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# The Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation

## 1 Introduction

The relation between luminosity and rotation velocity for galaxies is well known (Tully & Fisher 1977). It has been used extensively in estimating extragalactic distances (e.g., Sakai et al. 2000, Tully & Pierce 2000), and it provides a critical constraint on galaxy formation theory (Dalcanton, Spergel, & Summers 1997; McGaugh & de Blok 1998; Mo, Mao, & White 1998; Steinmetz & Navarro 1999; van den Bosch 1999). However, the physical basis of the Tully-Fisher relation remains unclear.

The requirements of the empirical Tully-Fisher relation are simple, but the steep slope and small scatter are difficult to understand. Luminosity must trace total (dark plus luminous) mass, which in turn scales exactly with circular velocity. Considerable fine-tuning is required to obtain these strict proportionalities (McGaugh & de Blok 1998). The intrinsic properties of dark halos are not expected to be as tightly correlated as observed (Eisenstein & Loeb 1995). The mapping from the properties of dark matter halos to observable quantities should introduce more scatter, not less. Somehow the baryons “know” precisely how many stars to form.

Let us suppose that, for whatever fundamental reason, there does exist a universal relationship between total mass and rotation velocity of the form $`_{tot}V_c^b`$. The empirical Tully-Fisher relation then follows if luminosity traces mass:

$$L=\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^1f_{}f_df_b_{tot},$$
(1)
where $`f_b`$ is the baryon fraction of the universe, $`f_d`$ is the fraction of the baryons associated with a particular galaxy halo which reside in the disk, $`f_{}`$ is the fraction of disk baryons in the form of stars, and $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}`$ is the mass-to-light ratio of the stars. Each of the pieces which intervene between $`L`$ and $`_{tot}`$ must be a nearly universal constant shared by all disks in order to maintain the strict proportionality the Tully-Fisher relation requires. Cast in this form, the traditional luminosity-linewidth relation is a sub-set of a more fundamental relation between baryonic mass and rotational velocity. In this context, one would expect to find galaxies which deviate from the luminosity-linewidth relation because much of their baryonic mass is not in the form of stars. For example, a gas rich galaxy should appear underluminous for its circular velocity, but would, after correction for the gas content, fall on the underlying “Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation” (cf. Freeman 1999).

In this paper, we specifically test this premise by constructing the luminosity-linewidth and Baryonic Tully-Fisher relations for a sample of late type galaxies that span a much larger range of luminosities than any previously available sample. Section 2 describes the data we employ. Section 3 discusses the results and §4 explores some of their implications. A summary is given in §5. All distance dependent quantities assume $`H_0=75\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1\mathrm{Mpc}^1`$.

## 2 Data

We employ several data sets to maximize the dynamic range over which we can explore the Tully-Fisher relation. The different data sets have photometry in different pass bands. To put the data on the same system, and get at the question of the underlying mass, we assume a stellar mass-to-light ratio for each pass band. Stellar mass is most directly traced by the redder pass bands, so we adopt these when possible.

For galaxies with $`V_c100\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$ we use the extensive $`H`$-band data for late type cluster spirals of Bothun et al. (1985). Circular velocities are estimated as half of the linewidth $`W_{20}`$. For galaxies of lower rotation velocity, we use the data for late type dwarf low surface brightness galaxies from the survey of Schombert, Pildis, & Eder (1997). This is currently the largest sample of field dwarf galaxies with both linewidths $`W_{20}`$ and HI masses (Eder & Schombert 1999) and red band photometry (Pildis, Schombert, & Eder 1997). The photometry provides $`I`$-band magnitudes and axial ratios for inclination estimates. Of these galaxies, only those with axial ratios $`b/a<0.71`$, corresponding to $`i>45^\mathrm{°}`$ for an intrinsic axial ratio of $`q_0=0.15`$, are used in order to minimize $`\mathrm{sin}(i)`$ errors. These nevertheless contributes substantially to the scatter, as inclinations estimated from the axial ratios of dim galaxies are intrinsically uncertain. The data for these faint galaxies extend the Tully-Fisher relation to much lower luminosities and circular velocities than have been explored previously.

The fundamental rotation velocity of interest here is the flat portion of the rotation curve, $`V_{flat}`$. Presumably, the line width $`W_{20}`$ commonly employed in Tully-Fisher work is an adequate indicator of $`V_{flat}`$. As a check on this, we also employ the data of Verheijen (1997) and McGaugh & de Blok (1998) for which $`V_{flat}`$ is measured from resolved rotation curves. The data of Verheijen (1997) are $`K^{}`$-band data for spiral galaxies in the UMa cluster (Tully et al. 1996), while the data discussed by McGaugh & de Blok (1998) are $`B`$-band data drawn from a variety of sources.

