `$ can be now chosen in such a way that $`V(A)`$ has the appropriate form (shown in figure 1(b)) for producing the desired behavior, namely:

1. bounce:

$`V(A)>0\mathrm{as}A0^+p_1<p_2,C>0,`$ (29)
2. correct behavior at late time (decelerated expansion):

$`V(A)0^{}\mathrm{as}A\mathrm{}p_3<0,`$ (30)

These conditions ensure also that at late times the Friedmann equation is dominated by the term $`\kappa ^4\rho _\lambda \rho `$, thus recovering Einstein gravity with an effective (dilaton-dependent) Newton constant proportional to $`\kappa ^4\rho _\lambda `$.

As well as eqns. (29,30), the condition $`|w|1`$ should also be imposed, thus giving

$`(1d){\displaystyle \frac{\gamma }{2\xi }}(1+d).`$ (31)
All the conditions (29), (30) and (31) can be simultaneously satisfied, and the region in the $`(\gamma ,\xi )`$ plane for which this happens is displayed in fig. 1(a).

It can be shown that in the allowed region one has always $`s<0`$, which in turn implies $`\mathrm{\Lambda }<0`$ (this last condition coming from the fine tuning relation $`\frac{\kappa ^4}{32}\lambda ^2=\frac{\mathrm{\Lambda }}{s}`$). Thus, the region of parameter space of interest for the bounce is also the one for which the bulk has a negative $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, which is expected to provide the confinement of a massless graviton mode on the brane.

It should also be noted that the conditions $`C>0`$, $`s<0`$ and $`\mathrm{\Lambda }<0`$ imply the existence of a naked singularity in the bulk at $`r=0`$. In the present context, this should not be regarded as a problem: clearly, for small $`r`$ the equations of motion are not valid anymore and should be replaced by a more complete description (like string theory with loop and curvature corrections included), which should be capable of damping the singularity, or at least hiding it behind an horizon. Though at the present stage we do not know how this mechanisms work in detail, we will show in brief that there are solutions for which the brane never comes close to the high curvature region: thus the brane never exits the region of validity of General Relativity (or low energy string theory) and its evolution can be studied without knowing the details of the high curvature regime.

The evolution of the universe can be read directly in figure 1(b): the scale factor starts very large, it then undergoes a phase of accelerated contraction, which is an inflationary phase, being characterized by $`\dot{A}\ddot{A}>0`$ (see infl ), until it reaches the minimum of the potential. Then the contraction rate slows down, until it becomes zero (bounce) and a period of accelerated expansion starts (another inflationary stage); finally, after having passed again through the minimum of the potential, the brane enters a stage of decelerated expansion, eventually dominated by the term $`G_N(\mathrm{\Phi })\rho `$. More precisely, at late times the Friedmann equation approaches the following form:

$`H^2{\displaystyle \frac{\kappa ^4}{16d^2}}2\lambda R_0e^{\frac{\gamma }{2}\mathrm{\Phi }_0}A^{d(1+w)d\gamma ^2}.`$ (32)
Due to the running of the dilaton, the exponent of $`A`$ is not yet the one which is found in standard cosmology. This means that, for instance, a fluid with $`w=1/d`$ (radiation) would not induce the expected behavior $`A^{(d+1)}`$ in the r.h.s. of eq. (32). As is typical in dilatonic models, this can be obtained only after having achieved dilaton stabilization, a task which will not be pursued here.

Incidentally, we notice that because of the running of the dilaton it is possible to have a radiation-like behavior in the Friedmann equation without radiation, i.e. with $`w1/d`$: it is in fact sufficient to tune $`\gamma ^2`$ in such a way that the exponent of $`A`$ in eq. (32) is equal to $`(d+1)`$. A quick calculation, and comparison with eq. (23), shows that this “ghost radiation” scenario is realized for

$`\gamma ={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2d\xi }},`$ (33)
and that the curve defined by this equation passes through the allowed region in the $`(\gamma ,\xi )`$ plane, meaning that this condition is compatible with all the others that have been previously imposed.

