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# Atomic structure and electronic properties of the cleavage InAs(110) surface

## I Introduction

Low-dimensional quantum structures have shown to have unique optical and electronic properties, being important in the fabrication of new opto-electronic devices opto . III-V semiconductor compounds have demonstrated to be important in the development of new light emitters and detectors. In particular, Indium compounds, like InAs and InSb, are good infrared detectors due to their small bulk-band gap. Most of modern opto-electronic devices are fabricated growing monoatomic layers on a semiconductor substrate using epitaxial techniques. The epitaxial growth depends on the ambient conditions as well as in the atomic and electronic properties of the surface of the substrate. Therefore, the continuous development of semiconductor heterostructures and other structures at the nanometer scale, makes evident the need for a detailed theoretical and experimental understanding of semiconductor surfaces.

A lot of theoretical work has been done to determine the electronic properties of Gallium compounds, and their surfaces GaAs . On the other hand, only a few attempts have been made to characterize the InAs surfaces. The (110) surface is the natural cleavage of zincblende crystals, and it is a non-polar surface which contains equal number of cations and anions in its unit cell, showing a partly ionic bonding. In this work, we are interested in the InAs(110) surface.

Most of the theoretical alves ; Mail ; beres ; engels ; anatoli  studies about InAs(110) do not provide a way for directly compare with experiments and1 ; and2 ; SwanO ; Swan ; leed ; leed1 ; richter ; carstensen ; Drube ; gudat ; laar . Furthermore, the available experimental measurements are not enough to completely elucidate the atomic structure and electronic properties of InAs(110). For example, Andersson and collaborators and1  found the energies of occupied-surface states at high-symmetry points using photoemission techniques. Six years later, the same group measured again the occupied-surface states at the same high-symmetry points and2 , founding a systematic shift of energy of $`0.15`$ eV with their previous measurements and1 . Independently, Swantson et al. Swan  also measured the energies of occupied-surface states at high-symmetry points and they found differences up to 0.5 eV with those reported by Andersson and collaborators and1 ; and2 . In general, the interpretation of photoemission spectra has been difficult to do because of the small bulk-band gap of InAs.

Theoretically, the electronic structure and atomic positions of InAs(110) were calculated using a quantum-molecular dynamics Mail  based in a semi-empirical tight-binding (TB) approach. Almost a decade latter, an ab initio quantum-molecular dynamics alves  was performed. The reported atomic structure and electronic surface states differ between TB and ab initio calculations, and also differ with the available experimental measurements. This fact is because the semi-empirical calculations were performed using an atomic reconstruction that was not fully relaxed, while ab initio calculations were performed using a DFT-LDA with a plane-wave basis set that depend on the cut-off energy to get accurate surface states, and present systematic errors to determine the precise electronic energy levels. In summary, there is no a consensus on the physical properties of the InAs(110) surface.

In this work, we present the electronic structure of InAs(110) employing a semi-empirical TB formalism noguez ; Vogl  and using the atomic coordinates obtained from ab initio quantum-molecular dynamics alves . The use of the fully relaxed slab coordinates guarantees that the calculated electronic properties include all the subtle effects of surface-induced strain and appropriate geometry. The TB approach allows us to analyze in detail the electronic structure and compare our calculations with available experimental data. Our calculated surface electronic band structure is very similar to that calculated by Shkrebtii and collaborators anatoli , however, in that work they focused to study the electronic properties of the adsorption of antimony on III-V(110) surfaces, and only a rough analysis of the clean InAs(110) surface was done, and a comparison with experiments and theoretical results was not done.

## II Theoretical method

The III-V(110) semiconductor surfaces relax in such a way that the surface cation atom moves inwards the surface into an approximately planar configuration, with a threefold coordination with its first-neighbors anion atoms. The topmost anion atom moves outward to the surface, showing a pyramidal configuration with its three first-neighbors cation atoms GaAs ; godin . The geometric parameters that describe the relaxation of the surface atoms of III-V(110) semiconductor surfaces, scale linearly with the bulk lattice constant godin . In particular, Alves et al. found alves  that for the InAs(110) surface the pyramidal angle at the anion, labeled by $`\alpha `$, is $`90^{}`$, the in-plane angle $`\beta `$ has values close to the tetrahedral bond angle $`109.47^{}`$, and the planar angle at the cation, labeled by $`\gamma `$, is $`120^{}`$. For the ideal surface the values for $`\alpha `$, $`\beta `$ and $`\gamma `$ correspond to those angles of tetrahedral bonds, $`109.47^{}`$.

The relaxed InAs(110) surface is shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 1 (a) we show the top view of a surface unit cell that contains one In atom (cation), and one As atom (anion) per atomic layer. The open circles correspond to As atoms while black circles show In atoms. The parameter $`a_0`$ is the bulk lattice constant and $`d_0=a_0/2\sqrt{2}`$. In Fig. 1 (b) we show a side view with only the three outermost atomic layers of the slab. Here, we define the structural parameters associated to the surface relaxation whose values are given in Table 1. In Fig. 1 (c) we show the corresponding Two-Dimensional Irreducible Brillouin Zone (2DIBZ).

In our calculations, the non-polar InAs (110) surface was modeled using a slab of 50 atoms, yielding a free reconstructed surface on each face of the slab. The thickness of the slab is large enough to decouple the surface states at the top and bottom surfaces of the slab. Periodic boundary conditions were employed parallel to the surface of the slab to effectively model an infinite two-dimensional crystal system. The atomic coordinates were taken from Ref. 3, and are given in Table 1. We have performed calculations with all the structural parameters in Table 1, however, those corresponding to the Density Functional Theory alves  (DFT) with an energy cutoff of 18 Ry are the ones that best resemble the available experimental data and1 ; and2 ; SwanO ; Swan ; leed ; leed1 ; richter ; carstensen ; Drube ; gudat ; laar . We calculate the electronic level structure of the slab using a well known parameterized TB approach with a sp3s orbital-like basis, within a first-neighbor interaction approach Vogl . This wave function basis provides a good description of the valence and conduction bands of cubic semiconductors. This TB approximation has been applied to calculate the electronic and optical properties of a variety of semiconductor surfaces, including other III-V compounds noguez2 . The TB parameters are taken to be the same as those of Vogl Vogl  for the bulk but they are scaled by a factor of $`(D/d)^2`$, where $`d`$ is the bond length of any two first-neighbor atoms, and $`D=\sqrt{3}a_0/4`$harrison  These changes to the original bulk parameters provide an excellent description of the electronic structure, as compared to experimental measurements.

The atomic structure of the surface region is intimately related to its electronic structure. Experimentally, the electronic structure can be determined by means of electron spectroscopies like photoemission (PE), inverse photoemission (IPE), and Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS). These techniques are sensitive to the surface’s features and electronic properties due to reconstructions or adsorption events. We present in Section III the surface electronic band structure and the local density of electronic states of the reconstructed or relaxed InAs(110) surface.

## III Results

We show the surface electronic band structure along high-symmetry points of the 2DIBZ of the reconstructed InAs(110) surface in Fig. 2. The projected bulk electronic states are shown in tiny black dots, while the surface electronic states are shown in large black dots. The calculated Fermi energy level, $`\mathrm{E}_\mathrm{F}`$, is at 1.1 eV above the Valence-Band-Maximum (VBM), while the Minimum of the Conduction Band (MBC) is at $`E=0.6`$ eV from the VBM at the high-symmetry point $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$. We denote the surface electronic states using the labels $`A_i`$ and $`C_i`$ associated to the surface anions and cations, respectively, as introduced by Chelikowsky and Cohenchel .

Below the VBM we found four well-defined occupied surface electronic states denoted by $`A_5`$, $`A_3`$, $`A_2`$ and $`C_2`$. The $`A_5`$ surface states correspond to the dangling bonds of the As atoms located at the first atomic layer. The $`A_5`$ states form a band from the high-symmetry point X to the point $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$, going through the high-symmetry point M in the 2DIBZ. This band has a minimum at X with an energy of -1.20 eV and disperse upwards towards the $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ point. From X, the band also disperse upwards towards the M point, where the $`A_5`$ surface states have an energy of about -0.8 eV. From M to X, this band disperses into the projected bulk band. The $`A_5`$ band shows a small dispersion around M given rise to a large contribution on the Local Density of States (LDOS) of the first layer at an energy of about -1 eV, as shown in Fig. 3.

The $`A_3`$ surface electronic states are at a lower energy than $`A_5`$. The $`A_3`$ states are due to the backbonds between the anions localized in the first atomic layer and the cations in the second layer. The $`A_3`$ band has a minimum in the X high-symmetry point with an energy of -2.8 eV from the VBM. The band reaches its maximum at $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$ with an energy of -1.6 eV from the VBM. The band shows a dispersion of 1.2 eV, however, around X and M the band is almost flat, contributing to a large density of states in the first and the second layers at energies of about -2.8 eV and -2.5 eV, respectively. This can be observed on the LDOS in Fig. 3, where two peaks are found at these energies in the panels showing the LDOS in the first and the second layers.

We found surface states with an energy of about $`6.0`$ eV at the high-symmetry point X, that form a band denoted by $`C_2`$. This band shows a large dispersion of about 2.5 eV, where the minimum of the band is at M with an energy of -6.3 eV, and its maximum is around $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$ with an energy of -3.8 eV. These surface states are located at the cation (In) atoms and are due to the bonding between the In and As atoms at the top layer. From X to M, the band shows a small dispersion which is reflected in the LDOS where a large contribution is found at about -6.2 eV in the panel showing the projected LDOS in the first layer in Fig. 3. From M to $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$, the $`C_2`$ band disperses upwards of about 2.5 eV given rise to a small contribution to the LDOS as shown in Fig. 3.

At lower energies we found another occupied surface electronic band denoted by $`A_2`$ which extends almost along all the high-symmetry points in the 2DIBZ. These surface states are located in the anion (As) atoms, and have a $`s`$ character due to the backbonds between the atoms at the first and second layers, and some contribution is also found from the backbonds between the atoms in the second and third layers. From $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ to M going along X, the band does not show dispersion and is at -10.2 eV. From M to $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ going along $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$, the band has a dispersion of about 1 eV, showing a minimum around $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$.