The two red-band data sets, the $`H`$-band data of Bothun et al. (1985) at the bright end, and the $`I`$-band dwarf galaxy sample at the faint end, together suffice to define a Tully-Fisher relation over five decades in stellar mass. The rotation curve samples are consistent with these data. For comparison, we also examine the gas rich, late type galaxy sample of Matthews, van Driel, & Gallagher (1998). Their $`B`$-band data are entirely consistent with our own data, provided we make the same inclination cut, $`i>45^\mathrm{°}`$. Though this inclination limit is of obvious importance, it is interesting to note that including or excluding the galaxies they note as having strongly asymmetric or single-horned HI profiles makes no difference to the result.

In all cases, we have simply taken the data as given by each source. Aside from the necessary inclination correction, we have not made any corrections for internal extinction or for non-circular motions (shown to be small for late type systems by Rix & Zaritsky 1995 and by Beauvais & Bothun 1999). That the data treated in this way produce a good Tully-Fisher relation indicates, to first order, that these effects are not important.

## 3 Results

Figure 1 illustrates the Tully-Fisher relation for the combined data sets. Two versions are shown: in (a) the stellar mass is plotted in place of luminosity, and in (b) the total luminous baryonic mass is shown. In order to place the data sets using different band passes for photometry on the same scale, we convert luminosity to stellar mass assuming a fixed mass-to-light ratio $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}`$ for each band. The value of the mass-to-light ratio appropriate to the stellar populations of late type galaxies with ongoing star formation has been examined in detail by de Jong (1996). We adopt his model for a 12 Gyr old, solar metallicity population with a constant star formation rate and Salpeter IMF. The adopted mass-to-light ratios are $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^B=1.4`$, $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^I=1.7`$, $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^H=1.0`$, and111For the mean $`HK^{}`$ color of late type galaxies given by de Jong (1996), $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^H=1.2\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^K^{}`$. $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^K^{}=0.8_{\mathrm{}}/L_{\mathrm{}}`$. These $`K^{}`$ and $`I`$-band mass-to-light ratios are consistent with the maximum disk fits to the bright galaxies of Verheijen (1997) and Palunas (1996). We do of course expect variation in stellar populations and their mass-to-light ratios. This should be modest in the redder bands, especially $`H`$ and $`K^{}`$, which are not very sensitive to differences in star formation history. The $`I`$-band mass-to-light ratio is not very sensitive to metallicity (Worthey 1994), so this should suffice for the fainter galaxies which in any case are dominated by gas mass. The $`B`$-band is a less robust indicator of stellar mass, so we do not include these data in the fit in Figure 1(b). While the absolute normalization of stellar mass-to-light ratios remains uncertain, tweaking the adopted values has no effect on the basic result.

The stellar mass plotted in Figure 1(a) is simply $`_{}=\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}L`$, so this plot is directly analogous to the conventional luminosity-linewidth diagram. The baryonic disk mass plotted in Figure 1(b) is the sum of stars and gas, $`_d=_{}+_{gas}`$. The mass in gas is taken from the observed HI mass with the standard correction for helium and metals: $`_{gas}=1.4_{HI}`$. It appears that molecular gas is not a significant mass component in these late type galaxies (Schombert et al. 1990; de Blok & van der Hulst 1998; Mihos, Spaans, & McGaugh 1999; Gerritsen & de Blok 1999).

There have long been hints (e.g., Romanishin, Strom, & Strom 1983) that faint galaxies fall below the extrapolated Tully-Fisher relation for bright galaxies. Matthews et al. (1998) and Stil & Israel (1999) claim to see this in their samples. However, it is not clear from their data in Figure 1. The apparent discrepancy in our results stems not from a difference in the data, but from what is taken to define the Tully-Fisher relation. Matthews et al. (1998) and Stil & Israel (1999) compare their data to lines fit to the $`B`$-band data of brighter galaxies. These fiducial lines have a shallow slope which considerably overpredicts the luminosities of faint galaxies when extrapolated to low circular velocity. It is not clear that it is safe to extrapolate the slope in this fashion. Extinction appears to be relatively more important in brighter galaxies, with careful corrections giving steeper slopes (Tully et al. 1998). Samples of galaxies with low intrinsic extinctions also give considerably steeper $`B`$-band slopes (Sprayberry et al. 1995; Verheijen 1997; McGaugh & de Blok 1998). The $`H`$-band data of Bothun et al. (1985) and the $`K^{}`$-band data of Verheijen (1997), two bands where extinction is minimal, also indicate steep slopes. A steep slope is also supported by the calibration of the Tully-Fisher relation from the HST Key Project (Sakai et al. 2000). Such a slope eliminates the discrepancy reported by Matthews et al. (1998) and by Stil & Israel (1999).

Nevertheless, it is now clear from the larger dwarf sample employed here that there is indeed a break in the Tully-Fisher relation for faint field222The $`K^{}`$-band data of Pierini & Tuffs (1999) shows a steep slope with no break down to $`V_c60\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. These are cluster galaxies, so this makes sense if these objects are less gas rich than the field sample. galaxies. For $`V_c90\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$, galaxies are underluminous for their rotation velocity as predicted by the extrapolation of a linear fit to the bright galaxy data. There is a great amount of scatter here too — the relation bends and flares. There have been concerns that there might be curvature in the Tully-Fisher relation (e.g., Bothun & Mould 1987) but the data in Figure 1(a) are probably better described by a broken power law, if it makes sense to fit anything to the faint end at all.