## III String frame behavior

### III.1 Pre-big bang model

Let us now briefly recall the basic features of the graceful exit problem in pre-big bang model. The starting point is the minimal gravitational sector contained in the low energy effective action of any critical superstring theory, which in the string frame has the following form:

$`𝒮={\displaystyle \frac{1}{\lambda _S^{D2}}}{\displaystyle \mathrm{d}^Dx\sqrt{g}e^\mathrm{\Phi }\left[+\left(\mathrm{\Phi }\right)^2\right]},`$ (34)
where $`\lambda _S`$ the string length, and $`10D`$ spatial dimensions are assumed to be compactified and frozen. If one makes a flat cosmological ansatz, the equations of motion can be written as:

$`\{\begin{array}{c}\dot{H}=\pm \sqrt{D1}H^2\hfill \\ \dot{\mathrm{\Phi }}=\left(D1\pm \sqrt{D1}\right)H.\hfill \end{array}`$ (37)
In the pre-big bang model, one has two disconnected branches of solution: the first solves the equations of motion with the $`(+)`$ sign, has as initial conditions a Minkowski space with constant dilaton, and describes a pre-big bang phase of superinflationary expansion and growing dilaton (which means growing coupling constant); the second, separated from the first by the big bang singularity, solves the equations with the $`()`$ sign, and describes a phase of decelerated expansion, which is supposed to be joined in a later time to a radiation dominated phase with stabilized dilaton.

The graceful exit problem consists in joining these two branches and thus ending with a single smooth evolution for the universe. Such a problem can be studied also in the Einstein frame, i.e. by conformally transforming the metric in such a way that the action (34), expressed in terms of the new metric, describes a General Relativity model minimally coupled to the dilaton, exactly like the bulk part of eq. (5) (with $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ set to zero).

The computation of the Einstein frame Hubble parameter is straightforward

$`g_{\mu \nu }^E=g_{\mu \nu }^Se^{\frac{2\mathrm{\Phi }_S}{D2}}H_E=e^{\frac{\mathrm{\Phi }_S}{D2}}\left[H_S{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{\mathrm{\Phi }}_S}{D2}}\right],`$ (38)
where the exponential prefactor comes from the fact that the cosmic times in the Einstein frame and in the string frame are related by $`\mathrm{d}t_E=e^{\frac{\mathrm{\Phi }_S}{D2}}\mathrm{d}t_s`$. One can immediately check with the help of eqns. (37) that $`H_E`$ is negative in the pre-big bang phase and positive in the post-big bang one, so that the graceful exit problem can be actually mapped into that of having a bouncing universe in the Einstein frame.

In the pre-big bang model, this is achieved by considering the effect of loop and high curvature corrections, which become important as the solution approaches the singularity, and which can be seen as effective NEC violating sources that provide the bounce. As already mentioned in the introduction, here one encounters a technical problem in that our knowledge of the exact form of these corrections is still too limited.

In string cosmology it is useful to represent the solution in the $`(\dot{\overline{\mathrm{\Phi }}},H)`$ plane, with $`\dot{\overline{\mathrm{\Phi }}}\dot{\mathrm{\Phi }}dH`$. The origin of such a plane is Minkowski space with a constant dilaton and represents, as well as the initial condition for the pre-big bang model, also an attractor for the late time evolution. With reference to figure 2, the pre- and post-big bang branches are represented by the two lines in the upper part of the plane, and realizing the graceful exit (dashed red arrow) consists in connecting the pre-big bang line, which escapes from the origin, to the post-big bang one.

The evolution described by the ekpyrotic scenario ekpy  can also be represented in this plane: in this case the pre-big bang stage is represented by the line in the lower part of the plane, and describes a phase of accelerating contraction for the scale factor on the brane, which corresponds also to the fact the two branes of the model are approaching each other. In the ekpyrotic model the problem of joining this line to the post-big bang one is in some sense ignored, in that the scale factor is let shrink to zero (the two branes collide as the evolution proceeds along the pre-big bang line until infinity), and then starts expanding again (the branes pass across each other, and the evolution now proceeds from infinity towards the origin along the post-big bang line).