We have also found several localized states at $`X`$ between $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ and $`M`$ with an energy from -2 eV to -1 eV. These states are inside the projected bulk band, therefore, they are resonance-like states. These resonance states, denoted by $`A_4`$, disperse upwards from $`X`$ towards both, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ and $`M`$. Most of the $`A_4`$ states have a $`p`$-character, and are localized at the anion in the first atomic layer. The $`A_4`$ states with lower energy, between -1.9 eV and -2.0 eV, show also a $`s`$ character and are localized at the third layer.

Above the VBM we found two unoccupied surface states bands, namely, $`C_3`$ and $`C_4`$. The $`C_3`$ surface states are localized at the cations in the first and third atomic layers. They show a strong $`p`$ character due to the dangling bonds at cations. At X, we found that $`C_3`$ has a maximum with an energy of about 2 eV, and has its minimum value between M and $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$ with a energy of about 1.4 eV. Finally, at 2.7 eV from VBM we found empty surface states that form a band along all the high symmetry points in the 2DIBZ. This band is denoted by $`C_4`$, and show a very small dispersion along the 2DIBZ.

## IV Discussion

In this section we discuss our results, and compare with available experimental measurements and1 ; and2 ; SwanO ; Swan ; leed ; leed1 ; richter ; carstensen ; Drube ; gudat ; laar  and theoretical calculations alves ; Mail ; beres ; engels ; anatoli . The electronic properties of InAs(110) have been investigated previously using experimental techniques like photoemission (PE) and1 ; and2 ; SwanO ; Swan ; richter ; carstensen  and inverse photoemission (IPE) carstensen ; Drube ; gudat ; laar  spectroscopies. We found no agreement between experimental measurements because they present difficulties to identify the position of the VBM or $`\mathrm{E}_\mathrm{F}`$, and the employed samples are quite different. Furthermore, photoemission measurements are difficult to interpret since emissions from surface states are usually hidden by emissions from bulk states in InAs surfaces, due to the small bulk-band gap.

On the other hand, theoretical calculations have been performed from ab initio alves  and semi-empirical TB Mail ; beres ; engels ; anatoli  methods. We summarize our results and some of the experimental and theoretical data in Table 2, where we show the energy values at high symmetry points in 2DIBZ of the surface electronic states denoted by $`A_5`$, $`A_3`$, $`A_4`$ and $`C_2`$. The first column shows our results, the next three columns show experimental measurements obtained by PE and1 ; and2 ; Swan , and the last two columns show theoretical results alves ; Mail . The values in Table 2 are those reported in the corresponding reference, or they have been estimated from the figures in each reference, then errors of about 0.1 eV in the estimated values are expected.

Alves et al. alves  performed an ab initio calculation based in the Density Functional Theory (DFT) within the Local Density Approximation (LDA), where many-body effects were not taken into account. They considered slabs of only eight atomic layers (16 atoms), and the employed plane-wave basis set was expanded up to an energy cutoff of 8 and 18 Ry. They reported results for the equilibrium atomic structure and the electronic band structure. It is known that the equilibrium atomic geometries can be found with good accuracy, but underestimation and/or overestimation of electronic states is always present in DFT-LDA calculations due to the approximations employed, for example, usually DFT neglects many-body effects mb1 . Furthermore, plane-wave basis expansions always present convergence problems to find localized states. Therefore, the comparison of the surface states from ab initio calculations alves  with semi-empirical results and PE measurements always presents deviations up to $`\pm `$1 eV. We also compare our results with semi-empirical TB calculations done by Mailhiot et al. Mail . These TB calculations employed a theoretical method similar to the one used here but with different atomic positions, that were not fully relaxed.

Both theoretical calculations alves ; Mail  found an empty surface state $`C_3`$ and was identified with dangling bond states at cations. While the DFT calculation alves  found that $`C_3`$ has a minimum at X, we obtained a maximum at the same symmetry point in agreement with other semi-empirical calculations Mail ; beres ; engels ; anatoli . DFT calculations reported an upwards dispersion from X of about 1.4 eV, while we found a downwards dispersion from X of about 0.6 eV. This discrepancy between DFT and semiempirical calculations is expected since DFT uses a small basis set that can not reproduce conduction states, while semiempirical calculations with an extended basis set can do. The $`C_3`$ surface states have been measured by using inverse photoemission carstensen ; Drube ; gudat ; laar  but only at the X high-symmetry point. The experimental measurements assigned an energy between 1.7 eV and 1.9 eV at X, and evidence of an upwards dispersion from this point have been observed carstensen  in agreement with our calculations. However, a more detailed experimental analysis is necessary to conclude more about empty states.

The occupied surface states denoted by $`A_5`$, $`A_3`$, and $`C_2`$, were also calculated in Refs. 3 and 4. Both calculations identified the $`A_5`$ surface states with the dangling bond states in the anion atoms, in agreement with our results. The $`A_5`$ surface state found using a first-principles method alves  is shift 0.3 eV in average, above the experimental value and2  and our calculation. Experimentally and2 , the $`A_5`$ surface state has a dispersion of about 0.15 eV from X to $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$ through M, while we calculate a dispersion of 0.5 eV, similar to the one obtained using DFT alves . The surface states denoted by $`A_4`$ have been also observed experimentally and1 ; and2 , and calculated by Mailhiot et alMail . Like for the $`A_5`$ states, we can not identify $`A_4`$ states at the $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$ point. PE measurements showed that these states have a dispersion of about 0.55 eV from X to to $`\mathrm{X}^{}`$ through M, which is in agreement with our calculated value of 0.5 eV, while Mailhiot et alMail  found a smaller dispersion of 0.2 eV, and this value was not calculated using DFT alves . Previous semiempirical results Mail  also found the occupied states labeled by $`A_4`$, however, these surface states were not well identified since in their calculations the $`A_4`$ states show a very similar dispersion than the $`A_5`$ states. In general, the $`A_4`$ are resonant states and they are difficult to calculate, specially if a plane-wave basis is used as the DFT calculations discussed here alves . Below $`A_4`$, it has been observed other resonant states denoted by $`A_3`$, using PE and2 . The reported data for $`A_3`$ is quite different from our calculations and previous TB calculations Mail , maybe because the identification of these states is not clear experimentally and1 ; and2 . On the other hand, the $`C_2`$ states can be experimentally identified since they are in a gap, except at the X point where they disperse into the projected bulk states.

## V Summary

We performed a TB calculation using a fully relaxed atomic geometry to study the electronic structure of the clean InAs(110) surface. A very detailed analysis was done, and a good agreement between our calculations and some experimental data was found. In conclusion, we found that fully relaxed atomic positions from ab initio methods in combination with our semi-empirical tight-binding calculation, better resembles photoemission measurement of cleaveage InAs(110) samples. Although the agreement between our results and other theoretical and experimental data is good, we conclude that more experimental studies are necessary to clearly elucidate the atomic relaxation and the electronic properties of InAs(110).

###### Acknowledgements.

We acknowledge the partial financial support from DGAPA-UNAM grant No. IN104201, CONACyT grants No. 36651-E and 36764-E.


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# TIME VARIATION OF FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS AS A PROBE OF NEW PHYSICS

## 1 Introduction

There has recently been reported evidence for a possible time variation of the fine structure constant on cosmological time scales . Such variations are not surprising in any theoretical framework for the unification of basic forces involving extra dimensions or in which dimensionless couplings are related to the expectation values of scalar fields. However, the variation of $`\alpha `$ is likely to be correlated with the variations in other fundamental quantities, such as other gauge and Yukawa couplings, and the ratios of such dimensionful scales as the unification and electroweak or supersymmetry-breaking scales, or the unification and gravity scales. Thus, the observation of such variations is a powerful probe of the underlying physics. I briefly summarize111Presented at the Dirac Centennial Symposium, Florida State University, Tallahassee, December 2002. relevant issues and describe an analysis and parametrization of these effects done in collaboration with Matt Strassler and Gino Segrè .

## 2 Theoretical motivations

There have been speculations going back to the pioneering work of Dirac in 1937 that the fundamental “constants” of nature may vary in time . From a modern perspective, time-variation is not surprising. For example, in superstring theories and many brane-world scenarios, couplings are associated with moduli (scalar fields), which could be time-varying. In fact, time variation could be expected in any theory in which some or all of the couplings are associated with the expectation values of scalar fields , provided that they vary on cosmological time scales. In the standard model, for example, masses are proportional to the expectation value of the Higgs field. Gauge and Yukawa couplings can similarly be associated with the expectation values of scalar fields that occur in higher-dimensional operators.

As a simple example, suppose there is a higher-dimensional operator coupling a scalar $`\varphi `$ to the electromagnetic tensor $`F_{\mu \nu }`$,

$$_{\mathrm{elm}}\frac{1}{4}\left[1+\frac{\lambda \varphi }{M_{\mathrm{PL}}}\right]F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }+\mathrm{},$$
(1)
where $`\lambda `$ is dimensionless and $`M_{\mathrm{PL}}`$ is the Planck scale. It is useful to then replace $`A_\mu `$ by $`A_\mu ^{}`$, where

$$A_\mu =A_\mu ^{}\left(1\frac{\lambda \varphi }{2M_{\mathrm{PL}}}\right),$$
(2)
so that $`A_\mu ^{}`$ has a canonical kinetic energy. The couplings of charged particles to $`A_\mu ^{}`$ will then be canonical in terms of a rescaled electric charge $`e^{}`$, related by

$$e=e^{}\left(1+\frac{\lambda \varphi }{2M_{\mathrm{PL}}}\right).$$
(3)
$`e^{}`$ is universal, i.e., the rescaling is the same for all charged particles. If $`\varphi `$ were a constant classical field, then the effects of these rescalings would be unobservable. However, if $`\varphi `$ varies with time or in space, the effective electric charge $`e^{}`$ would also vary. For example, if $`\varphi `$ is time dependent, it would satisfy

$$\ddot{\varphi }+3H\dot{\varphi }+\frac{V}{\varphi }=0,$$
(4)
where $`H`$ is the Hubble expansion rate and $`V`$ is the scalar potential. $`\varphi `$ could be associated with a field introduced for other purposes, e.g., quintessence , or it might have no other cosmological significance (i.e., $`\varphi `$ might or might not contribute significantly to $`H`$).