### III.2 Comparison with the bouncing brane

Although the variable $`\dot{\overline{\mathrm{\Phi }}}`$ does not have a particular dynamical meaning in the present context, the solution found in the previous section can nevertheless be mapped in the same plane, in order to conveniently compare it with the other models. In order to do that, it is necessary to transform it in the string frame, via

$`A_S=A_Ee^{\frac{\mathrm{\Phi }_E}{\sqrt{2d}}}=e^{\frac{\mathrm{\Phi }_0}{2d}}A_E^{1\gamma \sqrt{\frac{d}{2}}}.`$ (39)
We now restrict our attention to the case

$`\gamma <\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{2}{d}}}`$ (40)
in such a way that to an expanding Einstein frame scale factor, also an expanding string frame one corresponds. The condition (40) is satisfied at the left of the vertical line in figure 1(a); note that $`\gamma `$ is still allowed to be either positive or negative.

Given eqns. (39), the behavior of $`\dot{\overline{\mathrm{\Phi }}}_S`$ can be found:

$`\mathrm{\Phi }_S=\sqrt{{\displaystyle \frac{d}{2}}}\mathrm{\Phi }_E\dot{\overline{\mathrm{\Phi }}}_S={\displaystyle \frac{d}{1\gamma \sqrt{\frac{d}{2}}}}H_S({\displaystyle \frac{\dot{\overline{\mathrm{\Phi }}}_S}{H_S}}=const.<0).`$ (41)
Thus, as in the ekpyrotic case, the solution still moves along a line of negative slope in the $`(\dot{\overline{\mathrm{\Phi }}},H)`$ plane, but in this case it follows a somehow less drastic route to the exit, simply reversing at some point its motion along this line, passing trough the origin (bounce), and then being smoothly connected to the decelerated expanding phase. Such a behavior is represented by the blue arrows in figure 2.

Differently from what happens in the standard pre-big bang case, now the exit can be realized at low curvature and low coupling. To ensure the first point, it is sufficient that the free parameter $`C`$ is big enough; as to the second request, one can take $`\gamma <0`$, so that (as eq. (22) tells) if the coupling is small at large $`A`$ (certainly a desirable feature, if one wants this model to be connected to our universe at late time), then it will be even smaller during the bouncing phase. Thus, the whole evolution takes place in a regime under full theoretical control.

## IV Comments and conclusions

The solution discussed in this work is an example of bouncing universe in the context of Einstein brane gravity coupled to a scalar field. When transformed in the string frame, such a solution describes a pre-big bang model where the transition between pre- and post-big bang is realized at low curvature and weak coupling, thus providing an example of graceful exit which takes place under complete theoretical control.

The investigation focused on the graceful exit aspect, while other issues, such as the naturalness of the initial conditions, the amount of inflation, the dilaton stabilization, have not been addressed, partly because this goes beyond the purposes of this paper, and partly for a more technical reason. In fact, while from the discussion of paragraph II.1 it should be clear that the bouncing mechanism is not related to the particular kind of bulk background chosen for the present analysis (depending only on the sign of the bulk Weyl tensor), on the other hand the same can not be said about other important features of the cosmological behavior.

The quantity of inflation produced in this model certainly depends on the form of the potential $`V(A)`$, and thus on the exact form of the bulk background. Also the initial configuration does, and actually one could argue that a brane which starts falling towards a naked singularity does not look natural at all; this problem could be addressed by moving to more general, time dependent bulk backgrounds, maybe like the one discussed in BDV  in the context of initial conditions for the pre-big bang model.

On the other hand, the background solution chosen in this work is simple enough for emphasizing the main point of this paper, i.e. that in brane world models it is possible to realize a graceful exit without resorting either to quantum gravity (or stringy) corrections, or to exotic forms of matter. The embedding of the mechanism studied in the present paper into more complete cosmological scenarios is left for future investigations.


text:
# The complex H-𝛼 line profile of the bright companion to PSR J1740-5340 in NGC 6397. 1footnote 11footnote 1Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile, proposal 69.D-0264

## 1 Introduction

The nearby Galactic globular cluster NGC 6397 hosts an eclipsing binary millisecond pulsar (PSR J1740$``$5340; D’Amico et al. 2001a), whose companion (COM J1740$``$5340) has been optically identified (Ferraro et al. 2001) with a bright (V$``$16.6) variable star which has completely filled its Roche lobe (Ferraro et al. 2003). Radio (D’Amico et al. 2001b) and X-ray observations (Grindlay et al. 2001, 2002) show evidence of interaction between the millisecond pulsar (MSP) and mass released from the companion. Interestingly, despite the large pulsar rotational energy loss, no photometric signature of heating can be found in the light curves (Kaluzny et al. 2003, Orosz & van Kerkwijk 2003), which are instead dominated by ellipsoidal variations (Orosz & van Kerkwijk 2003). The combination of these observational facts represents a fascinating mosaic that has triggered a wealth of hypotheses about the origin and evolution of this binary system (see Possenti 2002; Orosz & van Kerkwijk 2003; Grindlay et al. 2002 for a review).

In the framework of a coordinated spectro-photometric project devoted to investigate the nature of this peculiar object, we recently reported on preliminary results from Very Large Telescope UVES high resolution observations: we measured the mass ratio of the system ($`q=M_{\mathrm{PSR}}/M_{\mathrm{COM}}=5.85\pm 0.13`$) with unprecedented precision for a non-relativistic binary pulsar system and confirmed the cool effective temperature ($``$5,500 K) of COM J1740$``$5340 (Ferraro et al. 2003). A radial velocity $`V_{\mathrm{bary}}=17.7\pm 2.3`$ km s-1 was also derived for the binary barycenter, fully compatible with the systemic radial motion of the cluster (Harris 1996).

Here we focus on a detailed analysis of the H$`\alpha `$ and He i lines: the complex structure of the former is used to investigate the distribution of matter lost by COM J1740$``$5340, whereas the study of the He i feature aims at confirming the hypothesis that a narrow, hot strip (T$`{}_{eff}{}^{}>`$10,000 K) is located on the pulsar companion surface (Ferraro et al. 2003), and at estimating the area of the heated region.

## 2 The H$`\alpha `$ region

At radio wavelengths, PSR J1740$``$5340 displays eclipses for more than 40% of its orbital period, and evident irregularities of the signal at all orbital phases. The latter characteristic was ascribed by D’Amico et al. (2001b) to the motion of the MSP within a large envelope of matter released by the secondary. This hypothesis finds additional support in the modulated X-ray emission detected by Chandra (Grindlay et al. 2001, 2002), which may be due to the interaction between the MSP wind and the stellar matter. Furthermore, the anomalous position of COM J1740$``$5340 in the (V, H$`\alpha `$R) color-magnitude diagram (see Fig. 1 of Ferraro et al. 2001 and Taylor et al. 2001) suggests a H$`\alpha `$ excess: this is a unique feature for a MSP companion and could suggests either RS CVn–like activity in the companion atmosphere (Orosz & Van Kerwijk 2003) or the presence of significant interactions between the energetic pulsar flux and the matter lost by COM J1740$``$5340.

Motivated by these observations, we have exploited high quality, phase resolved spectroscopic data to carefully look at the H$`\alpha `$ line region. A set of 8 high resolution spectra of COM J1740$``$5340 was obtained with the Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) mounted on the ESO Very Large Telescope on Cerro Paranal (Chile) in 2002 June–July. The observational strategy and the data are described in Ferraro et al. (2003; see their Table 1). The system hosting PSR J1740$``$5340 is located in a crowded region of the cluster; thus, in order to avoid possible contamination from nearby stars, we have here used only spectra acquired in the best seeing conditions, which correspond to orbital phases $`\varphi `$ 0.02, 0.56, 0.78, and 0.36, close to quadratures, opposition and conjunction, respectively ($`\varphi =0.25`$ when COM J1740$``$5340 is at the minimum distance from the observer).