In addition to the time/space varation, there would be new operators associated with the derivatives of $`\varphi `$ , which are usually assumed to be small for small variations222Bekenstein has recently argued that they might in fact be relevant to the Webb et al. observations .. There would also be new long-range forces coupling to electromagnetic energy density mediated by the quantum of $`\varphi `$. These would violate the equivalence principle and could lead to strong but model-dependent bounds .

One objection to the notion of time varying couplings is that in many frameworks the natural scale for the rate of variation of, e.g., the fine structure constant $`\alpha `$, might be expected to be

$$\dot{\alpha }/\alpha M_{\mathrm{PL}}10^{+43}s^1,$$
(5)
while any actual variation is clearly very much smaller than this333This is reminiscent of the flatness problem, expressed as the statement that the natural time scale for the evolution of the universe is $`1/M_{\mathrm{PL}}`$ rather than 1.4 $`\times 10^{10}`$ yr.. For example, the Webb et al. results suggest

$$\dot{\alpha }/\alpha 10^{15}yr^110^{66}M_{\mathrm{PL}}.$$
(6)
It is tempting to assume that since $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha `$ is so small compared to its natural scale it must be exactly zero or at least unobservably small for some reason. However, it is worth considering an analogy with the cosmological constant: in most frameworks the natural scale for the vacuum energy density, related to the cosmological constant by $`\rho _{\mathrm{vac}}=\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{cosm}}/8\pi G_N`$, is $`\rho _{\mathrm{vac}}M_{\mathrm{PL}}^4`$. Most people assumed that since $`\rho _{\mathrm{vac}}`$ is so much smaller than this, there must be some principle to ensure $`\rho _{\mathrm{vac}}=0`$. Recently, however, the Type IA supernova and CMB data have independently indicated that

$$\rho _{\mathrm{vac}}10^{124}M_{\mathrm{PL}}^40.$$
(7)
(The observed dark energy may not be a true cosmological constant. It could be a time-varying quantity such as quintessence. For the purposes of this remark it does not make any difference.)

If $`\alpha `$ does vary with time, then it is likely that other fundamental constants, such as other gauge couplings $`\alpha _i`$, Yukawa couplings $`h`$, the electroweak scale $`v`$, and the Newton constant $`G_N=1/M_{\mathrm{PL}}^2`$ also vary444I will take the view that only dimensionless couplings and ratios of mass scales are physically meaningful, and that quantities such as $`\mathrm{}`$ and $`c`$ are derived quantities rather than fundamental. In that case, they can be taken to be fixed at unity. For a debate on such matters, see . in a correlated way . The relation of these quantities is presumably specified in any complete unified description of nature, though the form of the relations depends on the theory. One should therefore allow for the possibility that other quantities are varying when interpreting the observational data. Observations (or non-observations) of time or space variations can therefore be viewed as a probe of the underlying physics and how the various quantitites are related.

## 3 Search for varying $`\alpha `$

Webb et al.  have studied the absorption of light from background quasars by molecular clouds in the redshift range $`0.5<z<3.5`$. They apply a new “many multiplet” method to simultaneously study many relativistic (i.e., $`O(\alpha ^2,\alpha ^4)`$) splittings, obtaining evidence for an increase in $`\alpha `$,

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }\frac{\alpha _z\alpha }{\alpha }=(0.72\pm 0.18)\times 10^5,$$
(8)
where $`\alpha _z(\alpha )`$ refers to the fine structure constant at redshift $`z`$ (at present). This would correspond to $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha 10^{15}/`$yr for $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha =`$ constant. Using a different method, Bahcall et al.  find a result consistent with no variation, though with lower precision, $`\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }=(2\pm 1.2)\times 10^4`$, for the redshift range 0.16-0.80. Similarly, Cowie and Songaila  constrain $`X\alpha ^2g_pm_e/M_p`$, where the proton magnetic moment is $`eg_p/2M_p`$, from the 21 cm hyperfine line in hydrogen at $`z1.8`$, and Potekhin et al.  limit $`YM_p/m_e`$ from molecular hydrogen clouds at $`z=2.81`$:

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }X}{X}=(0.7\pm 1.1)\times 10^5,\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }Y}{Y}=(8.3_{5.0}^{+6.6})\times 10^5.$$
(9)
There are also stringent laboratory limits555 Laboratory limits are reviewed in detail in . For example, Prestage et al. obtain  $`|\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }|<1.4\times 10^{14}`$ over 140 days, corresponding to $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha <3.7\times 10^{14}/`$yr if constant. More recently, Sortais et al. obtained  $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha <(4.2\pm 6.9)\times 10^{15}/`$yr. Laboratory techniques may ultimately be sensitive to $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha <10^{18}/T`$, where $`T`$ is the running time .

A very stringent limit comes from the OKLO natural reactor . In particular, the $`{}_{}{}^{149}Sm/^{147}Sm`$ ratio is depleted by the capture of thermal neutrons,

$$n+^{149}Sm^{150}Sm+\gamma .$$
(10)
The cross section is dominated by a very low energy resonance, involving an almost exact cancellation between Coulomb and strong effects. Thus, even a small change in $`\alpha `$ could be significant. This was analyzed by Damour and Dyson  who found that $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha `$ is bounded to be between $`6.7\times 10^{17}/`$yr and $`+5.0\times 10^{17}/`$yr, and by Fujii et al. , who obtained $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha =(0.2\pm 0.8)\times 10^{17}/`$yr, both over $`2\times 10^9`$ yr. This is a very stringent result, but does not directly contradict (8) because the latter refers to an earlier time period (around $`(611)\times 10^9`$ yr ago). Furthermore, only the possible variation in $`\alpha `$ was considered in . It is conceivable that the effects of varying $`\alpha `$ could have been cancelled by a change in the strong interaction strength, $`\alpha _s`$.

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, which occurred for redshift $`10^910^{10}`$, implies  that $`\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }<O(10^2)`$, assuming that only $`\alpha `$ varies. This is weak compared with (8) if $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha `$ is constant in time, but could conceivably be important if there were significantly enhanced effects at large redshift.

CMB results may eventually be able to constrain $`\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }`$ at the $`10^210^3`$ level for $`z1000`$ from their effects on the ionization history of the Universe .

## 4 Correlations with $`\alpha _s,h,v,G_N,\mathrm{}`$

If $`\alpha `$ varies with time, it is likely that other fundamental constants do also. The correlations of their time dependences would be a probe of the underlying theory of particle physics .

For example, the observed low energy gauge couplings are consistent with the unification of the running gauge couplings at a scale $`M_G3\times 10^{16}`$ GeV, predicted in simple supersymmetric grand unification :

$$\frac{1}{\alpha _i(M_Z)}=\frac{1}{\alpha _G}+b_it_G$$
(11)
where $`\alpha _i,i=1,2,3`$ are the gauge couplings associated with $`U(1)\times SU(2)\times SU(3)`$, $`t_G=\frac{1}{2\pi }\mathrm{ln}\frac{M_G}{M_Z}5.32`$, $`\alpha _G^123.3`$ is the inverse of the common coupling at the unification scale, and the $`b_i`$ are the beta function coefficients. In the MSSM, $`b_i=(\frac{33}{5},1,3).`$ The (running) electromagnetic fine structure constant is related by $`\alpha ^1=\frac{5}{3}\alpha _1^1+\alpha _2^1127.9`$, where all three couplings are evaluated at $`M_Z`$. If gauge unification holds, either in the simple MSSM framework or something similar, then it is likely that all three gauge couplings will vary simultaneously .

The simplest possibility is that the dominant effect is a time variation in $`\alpha _G^1`$. In that case, it is straightforward to show  that the strong coupling $`\alpha _s=\alpha _3`$ has a magnified variation,

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha _S}{\alpha _S}\frac{3}{8}\frac{\alpha _S}{\alpha }\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }5.8\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }$$
(12)
where $`\alpha _s`$ is evaluated at $`M_Z`$ and we ignore the difference in the relative variation of $`\alpha `$ between scales 0 and $`M_Z`$. There is an even stronger variation in the QCD scale $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{QCD}}`$, at which $`\alpha _s`$ becomes strong,

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{\Lambda }_{QCD}}{\mathrm{\Lambda }_{QCD}}34\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha },$$
(13)
which is around $`25\times 10^5`$ for the Webb et al. value (8). This has a theoretical uncertainty (given the assumptions) of around 20%. Most hadronic mass scales (with the exception of the pion mass) are approximately proportional to $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{QCD}}`$, so they are expected to have the same relative variation.

It is also reasonable to consider a variation in the electroweak scale $`v246`$ GeV (which sets the scale for $`M_Z=g_Wv`$, where $`\alpha _W=g_W^2/4\pi =3\alpha _1/5+\alpha _2`$ ), or more precisely in the ratio of $`v`$ to the unification scale $`M_G`$ . (Only dimensionless ratios of mass scales are physically relevant, so we are implicitly measuring all masses with respect to $`M_G`$.) In  we define the phenomenological parameter $`\kappa `$ by

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }v}{v}\kappa \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha },$$
(14)
which implies that

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha _S}{\alpha _S}}`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{3}{8}}{\displaystyle \frac{\alpha _S}{\alpha }}\left(1{\displaystyle \frac{10\alpha }{\pi }}\kappa \right){\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }}`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\mathrm{\Lambda }_{QCD}}{\mathrm{\Lambda }_{QCD}}}`$ $``$ $`34\left(1+0.005\kappa \right){\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }}.`$ (15)
These corrections are small for $`\kappa `$ of order unity, but important for larger $`\kappa `$. In fact, it is shown in  that $`\kappa 70`$ in theories in which $`v`$ is tied to the scale of soft supersymmetry breaking, and in which supersymmetry breaking occurs in a hidden sector at a scale in which a (unified) gauge coupling becomes strong! Even in this case, the correction to the $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{QCD}}`$ variation is only a factor of 1.35.