As can be seen in Figure 1 (right panel), COM J1740$``$5340 spectra clearly show H$`\alpha `$ absorption lines, but the line profiles appear complex and require a detailed analysis. To perform this, the COM J1740$``$5340 spectra must be compared with a reference template. We took advantage of the availability of spectra observed with a similar UVES configuration in a project devoted to study the chemical abundance in NGC 6397 (Gratton et al. 2001). In particular the high quality spectra of three subgiants (namely # 669, 793 and 206810 in Gratton et al.) were averaged and convolved with a rotation profile of $`V_{\mathrm{rot}}=49.6`$ km s-1 in order to account for the inferred rotation velocity of COM J1740$``$5340 (Ferraro et al. 2003). The resulting spectrum was then normalized to the COM J1740$``$5340 continuum at each orbital phase and used as a template. The temperatures of the three subgiants are fully comparable with that derived for COM J1740$``$5340 ($``$ 5,500 K, Ferraro et al. 2003; Orosz & van Kerkwijk 2003) and their overall chemical composition is found compatible with that observed in COM J1740$``$5340 (although with a few notable exceptions, as will be discussed in Sabbi et al. 2003, in preparation). In fact, the agreement between the template and the COM J1740$``$5340 spectra in the H$`\gamma `$ region is excellent (see the left panel of Fig. 1), supporting the similarity of COM J1740$``$5340 with respect to a normal subgiant branch star of NGC 6397 and hinting at the power of the differential analysis.

By using this method, we can easily pinpoint the anomalies of the COM J1740$``$5340 spectra in the H$`\alpha `$ region (right panel of Fig. 1): (i) the line shallowness, which suggests a certain amount of H$`\alpha `$ emission, and (ii) the complex structures in the line wings. In order to better analyze these features, we subtracted the template spectrum from the COM J1740$``$5340 one. The result for the spectrum taken at $`\varphi =0.56`$ is presented in Figure 2, whereas Figure 3 displays the changing structure of the H$`\alpha `$ emission line along the orbit. At least two different H$`\alpha `$ emission components can be distinguished. The first one appears as a bright, narrow and symmetric line, clearly visible as the main peak at $`\lambda _p6567`$ Å in Figure 2. At all orbital phases the narrow peak is always easily recognizable (see Fig. 3). The second component is much fainter, broader and asymmetric, characterized by a large bump at $`\lambda <\lambda _p`$ and a long tail at $`\lambda >\lambda _p`$ in Figure 2. It covers a large velocity range: in the highest quality available spectra (taken at phase $`\varphi =0.56`$), its peak displays a slow radial velocity of $`V_\mathrm{b}18`$ km-1 (in the observer frame, see Fig. 2), while the terminal velocity of the tail $`V_\mathrm{t}`$ is about 20 times higher. The overall shape of this broad second component appears (specularly reflected with respect to the shape observed at $`\varphi =0.56`$) also at the opposite quadrature (panels $`d`$ and $`d\mathrm{}`$ of Fig. 3), whereas near opposition and conjunction only the weakest tail is distinguishable (panels $`a`$, $`a\mathrm{}`$, $`c`$ and $`c\mathrm{}`$ of Fig. 3).

Since the differential analysis clearly reveals H$`\alpha `$ emission while excluding any significant H$`\gamma `$ emission (Fig. 1, left panel), we can conclude that there is a large decrement in Balmer line intensity and hence that the gas emitting the H$`\alpha `$ photons must be optically thin.

## 3 Helium lines

As first reported by Ferraro et al. (2003), strong He i absorption lines are present in most of the observed spectra, implying that a region of the COM J1740$``$5340 surface has a high temperature, T$`{}_{eff}{}^{}>`$10,000 K. This feature was unexpected since the other temperature indicators (e.g., photometric colors and H$`\alpha `$ wings) suggest that the surface temperature is $``$ 5,500 K (Ferraro et al. 2001; Orosz & van Kerkwijk 2003). On the basis of a qualitative inspection of the He i line widths, Ferraro et al. (2003) proposed the existence of a hot strip along the COM J1740$``$5340 surface.