It is useful to introduce phenomenological parameters for the variation of other fundamental “constants”. In particular, the variation of the Yukawa coupling $`h_a`$ for fermion $`a`$ (so that its Higgs-generated mass is $`m_a=h_av`$) is parametrized as666The effects of the running of $`h_a`$ are described in .

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }h_a}{h_a}\lambda _a\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }.$$
(16)
Similarly, the variation of the Planck scale $`M_{\mathrm{PL}}=G_N^{1/2}`$ (again, only the ratio of $`M_{\mathrm{PL}}`$ to other masss scales is relevant) is parametrized as

$$\frac{\mathrm{\Delta }M_{\mathrm{PL}}}{M_{\mathrm{PL}}}\rho \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }.$$
(17)
The possible variation of various observables can be expressed in terms of these parameters, and their values can in principle be computed in any complete fundamental theory, allowing for a more general treatment of time variation777It was argued in  that a variation in $`\alpha `$ would upset the fine-tuned cancellations of radiative corrections to the cosmological constant with other contributions, with enormous effect. We take the view that such arguments are not conclusive given our lack of understanding of why $`\mathrm{\Lambda }_{\mathrm{cosm}}`$ is so small.. For example, for the quantities defined before (9) one predicts888We ignore possible variations in $`g_p`$ because it is well described in the constituent quark model, where it is a Clebsch-Gordan coefficient. the variations ,

$`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }X}{X}}`$ $``$ $`\left(32+\lambda +0.8\kappa \right){\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }}(23\pm 6)\times 10^5`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }Y}{Y}}`$ $``$ $`\left(34\lambda 0.8\kappa \right){\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Delta }\alpha }{\alpha }}(24\pm 6)\times 10^5,`$ (18)
where I have assumed a common value $`\lambda `$ for all the Yukawa factors $`\lambda _a`$, and the numerical values are evaluated using $`\lambda =\kappa =0`$ and the Webb et al. value (8). These are to be compared with the experimental results in (9). Clearly, within this framework the observational results in (8) and (9) are consistent only if there is a delicate cancellation of effects, with $`\lambda +0.8\kappa 32`$. Other applications, including big bang nucleosynthesis, the OKLO reactor constraints, and the triple $`\alpha `$ process, are considered in .

## 5 Conclusions

* Time (or space) variation of fundamental “constants” is plausible in any theory in which they are dependent on the sizes or properties of extra dimensions, or on other scalar fields.
* The natural scale for such variations in many framewroks is $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha M_{\mathrm{PL}}10^{43}/s,`$ which is very much larger than what is allowed by observations. However, it is at least possible that the true variations are nonzero but very small for some reason, just as the vacuum energy is much smaller than the natural scale of $`M_{\mathrm{PL}}^4`$.
* Webb et al.  have reported a positive result (8), corresponding to $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha 10^{15}yr^110^{66}M_{\mathrm{PL}}`$ for constant $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha `$.
* If $`\alpha `$ varies, then it is possible that other fundamental quantities, such as the other gauge couplings, Yukawa couplings, or the dimensionless ratios of the electroweak, unification, and gravity scales also vary in a correlated way that depends on the underlying physics. Such variations should be allowed for in analyzing experimental/observational results, and can in principle be a significant probe of the underlying physics.
* The comparison between different classes of observations depends on the time dependence of $`\dot{\alpha }/\alpha `$, which in turn depends on the type of scalar fields involved and their potentials.
* There may be long-ranged forces associated with the time variation .

## Acknowledgments

It is a pleasure to thank the conference organizers for support. Supported in part by Department of Energy grant DOE-EY-76-02-3071.


text:
# Roche Lobe Overflow from Dwarf Stellar Systems.

## 1 Introduction

In the widely adopted cold dark matter (CDM) cosmological models, small objects are the first to form, and larger galaxies form via the merger of dwarf systems (e.g. White & Rees, 1978; Blumenthal et al., 1984; Cole et al., 1994; Klypin, Nolthenius, & Primack, 1997; Navarro, Frenk & White, 1997). The evolution of the smaller building blocks is therefore of great interest for the evolution of larger systems. Because they formed prior to the emergence of normal galaxies, these subsystems are theoretically expected to have greater density than the larger systems, and therefore they are likely to retain their integrity in the halo of large host galaxies, which would imply the existence of many more surviving systems than are observed today (Moore et al., 1999). The lack of small stellar systems around larger host galaxies has been referred to as the “missing satellite” problem (Klypin et al., 1999).

One possible resolution of the problem is that gaseous baryonic matter may have been ejected from the dwarf systems due to massive star formation, which in turn leads to photoionization-driven outflows, stellar winds, and supernovae (Tenorio-Tagle et al., 1986; Efstathiou, 1992; Lin & Murray, 1994; Quinn, Katz, & Efstathiou, 1996; Kepner, Babul, & Spergel, 1997; Navarro & Steinmetz, 1997; Weinberg, Hernquist & Katz, 1997; Barkana & Loeb, 1999; Benson et al., 2002; Dong, Murray, & Lin, 2003; Dekel & Silk, 1986; Mac Low & McCray, 1988; Madau, Ferrara, & Rees, 2001; Mori, Ferrara, & Madau, 2002). Once segregated, the ordinary matter continues to its dissipational infall, while the dark matter components form a lumpy halo in the potential of the large galaxy (Weil, Eke & Efstathiou, 1998; Sommer-Larsen, Gelato, & Vedel, 1999). If the mass loss is driven by bursts of star formation, a small amount of residual ordinary matter, which has already been converted into stars, would remain with the clumpy dark matter subsystems.

In the halo of the Galaxy, several dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are found in the form of diffuse patches of stellar light (Hodge, 1971) embedded in dark matter haloes (Aaronson 1983; Faber & Lin 1983). It is natural to identify these with the remnant subsystems, i.e. the theoretical building blocks of large host galaxies in the CDM scenario (Mateo, 1996; Klypin et al., 1999; Moore et al., 1999), because they have similar total mass ($`10^{78}M_{}`$). There are, however, significant differences. Both the small (few km s-1) velocity dispersions, and the inferred dynamical density of the observed dwarf galaxies are smaller than those postulated in the CDM models. Also, the spread in the observed amount of luminous matter (and hence the mass to light ratio) in the dSphs is much larger than that in their total mass (Mateo, 1998).

Some of the above differences may be due to evolution. The dSphs are found to have a wide range of star-formation and enrichment histories, with few clear trends (Mateo, 1998; Grebel, 2001; Harbeck et al., 2001). All contain populations of old stars of varying sizes, and ages exceeding 10 Gyr. In addition, some show histories of continuous star formation, many others show evidence of bursts of star formation separated widely in time, and a few show little or no evidence of subsequent star formation. The observed stellar population and the modest mass-to-light ratio of the dSphs are consistent with the hypothesis that a significant fraction of the original baryonic matter may have been ejected from them and other dwarf galaxies as a consequence of earlier epochs of star formation (Gerola, Carnevali, & Salpeter, 1983; van Zee, Skillman, & Salzer, 1998).

In addition to dSphs, the families of low-mass, gas-poor dwarf stellar systems also include dwarf elliptical galaxies, and globular clusters. These groups of objects are quite distinct from each other (Kormendy, 1985). Some of their differences may, however, result from post-formation evolution processes, such as mass loss either prior to or following star formation (see discussion above), or segregation of baryonic and dark matter during star formation (Murray & Lin, 1989). The globular clusters are the low-mass extreme of these families of dwarf stellar systems. Their velocity dispersions are generally more than twice that of the dSphs within the Local Group of galaxies, but less than that of typical dwarf elliptical galaxies within nearby clusters of galaxies. In contrast to the dwarf spheroidal galaxies, all but one or two globular clusters of the Milky Way show evidence for only a single, old stellar population. As in those dwarf galaxies which show little evidence for more than a single generation of star formation, any gas within globular clusters that remained after the initial generation of stars formed must have been lost from within them. Nevertheless, the multiple populations of stars in at least one globular cluster ($`\omega `$ Cen) and several dwarf galaxies indicate that the star formation process may not always be an effective mechanism for decoupling the ordinary and dark matter in these loosely bound stellar systems.

Collectively, the population of the observed dwarf stellar systems falls far below that predicted in the CDM model, and so they alone cannot be the resolution of the “missing satellite” problem. Gravitational lensing observations, however, find preliminary indications of starless dark matter clumps in the halos of nearby galaxies (Metcalf, 2002; Metcalf & Zhao, 2002). If such dark entities dominate the halo structure, then an efficient and severe segregation of ordinary and dark matter, through processes in addition to the violent impact of star formation, is needed. A more quiescent process may therefore also play a significant role in determining the ability of dwarf stellar systems to retain their gas to form multiple generations of stars (Lin & Murray, 1998). We shall address the cause of multiple generations of stars in dwarf spheroidal galaxies in a separate paper.

Several gas dynamical processes may lead to gas removal from stellar systems with shallow potentials. Prior to star formation, gas may be removed by either ram-pressure or Kelvin-Helmholtz instability resulting from motion through the halo gas of a larger system (Lin & Faber, 1983; Murray et al., 1993). The efficiency of gas removal due to either process depends upon the depth of the gravitational potential, and the density of ambient gas. While it is possible that the dwarf galaxies and globular clusters seen today were able to retain sufficient gas to form stars within them because they have deeper potentials than the dark matter-dominated “missing satellites,” the amount of ambient gas in the halo of the large, host galaxies is highly uncertain.

In the halo of the Milky Way and other galaxies, both satellite dwarf galaxies and star clusters are subject to tidal forces. For dSphs, this process occurs following the formation of a nearby, massive galaxy, whereas star clusters form within the potential of a massive system. The tidal forces increase rapidly in significance for smaller orbits around the host galaxy, and can strongly perturb any ionized gas within the satellite stellar systems. The resulting situation is somewhat analogous to that of interacting binary stars (Pringle, 1985), in that the ionized gas in the satellite systems always relaxes, and expands to fill their Roche Lobes. A fraction of the gas continually streams away from the satellite systems through their inner and outer Lagrange points. If the rate of gas loss is substantial, it may limit the ability of dwarf systems to retain gas for subsequent generations of star formation.

In this work, we examine the significance of mass loss from tidally-limited dwarf systems. We begin in Section 2 with an analytic estimate of the rate of mass loss. In Section 3, we examine the results of simple one-dimensional models, and continue with three-dimensional models in Section 4. Our results are summarized and consequences for the evolution of dwarf systems are drawn in Section 5.

## 2 Analytic Determination of Mass Loss Rates

The distance of the L1 and L2 points from the center of the dwarf satellite are given approximately by the Roche radius,

$$R_R=a\left(\frac{M_d}{M_d+M_G}\right)^{\frac{1}{3}}\left[\frac{1e}{(3+e)^{\frac{1}{3}}}\right],$$
(2-1)
for a point-mass parent-galaxy potential (King 1962), and

$$R_R=a\left(\frac{M_d}{M_d+M_G}\right)^{\frac{1}{3}}\left\{\frac{(1e)^2}{[(1+e)^2/2e]\mathrm{ln}[(1+e)/(1e)]+1}\right\}^{\frac{1}{3}},$$
(2-2)
for a logarithmic parent-galaxy potential (Oh & Lin, 1992). In the above expression, $`M_d`$ is the total mass (gas, stars, and dark matter) of the satellite system. The parent galaxy has mass $`M_G`$ inside the orbital semimajor axis $`a`$ of the satellite system. Although the concept of the tidal radius for a satellite with an orbital eccentricity $`e`$ is uncertain and controversial (Innanen, 1979; Allen & Richstone, 1988), it provides a useful fiducial length scale (Oh & Lin, 1992). The above results may be parameterized as

$$R_R=a\left(\frac{1}{\beta }\frac{M_d}{M_d+M_G}\right)^{\frac{1}{3}}$$
(2-3)
where $`\beta `$ is a function of $`e`$. For circular orbits around a point mass potential, $`\beta =3`$, whereas around an isothermal potential, $`\beta =2`$.

The rate of mass loss through the Lagrange points is related to the Roche radius and the sound speed of the gas, $`c_s`$. A full derivation in the context of a low-mass planet orbiting around a main sequence star is given in Gu, Lin & Bodenheimer (2002). For the total loss rate of gas through the L1 and L2 points, the results can be approximated as

$$\dot{M}_g=4\pi \rho _1R_R^2c_sf,$$
(2-4)
where $`\rho _1`$ is the gas density at the Roche radius. The geometrical correction factor, $`f`$, can be approximated by expanding the potential near the Lagrangian point (see 4-4).

If the gas within the dwarf system is isothermal, and the potential of the system is approximated with a Plummer potential (Binney & Tremaine, 1987), then the gas density varies as

$$\rho _g(r)=\rho _0\mathrm{exp}\left[\frac{\left(\varphi (r)\varphi _0\right)}{c_s^2}\right],$$
(2-5)
while

$$\varphi (r)=\frac{GM_d}{\left(R_c^2+r^2\right)^{1/2}},$$
(2-6)
where $`\varphi _0=\varphi (r=0)=GM_d/R_c`$. In the above, $`R_c`$ is the core radius, defining the radius over which the density of gravitating matter is approximately constant. In this potential, the ratio of the gas density at $`R_R`$ to that at the center ($`\rho _0`$) is

$$\frac{\rho (R_R)}{\rho _0}=\mathrm{exp}\left[\frac{\alpha }{(1+x_R^2)^{1/2}}\alpha \right]$$
(2-7)
where $`x_R=R_R/R_c`$, and

$$\alpha \frac{GM_d}{R_cc_s^2}.$$
(2-8)
Even for relatively concentrated systems where $`x_R1`$, the gas density retains a finite value at large radius, albeit $`\rho (R_R)/\rho _0`$ can be very small for cold gas, with large values of $`\alpha `$. For large values of $`\rho (R_R)`$, self-gravity of the gaseous envelope may become important, and the gas shall become a self-gravitating isothermal sphere, resulting in a more rapid decline in density than assumed here.

In response to mass loss, the gas adjusts on a sound crossing time in an attempt to re-establish a density distribution appropriate to hydrostatic equilibrium. Any loss from the system at large radii is therefore continually replenished. This is in contrast to the stars, which diffuse on the much-longer two-body relaxation time scale. Thus, the mass loss rate of the gas, $`\dot{M}_g`$ remains approximately constant prior to any significant reduction in $`M_g`$.

The total mass of isothermal gas within the dwarf system is given by

$$M_g=4\pi _0^{R_R}\rho _g(r)r^2dr=4\pi \rho _cR_c^3_0^{x_R}\mathrm{exp}\left[\frac{\left(\varphi (r)\varphi _0\right)}{c_s^2}\right]dx$$
(2-9)
where $`x=r/R_c`$. For a Plummer potential,

$$M_g=4\pi \rho _0R_c^3_0^{x_R}\mathrm{exp}\left\{\alpha \left[\frac{1}{\left(1+x^2\right)^{1/2}}1\right]\right\}x^2dx.$$
(2-10)
Note that, for sufficiently large $`x_R`$, the dwarf galaxy’s potential can contain an arbitrarily large mass, even in the hot limit where $`\alpha <1`$. But for modest values of either $`x_R`$ or $`R_R`$, the mass of gas within the potential is limited.

Using Equations (2-2), (2-4), and (2-10), and assuming the dwarf satellite to be on a circular orbit of period

$$P=2\pi \left(\frac{a^3}{GM_G}\right)^{\frac{1}{2}},$$
(2-11)
the mass loss time scale becomes

$$\tau _{loss}\frac{M_g}{\dot{M_g}}=\frac{\mathrm{\Gamma }(x_R,\alpha )P}{f},$$
(2-12)
where

$$\mathrm{\Gamma }(x_R,\alpha )\mathrm{exp}\left\{\alpha \left[1\frac{1}{\left(1+x_R^2\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}}\right]\right\}\frac{1}{x_R^3}\left(\frac{\alpha }{x_R\beta }\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\frac{1}{2\pi }_0^{x_R}\mathrm{exp}\left\{\alpha \left[\frac{1}{\left(1+x^2\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}}1\right]\right\}x^2dx$$
(2-13)
gives the number of orbits of the dwarf satellite around the parent system before significant mass loss occurs.

In the limit of cold gas, $`\alpha 1`$ and

$$\tau _{loss}\left(\frac{R_cc_s^2}{GM_d}\right)\mathrm{exp}\left\{\frac{GM_d}{R_cc_s^2}\left[1\frac{1}{\left(1+x_R^2\right)^{1/2}}\right]\right\}\frac{P}{(2\pi \beta )^{1/2}x_R^{7/2}f}P$$
(2-14)
so that over a Hubble time scale, no significant mass loss occurs. But, for $`\alpha <\alpha _1`$, where

$$\frac{1}{\alpha _1}\mathrm{exp}\left[\alpha _1\frac{\alpha _1}{\left(1+x_R^2\right)^{1/2}}\right](2\pi \beta )^{1/2}x_R^{7/2}f,$$
(2-15)
a significant amount of gas is lost within an orbital period.

In Figure 1, we show the variation of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(x_R,\alpha )`$ with $`\alpha `$ (panel A) and with $`\alpha ^{}`$ (panel B) for three values of $`x_R`$, selected to match the values used in the one- and three-dimensional dwarf galaxy models discussed in the next two sections. For these calculations, we choose $`\beta =2`$, corresponding to a circular orbit in an isothermal host-galaxy potential. The quantity $`\alpha ^{}`$ is defined as

$$\alpha ^{}\alpha \left[1\left(1+x_R^2\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}\right],$$
(2-16)
such that $`\alpha ^{}^{1/2}`$ corresponds to the Mach number of the escape speed from the center to the Roche radius.

As can be seen from panel A of Figure 1, and as would be expected from Equations 2-12 and 2-13, the time scale for loss of gas may become extremely short, less than the orbital period, if $`\alpha <\alpha _11015`$. The curves of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(x_R,\alpha )`$ vs. $`\alpha `$ for $`x_R=1,3,`$ and $`9`$ cross each other for large $`\alpha `$. We note, however, from panel B of Figure 1, that for $`\alpha >1`$, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(x_R,\alpha )`$ is a more sensitive function of $`\alpha ^{}`$ than of $`\alpha `$. The critical condition for rapid mass loss, $`\mathrm{\Gamma }(x_R,\alpha )=1`$, occurs when $`\alpha ^{}=\alpha _1^{}510`$, depending on the value of $`x_R`$.

The observed velocity dispersions of dwarf stellar systems, which are indicative of the potential depths, are similar to the sound speed of ionized gas (Mateo, 1998; Pryor & Meylan, 1993). Once the gas in these systems is ionized, either by internal or external sources, it shall have $`\alpha ^{}1`$. In this limit, the results in Figure 1B imply that the ionized gas may be rapidly lost by a continuous, quiescent outflow, thus preventing the formation of subsequent generations of stars. Subsequent stellar generations would form only if gas could be accreted, a possibility which shall be examined in a subsequent paper.

## 3 One-Dimensional Models

In the analytic model presented above, the gas is assumed to be in quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium at all times. Yet, mass loss leads to outflow and a reduction in the residual gas mass which should be treated with a time-dependent dynamical calculation. We examine the time evolution of the gas in dwarf galaxies and star clusters using numerical simulations. In order to compare with the analytic results above, we first carry out a series of one-dimensional dynamical simulations. Using these models, we show the importance of ionization and gas temperature on the rate of tidally induced outflow.

The one-dimensional scheme used was first developed to study star formation and feedback effects in dwarf galaxies (Dong, Murray, & Lin, 2003). It is a 1D Lagrangian code, into which radiative transfer and photoionization are incorporated using a Strömgren shell model. It thus allows us to explore the effects of heating and photoionization by both internal and external UV sources. With a Lagrangian scheme, we also do not need to specify artificial conditions near the boundaries of the computational domain. Gas is allowed to freely flow out of the region.