In the aim of better investigating this hypothesis, we carefully compared the shape and the broadening profile of the He i lines with those of other COM J1740$``$5340 spectral lines. In particular we have built 4 empirical rotation line profiles based on many lines in the blue part of the spectrum, and convolved these profiles with that of the He i lines. The comparison with the observed spectrum (Fig. 4) shows that the empirical profiles can nicely reproduce both the Doppler shift and the rotational profiles of the observed He i lines at all the orbital phases. As a consequence, the hot region must be longitudinally extended across the stellar surface. Moreover, at phase $`\varphi `$=0.36 (i.e. when the surface of the companion facing the pulsar is almost invisible to the observer) the He i line appears much fainter than at the other orbital phases. We can conclude that the hot region does not encircle the entire star, but is primarily located on the companion hemisphere visible from the pulsar.

One can estimate the projected area of such a heated region. For this purpose, we assumed a simple model where the atmosphere of the star is composed of two (horizontal) regions: one hot, with temperature roughly similar to that of a B star; and one cool, with the temperature of a G8 star. The ratio between the fluxes emitted by these two regions can be estimated by comparing the residual emission at the center of the Ca i K line at 3933 Å (EW = 4.1Å) where only light from the cool region is seen and at the center of the He i line at 5878 Å (EW = 0.19Å) where we assume to be observing only light from the hot region. The flux ratios emitted at these two wavelengths by stars of spectral type B7 (T$`{}_{\mathrm{eff}}{}^{}=15,000`$ K) and G8 (T$`{}_{\mathrm{eff}}{}^{}=5,500`$ K) were taken from Gunn & Stryker (1983). Comparing these ratios with the COM J1740$``$5340 spectrum, suggests that the heated region should cover less than 1% of the stellar surface.

## 4 Discussion

### 4.1 H$`\alpha `$ lines

Figure 3 (left panel) shows the subtracted spectra corrected for the Doppler shift due to the orbital motion of COM J1740$``$5340 around the MSP: since at each orbital phase the main peak has always the same radial velocity as COM J1740$``$5340, we can safely conclude that the brightest peak is due to gas emitted by a hot and optically thin (i.e. rarefied) gaseous region close to the star surface, as often observed in the atmospherically active binaries (e.g. Montes et al. 1997,2000 for a review).

The evident asymmetric shape (Fig. 2) of the secondary broad component of the H$`\alpha `$ emission precludes an origin in a Keplerian disk surrounding PSR J1740$``$5340. Instead, the synchronous rotation — modulated by the radial orbital velocity around the center of mass of the system — of the broad and the narrow components (particularly evident when comparing panels b’ and d’ of Fig. 3) is suggestive of a lump of matter protruding from COM J1740$``$5340 and roughly orbiting as a rigid body with the companion star. In this picture, the broad peak of the fainter component (corresponding in quadrature to a radial velocity $`(V_\mathrm{b}V_{\mathrm{bary}})0`$ with respect to the center of mass of the binary) would represent hydrogen gas flowing from the Roche lobe of COM J1740$``$5340 toward the center of mass of the system (located at $`1\mathrm{R}_{}`$ from the pulsar), where it is stopped and then swept away by the pulsar energetic flux of radiation and/or accelerated particles (a similar radio-ejection mechanism has been postulated for this binary system by Burderi, D’Antona & Burgay 2002). The swept material could form a wide (cometary-like?) tail possibly winding around the binary. The portion of the gaseous tail which is closest to COM J1740$``$5340 should follow almost rigidly the orbital motion of the companion star, always pointing roughly in the opposite direction (with respect to COM J1740$``$5340) of the MSP. If it produces the declining end of the broad line component (see Fig. 2), the terminal radial velocity seen at quadratures ($`V_\mathrm{t}300400`$ km s-1) would imply that the swept gas maintains a high enough temperature for emitting H$`\alpha `$ photons up to $`R_\mathrm{t}=(V_\mathrm{t}P_{\mathrm{orb}}/2\pi a_{}q)/\mathrm{sin}i(5.2\mathrm{R}_{})/\mathrm{sin}i`$ outside the orbit of COM J1740$``$5340, where $`P_{\mathrm{orb}}`$ and $`a_{}`$ are the orbital period and the projected semimajor axis of the pulsar orbit (D’Amico et al. 2001b), whereas $`q`$ and $`i(50\mathrm{deg}`$; Ferraro et al. 2003) are the mass ratio and the orbital inclination.