For the 1D models, the gas experiences the gravity of the dark matter of the dwarf galaxy, as well as an external tidal potential. The dark matter potential of the dwarf galaxy is taken to follow the form found by Burkert (1995), which has been tested to be a slightly better fit to dwarf spheroidal galaxies than the simpler Plummer potential, used in the previous section. The corresponding dark matter density distribution is given by

$$\rho _{DM}=\frac{\rho _cr_0^3}{(r+r_0)(r^2+r_0^2)}.$$
(3-1)
The central density and velocity dispersion of the dwarf galaxies are scaled with a structural length scale $`r_0`$ such that

$$\rho _c=4.5\times 10^2(r_0/\mathrm{kpc})^{2/3}M_{}\mathrm{pc}^3,$$
(3-2)
$$\sigma =17.7(r_0/\mathrm{kpc})^{2/3}\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1,$$
(3-3)
The gravitational potential due to the dark matter within the dwarf galaxy is determined from its density using Poisson’s equation. From equations (2-5) and (2-10), we can determine the density distribution of an isothermal gas in this potential, including its central value $`\rho _0`$. In order to determine the extent of the dwarf galaxy, we also impose an external tidal potential, chosen to follow the form

$$\varphi _{tide}=\varphi _0\left[1+\left(\frac{r}{r_0}\right)^\lambda \right]$$
(3-4)
where $`\varphi _0<0`$. The exact value of $`\lambda `$ is found be to unimportant; in the following calculations, we choose $`\lambda =1`$. We specify the tidal radius $`R_R`$ to be the location where the gradient of the total potential vanishes. One can show that $`R_R/r_0`$ is related to $`\rho _c`$ and $`\varphi _0`$ as

$$\varphi _0=\frac{2\pi G\rho _cr_0^4}{\lambda R_R^2}\left(\frac{R_R}{r_0}\right)\left\{\mathrm{ln}\left(1+\frac{R_R}{r_0}\right)+\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{ln}\left[1+\left(\frac{R_R}{r_0}\right)^2\right]\mathrm{arctan}\left(\frac{R_R}{r_0}\right)\right\}$$
(3-5)
The initial distribution of gas is set up in hydrodynamic equilibrium under the dark matter potential alone. The total mass of gas, $`M_g=qM_{DM}`$, where the ratio of baryonic to dark matter $`q`$ is assumed to be 0.1 in most of our calculations (Mateo, 1998). At the onset of the calculations, both the external potential and extragalactic UV radiation are switched on instantly . The residual gas quickly settles into a quasi-equilibrium after a brief and minor adjustment in the outermost region. Because the gas density is tenuous in this region, this adjustment does not affect the subsequent evolution of the gas.

We assume the gas to be metal-free, so that in the absence of photoionization it would cool to a temperature $`T10^2K`$ (Kang et al., 1990; Lin & Murray, 1992). The temperature of the photoionized gas is taken to be 15,000 K, appropriate for low-metallicity, photoionized gas. The external UV flux $`J_\nu 10^{23}`$ ergs s-1 cm-2 ster-1 Hz-1 at the Lyman limit at low redshift, and $`50`$ times more intense at redshift $`z=3`$ (cf. Haardt & Madau 1996), is sufficient to completely ionize most dSphs, as confirmed by our models. More massive dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs), are, however, partially self-shielded from the external UV, and so they contain a region of neutral residual gas surrounded by ionized gas. Because we are, in this section, primarily interested in the efficiency of photoionization for dEs, the model parameters used here are appropriate to those systems. In the next section, we present the results of some 3-D models for the evolution of fully ionized gas within dSphs.

The properties of the one-dimensional models are shown in Table 1. For each model, we list $`M_d`$, $`r_0`$, the escape speed from the central potential ($`\sigma `$, equivalent to $`GM_d/R_c`$ in the previous section), $`\alpha ^{}`$ for the ionized gas, $`J_\nu `$, the initial baryonic mass fraction ($`M_{gi}/M_d`$), the ratio of the final mass of neutral gas to the initial total gas mass ($`M_{Hf}/M_{gi}`$), the ratio of the initial radius of the sphere of neutral gas to the Roche radius ($`R_R/R_n`$), $`P`$, the computed mass loss timescale for gas ($`\tau _{loss}`$), the ratio of $`\tau _{loss}`$ to $`P`$, and the computed value of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$.

In the standard model (1D-1), $`r_0=1`$ kpc, such that $`\sigma 18`$ km s-1. In this and all other models presented here, we set $`R_R=3r_0`$, so that the dwarf galaxy’s total mass $`M_d5M_0`$ where $`M_0`$ is the total mass within $`r_0`$. In Model 1D-1, the galaxy’s mass (including both dark and gas components) within $`r_0`$ and $`R_R`$ are, respectively, $`M_0=7.2\times 10^7M_{}`$ and $`M_d=3.66\times 10^8M_{}`$.

If the dwarf galaxy has a circular orbit in an isothermal potential of the background host galaxy, with circular speed $`V_c=210`$ km s-1, and mass

$$M_G=5\times 10^{11}(a/50\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c})M_{},$$
(3-6)
the orbital radius $`a`$ is given by Equation (2-3). The orbital period, $`P=1.49(a/50\mathrm{kpc})`$ Gy and $`\beta =2`$. For Models 1D-1, 1D-2, 1D-3, and 1D-4, we adopt $`r_0=1`$ kpc so that $`a=129.1`$ kpc and $`P=3.85`$ Gy. For Model 1D-5, we choose $`r_0=1.35`$ kpc, such that $`a=182.6`$ kpc and $`P=5.14`$ Gyr.

The evolution of the mass fractions of gas within the tidal radius for the one-dimensional models are shown in Figures 2 and 3. As can be seen in Figure 2, half of the gas mass is lost from Model 1D-1 within 350 Myr, in spite of the fact that $`c_s0.6\sigma `$. This result is consistent with our discussion in the previous section where we showed that a significant fraction of the ionized gas is lost within one galactic orbital period for $`\alpha =(\sigma /c_s)^2<\alpha _110`$. Such rapid outflow of gas would prevent extended and protracted star formation. The ionized gas at the outskirts of the galaxy flows beyond $`R_R`$ with the sound speed ($`10`$ km s-1) of the ionized gas.

In Model 1D-1, $`J_\nu =4\times 10^{23}`$ ergs s-1 cm-2 ster-1 Hz-1, appropriate for redshift $`z=1`$. In this model, a small amount, $`M_{Hf}`$, of the residual gas remains in a neutral state at the center of the galaxy, surrounded by ionized gas at an interface of radius $`R_n`$. In Figure 4 are shown snapshots of the densities of the neutral and ionized gas, $`\rho _n`$ and $`\rho _i`$ for the first four one-dimensional models, as a function of radius. These results show that, analogously to the Strömgren sphere in an HII region, the ionization front contracts slowly from the outer tenuous to the inner, denser regions of the galaxy, while the ionized gas lost from the outer halo is being continually replenished.

When a quasi-static equilibrium is established, in which the external UV flux is balanced by recombination in the outer ionized envelope, the magnitude of $`\rho _iJ_\nu ^{1/2}`$ (Figure 4), while $`c_s`$ is independent of $`J_\nu `$. We thus expect $`\dot{M}J_\nu ^{1/2}`$. This conjecture is confirmed by Models 1D-2 and 1D-3 which have identical structural parameters as Model 1D-1, but reduced $`J_\nu `$. In these cases, both the mass fraction and radius of the neutral sphere are larger than the standard model. Similar to the standard model, $`\alpha 1<\alpha _1`$ in the ionized envelope and the ionized gas flows from the ionization front at $`R_n`$ to $`R_R`$ in a fraction of the sound crossing time. The density of ionized gas at $`R_R`$ is, however, reduced relative to the standard model, due to the larger masses of cold, neutral gas, with its steeper radial density falloff. The result is a reduction in $`\dot{M}_d`$ relative to the standard model. The actual dependence of $`J_\nu `$ upon redshift remains uncertain, and the values listed in Table 1 are comparable to the values estimated for the present epoch by some authors (Haardt & Madau, 1996; Bechtold et al., 1987; Ostriker & Ikeuchi, 1983).

In Model 1D-4, we increase the ratio, $`q`$, of the baryonic-to-dark matter mass by a factor of two from the standard model. The increased density of baryonic matter enhances self-shielding, and the gas becomes mostly neutral. The gas cools and settles to the center of the galaxy, with a smaller $`R_n`$. The ionization rate across the front is balanced by rapid recombination, making photo-evaporation less efficient. Consequently, the value of $`\rho _i`$ decreases, and the mass loss rate is reduced (Figure 3). In Model 1D-5, we increase $`r_0`$ by a factor of 1.35 but maintain the baryonic fraction at 0.1. In accordance with the Burkert (1995) potential, $`M_d`$ in Model 1D-5 is twice that in Model 1D-1, though the initial gas mass $`M_{gi}`$ is the same as Model 1D-4. With these parameters, gas in the center of the dwarf galaxy is less dense, but the total baryonic mass is greater than in the standard model. Once again, the larger gas reservoir enables a greater fraction of $`M_{gi}`$ to become self-shielded, neutral, cool, and settle to the center of the galaxy, again reducing the mass loss rate relative to the standard model.

We have also computed a case which has identical physical parameters as Model 1D-1, but the galaxy is set in isolation (infinite tidal radius). In this case, the gas adjusts to both ionization and hydrostatic equilibrium with no gas attaining finite outflow velocity. As indicated above, even for the early epochs where $`z`$ and $`J_\nu `$ are large and the gas is fully ionized and hot, these static equilibria can be attained from Equations (2-5) and (2-10) with a sufficiently large $`x_R`$ or equivalently $`R_R`$. The implications of these results will be discussed in § 5.

## 4 Three-Dimensional Models

The one-dimensional models provide the basic description for the underlying ionization, relaxation, and hydrodynamics of the residual gas which regulate the efficiency of its tidally induced outflow. But in reality, the tidal forcing of the host galaxy is non-spherically symmetric about the center of the dwarf galaxy. In order to consider a more realistic tidal potential, we examine the results of some three-dimensional simulations in this section.

### 4.1 Numerical Method

The numerical code we use is Cosmos. It is a massively parallel, multidimensional, radiation-chemo-hydrodynamics code developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The code, and tests of the code are described in Anninos & Fragile (2003), and Anninos, Fragile & Murray (2003). It has also been used to study the evolution of supernova-enriched material in dwarf galaxies by Fragile et al. (2003). The reader is referred to those papers for more details on Cosmos. We discuss here the settings used for the current work.