Interestingly, $`R_\mathrm{t}`$ is of the same order of the radius of the region (concentric with the companion star) causing the long eclipses of PSR J1740$``$5340 at 1.4 GHz (D’Amico et al. 2001b). Thus the gas from which the H$`\alpha `$ broad emission originates may be responsible also for the radio eclipses of PSR J1740$``$5340 (at 1.4 GHz) between orbital phases 0.05 and 0.45. The matter blown away from the binary at larger distances than $`R_\mathrm{t}`$ is probably cooler and not completely ionized. It would be undetectable at optical wavelengths, but could cause the striking irregularities displayed by the radio signal of PSR J1740$``$5340 at nearly all orbital phases, even far from the nominal eclipse region (D’Amico et al. 2001b).

### 4.2 He i lines

In order to understand the origin of the He i lines, we looked for other systems that show physical and/or spectral similarities. AM Her binaries are a possibility, since they contain a WD and a MS star, and do not have an accreting disc, since the magnetic field stops its formation; but the spectra of these stars are dominated by high excitation emission lines such as He ii (e.g., Schwope et al. 1997), while we do not find these features in our spectra. The Herbig Ae/Be stars, young intermediate mass stars, have similar spectra which show H$`\alpha `$ emission and He i absorption lines (see Waters & Waelkens 1998 for a review). But even if the origin of the H$`\alpha `$ lines is similar, the Teff of COM J1740$``$5340 is too low to justify the helium. We have to consider other mechanisms to justify the helium presence in our spectra.

The detailed inspection of the rotation profile and of the orbital modulation of the He i absorption lines strongly supports the existence of a hot “barbecue-like” strip888A suggestive definition proposed by Josh Grindlay (private communication). elongated across the stellar photosphere facing the pulsar. Assuming for simplicity that a rectangular ribbon encircles $``$75% of the star (in order to accomplish the observed weakening of the He i absorption line near only one of the four orbital epochs) and has an area $`\stackrel{<}{_{}}1`$ % of the star photosphere (as estimated in §3), the ribbon’s length would be $`7\mathrm{R}_{}`$ and its width $`\stackrel{<}{_{}}0.04\mathrm{R}_{}.`$

What can cause such a “stretched feature”? The high temperatures required for producing the He i absorption line could be due to a shocked filament standing, e.g., at the boundary between the companion surface and the gas swept back toward the companion by the pulsar flux. However it seems difficult to maintain a hot filament of gas confined within a few hundredths of $`\mathrm{R}_{}.`$ Another intriguing possibility is that the heated strip is due to the effects of the pulsar irradiation on the companion surface. In this case, the shape of the heated region can be accounted for only by a highly anisotropic pulsar emission pattern confined (at least in the direction orthogonal to the binary orbital plane) within a surprisingly small angle of $`0.4`$ degrees. Since such a narrow pencil (or highly flattened fan) beam would probably illuminate the COM J1740$``$5340 surface only for a portion of the orbit, the tiny width of the heated region would be preserved if the cooling time of the irradiated gas is much shorter than the orbital timescale $`1`$ day. Under basic assumptions (as supposing a perfect gas and an atmospheric density of $`10^7`$ g cm-3), we estimate that only a few hundreds seconds are necessary to cool the gas from 10,000 K to 5,500 K.

Finally we note that the occurrence of highly anisotropic pulsar emission would explain why irradiation does not leave any detectable imprint on the photometric curves of COM J1740$``$5340 presented by Orosz & van Kerkwijk (2003) and by Kaluzny et al. (2003), without the need for invoking any reduction of the intrinsic spin period derivative $`\dot{P}`$ of PSR J1740$``$5340 with respect to the value calculated using radio timing data (D’Amico et al. 2001b).

We thank the referee Peter Edmonds for his helpful suggestions, which improved the presentation. Financial support to this research has been provided by the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) and the Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (MIUR). FC is supported by the US NSF and NASA.