We wish to examine the evolution of either cool or heated gas within dwarf galaxies and massive star clusters. The one-dimensional models discussed above include the effects of heating, cooling, and ionization of the gas and show that the gas dynamics is primarily determined by its temperature and more indirectly by the state of ionization. For the three-dimensional models, the inclusion of ionization and recombination of the gas would only reduce the controlled nature of the models, without adding new information. Thus, we choose to set the gas to be initially isothermal, at a determined temperature. In order to approximate the effects of heating and cooling, which has the tendency to maintain the gas at a nearly constant temperature, we assume that the gas evolves adiabatically, with exponent $`\gamma =1.1`$. We choose two sets of models. For the hot models, we set the gas temperature to be 8,000 K and for the cold model we assume the gas is in an atomic state with a temperature of 1,000 K. These isothermal states correspond to either early or recent epochs, when $`J_\nu `$ is either adequate or insufficient to significantly ionize the residual gas. The results of the 1-D models in the previous section indicate that, for dSphs, the entire galaxy is likely to be ionized by a modest external UV flux. Thus an isothermal temperature is a reasonable approximation for the hot models. When the gas attains a sufficiently large density, it becomes self-shielded inside these galaxies and clusters. The isothermal approximation is also sufficient for this cool phase.

Self-gravity of the gas is not included in the models. This approximation should be adequate for dwarf galaxies, which are dark-matter rich, and so their gravity is dominated by that of the dark matter. For a globular cluster, which has undergone efficient star formation, the potential is dominated by the stars, and so, again, the potential of the gas is not important to the evolution. The models therefore include a static background potential, within which the gas evolves. In order to compare the numerical results with our analytic calculations, the background is modeled as a Plummer potential, as expressed in Equation (2-6), which has a form similar to, but simpler than, those found to be followed by dwarf galaxies (Burkert, 1995), and which has also been used to model globular clusters (Plummer, 1911).

To the potential of the dwarf stellar system is added that of a massive parent galaxy. The total density of the massive parent galaxy is assumed to follow the same isothermal form as above, with a total mass of $`5\times 10^{11}`$ M and a circular speed $`V_c=210`$ km s-1 at some typical distance 50 kpc from the Galactic center. Smaller Galactic radii are used for the globular cluster models.

Throughout the numerical simulations, our models remain centered upon the dwarf systems, ie. we are in a non-inertial frame of reference. Coriolis terms must therefore be added to the potential, which then has the form

$$\varphi (x,y,z)=\varphi _d(x,y,z)+\varphi _G(x,y,z)\frac{1}{2}\mathrm{\Omega }^2\left(x^2+y^2\right),$$
(4-1)
where $`\varphi _{d,G}`$ are the conservative gravitational potentials of, respectively, the dwarf stellar system and parent galaxy, $`\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the angular velocity of the rotating frame (the system is assumed to be in a circular orbit), the $`z`$-axis is the axis of rotation, and the $`x`$-axis points towards the center of the parent galaxy. This form of the effective potential is analogous to that used for close binary stars (Pringle, 1985).

The form of the potential is shown in Figure 5, which shows a surface plot of $`\varphi (x,y,0)`$ for Model 3D-1d. Positions on the $`x`$ and $`y`$ axes, and the potential are all in code units. The L1 and L2 points are located along the $`x`$-axis, at $`x=\pm x_t`$, where $`x_t=0.89`$ in code units. Due to the saddle-shape of the potential at L1 and L2, mass loss may occur only near the Lagrange points. At an orbital radius $`a`$ where $`M_dV_c^2a/G`$

$$x_t=\pm \left[\left(\frac{GM_d}{2\mathrm{\Omega }^2R_c^3}\right)^{2/3}1\right]^{1/2}R_c$$
(4-2)
which reduces to $`x_t(GM_d/2\mathrm{\Omega }^2)^{1/3}`$ in the limit that $`R_c(GM_d/2\mathrm{\Omega }^2)^{1/3}`$. In comparison with our analytic, spherically symmetric approximation, $`x_t`$ is the analogous quantity to $`R_R`$, and is only slightly modified from the expression for the Roche radius of a point-mass potential for the dwarf galaxy.

In the vicinity of $`x_t`$, the gas density is approximately constant because the gradient of $`\varphi `$ vanishes, such that the density scale height of the gas diverges at $`x_t`$. The escaping gas streams out of the dwarf galaxy through the saddle surfaces, which are bounded by the local potential maxima in which $`\varphi /x=0`$. This surface lies approximately on the $`yz`$ plane, centered on $`x=x_t`$. For $`x_t>GM_d/C_s^2`$, we can estimate the magnitude of $`f`$ (cf. Equation 2-4) under the assumption that gas diffuses to the outflow channels in a hydrostatic manner, such that

$`f`$ $``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{4\pi x_t^2}}{\displaystyle _{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}}{\displaystyle _{\mathrm{}}^{\mathrm{}}}\mathrm{exp}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{\varphi (x_t,y,z)\varphi (x_t,0,0)}{c_s^2}}\right]𝑑y𝑑z`$ (4-3)
$``$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{x_tc_s^2}{\pi GM_d}}{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}\mathrm{exp}\left({\displaystyle \frac{3z^2}{4}}\right)𝑑z{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}\left({\displaystyle \frac{y^2}{2}}\right)𝑑z=\left({\displaystyle \frac{2}{3}}\right)^{1/2}\left({\displaystyle \frac{x_tc_s^2}{GM_d}}\right){\displaystyle \frac{x_R}{\alpha }}.`$ (4-4)
Although hydrostatic equilibrium is approximately maintained within the tidal radius, the outflow via the channels prevents the gas from establishing a sustained equilibrium, and that the magnitude of $`f`$ may be quite different from the above estimate. Nevertheless, the above approximation suggests that $`f`$ is unlikely to be orders of magnitudes smaller than unity for modest to large values of $`\alpha ^{}`$. For $`\alpha <1`$, $`f`$ in Equation (2-4) cannot exceed unity.

In principle, non-inertial terms should also be added to the equations of motion of the gas. These would, however, strongly affect only that gas which was either at or beyond the tidal radius. Because our goal in this work is to examine the rate of mass loss, and not the subsequent evolution of gas lost to the dwarf system, omission of the non-inertial terms shall not affect our conclusions significantly. Our models are generally integrated for a small fraction of an orbit, and so their affect would be small in any event.

The gas density is initially set up such that

$$\rho (x,y,z)=\rho _0\mathrm{exp}\left[\varphi (x,y,z)/c_s^2\right],$$
(4-5)
where $`c_s^2`$ is the isothermal sound speed of the gas. For a spherically-symmetric potential, such an initial distribution of isothermal gas would describe hydrostatic equilibrium. For the non-spherical potential described above, however, the density of the gas near $`R=x_t`$ evolves significantly at early times. In order to prevent this from causing us to overestimate the mass loss rates, we calculate the mass of gas contained within $`R<x_t/2`$, which we denote as $`M_2(t)`$. That quantity shows little affect from the behavior at larger radii. In addition, we avoid influences from early behavior by fitting the value of $`M_2(t)`$ at late times.

Cosmos is written for Cartesian coordinates, and so we cannot take advantage of the symmetry of the potential to run the problem in two dimensions. In order to reduce computation time, the problems are run as quadrants. Typical resolutions are 200x100x100. We have examined the effects of changing resolutions in some of the models, and find that doubling the resolution changed the time scales for mass loss by only 10%.

### 4.2 Model Results

The models which we have run in order to examine the evolution of gas within dwarf galaxies are shown in Table 2. On the table are listed, for each model, the total mass of dark matter in the dwarf, $`M_{dm}`$, the core radius of the dark matter potential, $`R_c`$, the depth of the potential, $`\varphi _0^{1/2}`$ (measured from the center to the galaxy to $`x_t`$ along the y-axis, i.e. $`\varphi _0\left[1(1+x_R^2)^{1/2}\right]`$, the orbital radius of the dwarf galaxy around the parent system, $`a`$, the value of $`x_t`$ (i.e. $`R_R`$), the initial gas temperature, $`T_0`$, $`\alpha ^{}`$, $`x_R(=x_t/R_c)`$, $`P`$, the measured mass loss time scale, $`\tau _{loss}`$, the ratio $`P\mathrm{\Gamma }(x_R,\alpha ^{})/\tau _{loss}`$, and the equivalent $`f`$ as derived from Equation (4-4). In the derivation of $`\mathrm{\Gamma }`$, we set $`\beta =2`$, as in Figure 1. The galaxy parameters are chosen to be representative of small dwarf galaxies (Mateo, 1998), and the variations of the parameters examine the effects of mass, orbital radius, and gas temperature upon the mass loss rate. The high temperatures here and below are chosen to be representative of either warm neutral, or warm ionized gas with metal cooling. Throughout the simulation, the gas temperature remains nearly constant.

The values of $`M_2(t)/M_2(0)`$ are shown in Figure 6. In deriving the values of $`\tau _{loss}`$ quoted in Table 2, the curves have been fitted to the form

$$M(t)=M(0)\mathrm{exp}\left(t/\tau _{loss}\right).$$
(4-6)
As can be seen from Figure 6 and below, the curves are not always well represented by exponentials. It is apparent, however, that the derived values of $`\tau _{loss}`$ represent well the rates at which gas is lost from the systems. The time scales for mass loss are comparable to that seen in the one-dimensional case above. In comparison with the analytic results in §2, we find from Equation (2-7) that $`f0.21.2`$ which agrees poorly with that inferred from Equation (2-12). As indicated above, the departure from hydrostatic equilibrium may be the cause of this disagreement. In Figure 7, we plot the mass flow field ($`\rho 𝐯`$) for Model 3D-4d at 680 Myr. The figure shows a slice in $`x`$ and $`y`$, at $`z=0`$. The greatest values of $`|\rho 𝐯|`$ occur in the complex flow at the center of the galaxy. Away from the center, the vectors of $`\rho 𝐯`$ are almost parallel to the $`x`$-axis. The semi-circle in Figure 7 has radius $`x_t`$, and indicates the size of the Roche lobe in the spherical approximation (the actual potential used in the model is highly aspherical, as indicated in Figure 5). Clearly, only a fraction of the Roche surface is open to outflow. The complex flow within the core is time-dependent, but the flow outside of the core is not observed to vary significantly over time. The largest velocities present, near the tidal radius, are 10 km s-1.

Also apparent from the differences of $`\tau _{loss}`$ among the models is the extreme sensitivity to $`\alpha `$ (cf. Equations 2-12 and 2-13). The critical value of $`\alpha {}_{}{}^{}6`$, half the value derived in the analytic approximation. For $`\alpha <\alpha _1`$, a significant fraction of the original gas in the dwarf galaxy is lost within an orbital period. The ionized gas in both the lower-mass galaxy and the higher-mass system at lower orbital radius (Models 2 and 4) is largely lost within 1 Gyr, which would preclude extended epochs of star formation.

The globular cluster models are listed in Table 3, which lists the same quantities as in Table 2. The masses and core radii are representative of globular clusters (Pryor & Meylan, 1993). The orbital radii are either just outside of the Solar circle, or well within it (most globular cluster orbit closer to the center of the Galaxy than the Sun). The evolution of $`M_2(t)/M_2(0)`$ for the models is shown in Figure 8.

As was the case for the dwarf galaxies, ionized gas is lost quickly from globular clusters, on time scales $``$ 100 Myr. The critical value $`\alpha ^{}6`$ as for the dwarf galaxy. Again, the rapid mass loss induced by tides precludes extended epochs of star formation in these systems. Note that for $`\alpha ^{}1`$, the theoretically determined $`f`$ is much larger than that estimated from (2-12). In this limit, the assumption of quasi-equilibrium breaks down near the Lagrangian point. Nevertheless, the dependence of $`\tau _{loss}`$ on the magnitude of $`\alpha ^{}`$ is well established.

## 5 Discussion and Consequences for the Evolution of Dwarf Systems

The essence of our results is contained in Tables 1, 2, and 3. The results of the calculations in §3 indicate that gas in typical dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) can be fully ionized, even by a modest background UV flux. But for the more extended and dwarf elliptical galaxies, a fraction of the residual gas can remain neutral at their central regions, especially during more recent epochs. Even for these galaxies, mass loss occurs if the dwarf galaxies are captured as satellites of larger galaxies or clusters of galaxies.

As can be seen in the tables, and expected from § 2, the time scale for mass loss is extremely sensitive to the ratio $`\alpha \varphi _0/c_s^2`$. The magnitude of $`\varphi _0`$ can be directly measured from the central velocity dispersion. If $`\alpha \alpha _1610`$, then the gas is tightly held within the potential of the dwarf stellar system. The density contrast between the center of the galaxy and the tidal radius, given by Equation (2-7), $`\rho (x_t,0,0)/\rho (0,0,0)\mathrm{exp}(\alpha )1`$. In this limit, the time scale for mass loss, $`\tau _{loss}\tau _d`$, where $`\tau _d`$ is the dynamical time scale of the dwarf system. The reverse is true when $`\alpha =\varphi _0/c_s^2<\alpha _1`$.

For many dwarf galaxies, the velocity dispersion is comparable to the sound speed of ionized gas, and so, if the gas is ionized, the system should have $`\alpha 1`$. Once $`\alpha <\alpha _1`$, our results indicate that the gas may be lost to the dwarf system on a time scale no longer than several times $`\tau _d`$, which is shorter than both the orbital period, $`P`$, and the time scale on which subsequent generations of stars would be expected to form (Murray & Lin, 1993; Lin & Murray, 1994). Multiple possible sources of ionizing radiation exist, including extragalactic UV, UV from a nearby massive galaxy, or UV from stars formed within the dwarf galaxy (Weinberg, Hernquist & Katz, 1997; Kepner, Babul, & Spergel, 1997; Dong, Murray, & Lin, 2003). The evolution of dwarf galaxies therefore depends upon their proximity to a massive galaxy, the source of the ionizing radiation, and when or if the gas within the dwarf galaxies is ionized.

Previous investigation by Kepner et al. (1997) suggest that the external UV radiation in early epochs can fully ionize residual gas in typical-mass dwarf galaxies, and so rapid mass loss might be expected. The results in §3 show, however, that hot ionized gas can be retained in potentials with velocity dispersions comparable to or less than the sound speed of the gas, provided that the host galaxy is isolated. Thus, even in the presence of an intense UV background, low-mass dwarf galaxies do not automatically lose their gas content, albeit the density distribution can become relatively flat for systems which contain hot gas.

Such an environmental dependence may help to explain differences between some types of dwarf galaxies. Dwarf irregular (dIrr) and dwarf elliptical (dE) galaxies are observed to be similar in terms of their dark-matter potentials and ordinary matter content. But, a significant amount of ordinary matter in dIrrs is in the form of gas, whereas little gas is found in dEs. It has been suggested that this difference is due to the efficiency of gas removal (Lin & Faber 1983), motivated by the fact that dEs are primarily located in clusters of galaxies, whereas dIrrs are mostly found in the field. Although the presence of hot gas in clusters of galaxies can lead to efficient stripping (Murray et al., 1993), the present results indicate that tidal effects can also remove the ionized gas in dwarf galaxies within a galactic cluster environment within several Gyr.

At the center of large clusters, however, where the density is nearly homogeneous or declines slowly with radius, the tidal potential is compressive rather than disruptive. In these regions, dwarf galaxies may also be able to retain their gas content, even if it is mostly ionized. Nucleated dwarfs are often found in these central regions of clusters of galaxies. The retention of residual gas may enable the dwarf systems to undergo repeated star formation, possibly leading to the formation of their nucleated structure. This dependence upon location is in the same sense as that proposed by Babul & Rees (1992). In that earlier work, it was proposed that the added confinement by the denser gas near cluster centers would help to prevent supernova-driven mass loss from dwarf galaxies, allowing them to retain their gas for subsequent generations of star formation. Away from the cluster center, however, where tidal forces are disruptive, they shall act in opposition to external confinement, to drive mass loss. In those regions, the presence of a significant external medium may even enhance mass loss, via the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (Murray et al., 1993).

The evolution of non-isolated dwarf systems depends upon both their masses and their proximity to a massive galaxy. The results in § 4 indicate that if a massive galaxy forms near a dSph prior to the efficient conversion of the internal gas of the dSph into stars, then the remaining gas shall be rapidly lost to tidal stripping if it becomes ionized. In the most extreme case, when background UV heating has ionized the gas within the dSph, preventing it from forming any stars, tidal stripping of the gas shall lead to the formation of a starless, dark-matter mini-halo orbiting the larger galaxy. Only the gas component of the smaller systems is efficiently lost, because the outflow is continually replenished by the attempt to re-establish quasi-hydrostatic equilibrium. The dark-matter mini-haloes may be preserved, because they were formed in relatively high density environments (Moore et al., 1999). Thus, the results presented here naturally imply that the halo of large galaxies may be populated with many ‘stripped’ dark matter, self-gravitating systems.

By contrast, the gas within the most massive dSphs, and that within dEs may be self-shielded, and remain mostly neutral. That, coupled with their deeper potentials, allows them to retain their gas for a much longer time than low mass dSphs, and form multiple generations of stars before losing their gas, even when in close proximity to a massive galaxy. The dependence of the rate of tidal stripping upon the mass of the dwarf system may provide an explanation for the “missing satellite galaxy” problem, because, in accordance with the CDM model, the galactic mass function decreases with $`M_d`$.

Tidal loss is also crucial for globular clusters. As in dSphs, $`\varphi _0^{1/2}`$ for globular clusters is a few to a few tens of km s-1, comparable to the sound speed of ionized gas. The highly homogeneous chemical abundance among stars within any given globular cluster (Sandage & Katem, 1977; Cohen, 1979; Sandage & Katem, 1982; Richer & Fahlman, 1984; Bolte, 1987a, b) requires thorough mixing of the proto-cluster clouds. Even with efficient turbulent mixing, many internal crossing time scales are required (Murray & Lin, 1990). Thus, prior to the formation of presently observable stars in globular clusters, gas must be retained for a time comparable to or longer than their Galactic orbital period. The baryonic density of globular clusters is higher than that of dSphs, and so, prior to efficient star formation, the gas was likely to be self-shielded from external heating. Because the value of $`\alpha _1`$ is much larger for cool atomic and molecular gas, the gas can then be retained for several Galactic orbits. Self-gravity of the gas was also probably very important for globular clusters at early epochs, which would further help them to retain their gas.

The internal UV production following efficient star formation within a globular cluster would, however, ionize the gas, after which would be rapidly lost to the system. The same fate would apply to the most massive dSphs orbiting close to a massive galaxy. In the presence of a tidal field, therefore, star formation within dwarf systems can become a self-terminating process, even in the absence of ram pressure stripping, supernova heating, or other means of violent gas ejection.

In the hierarchical galaxy formation scenario, large galaxies are formed through coalescence of dwarf galaxies. Galactic tides enable the rapid decoupling of the gas from dwarf galaxies. The tidally removed gas is detached gently from the dwarf systems, and shall form thin tidal streamers, similar to the Magellanic Stream. These gas streams are dispersed by differential gravity, precession, nonlinear shock dissipation, and drag by the residual gas in the halo. The tidally removed gas does, however, retain its angular momentum. When it is mixed with the residual halo gas, together they can form the disk (Sommer-Larsen, Gelato, & Vedel, 1999). The “tidally stripped” dark matter clumps shall themselves undergo subsequent orbital decay due to dynamical friction. In outer regions of the of the large parent galaxies, the residual gas in the halo is tenuous, possibly allowing the streamers to preserve their integrity. Repeated Galactic encounters may lead to recapture of the gas from the streamers by the dwarf system, and induce secondary star formation. The follow-up investigation on the tidally removed gas will be analyzed and presented in subsequent work.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract W-7405-Eng-48. This work is partially supported by NASA through an astrophysical theory grant NAG5-12151.