A break in the Tully-Fisher relation would have important ramifications for its application and interpretation. However, many of these faint galaxies are very gas rich. So much so, in fact, that the gas outweighs the stars in most of them for any reasonable choice of stellar mass-to-light ratio (Schombert, McGaugh, & Eder 2000). Therefore, we examine in Figure 1(b) the effects of including the gas mass in the ordinate by plotting the total observed baryonic disk mass, $`_d=_{}+_{gas}`$. This has the remarkable effect of restoring a single linear relation over the entire span of the observations.

It appears that the fundamental relation underpinning the Tully-Fisher relation is one between rotation velocity and total baryonic disk mass. This relation has the form

$$_d=𝒜V_c^b.$$
(2)
An unweighted fit to the red ($`I`$, $`H`$, and $`K^{}`$-band) data gives $`\mathrm{log}𝒜=1.57\pm 0.25`$ and $`b=3.98\pm 0.12`$. The precise value of the normalization would of course change if we assumed a different distance scale or different stellar mass-to-light ratios. The slope is indistinguishable from $`b=4`$. If we fix the slope to this value, the normalization is $`𝒜35(\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^K^{}/0.8)h_{75}^2_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{km}^4\mathrm{s}^4`$.

## 4 Implications

The basic result seen in Figure 1(b) falls directly out of the observations. All we have done is assume a plausible mass-to-light ratio for the stars, added in the gas mass, and plotted the data. This simple result has a number of interesting implications.

First, there is an apparently universal relation between baryonic mass and rotation velocity, with a single normalization. While this relation specifically applies to our sample of late type spiral galaxies, it seems plausible that it might also apply to early type spirals, provided appropriate consideration is given to the bulge component, which might require a different $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}`$, and to any other baryonic components which might be significant (like molecular gas).

The logarithmic slope of the relation is indistinguishable from 4. While this slope is often attributed to the virial theorem, it is possible to derive other slopes as well depending on the assumptions one makes (Mo et al. 1998). Current cold dark matter models predict a slope of 3 (Mo et al. 1998; Steinmetz & Navarro 1999) which is excluded at $`8\sigma `$. Significant tweaking is required to obtain the observed slope. Feedback from supernovae is often invoked in this context (van den Bosch 1999), but it is not obvious that the modest amount of feedback required by the Tully-Fisher relation is consistent with the large amount needed to explain the luminosity function (Lobo & Guiderdoni 1999). The correct slope and normalization is predicted by one alternative to cold dark matter (Milgrom 1983). In this alternative there is no dark matter — all of the mass is baryonic.

Whatever mechanism sets the observed relation is intimately connected to the observed baryonic mass. The interpretation of the standard luminosity-linewidth relation has long supposed that the stellar mass-to-light ratios of galaxies are a nearly uniform. Indeed, the error budget allowed by the modest amount of intrinsic scatter observed in the $`K^{}`$-band is easily consumed by variations in the star formation history (Verheijen 1997). There is little room left for variation in the IMF, or cosmic scatter in the underlying mass-rotation velocity relation.

We have now addressed another piece of this puzzle. In addition to the near constancy of $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}`$, we have explicitly corrected for the stellar fraction $`f_{}`$. Equation (1) now reduces to

$$_d=f_df_b_{tot}.$$
(3)
The presumed mass-rotation velocity relation can now show through in the observations provided both $`f_b`$ and $`f_d`$ are universal constants. The baryon fraction of the universe is constant by definition. But it is less obvious that the fraction of baryons which reside in the disk should be the same for all spirals. Indeed, it is frequently suggested (e.g., Navaroro, Eke, & Frenk 1996) that the sort of faint dwarfs studied here are likely to lose a significant portion of their baryons. This idea is blatantly at odds with the data, as the product $`f_df_b`$ would no longer333One could contemplate a variable $`f_d`$ provided that it was a very finely tuned (zero scatter) function of circular velocity. For example, $`f_dV_c`$ would recover the slope predicted by CDM. be constant.

It seems to us implausible that $`f_d`$ could be some arbitrary yet universal fraction. While it is easy to imagine mechanisms which might prevent some of the baryons from cooling to join the disk, it is difficult to contemplate any which do so with the required precision. There is very little room in the budget for the intrinsic scatter for any scatter in $`f_d`$. Let us call the mass in baryons not already accounted for in the disk mass $`_{other}`$. The disk fraction is then

$$f_d=\frac{_{}+_{gas}}{_{}+_{gas}+_{other}}.$$
(4)
If this other form of baryonic mass is significant ($`_{other}_{}`$), then $`f_d<1`$, but there should be a lot of scatter in $`f_d`$ unless some magical mechanism strictly regulates the ratio $`_{other}/(_{}+_{gas})`$. This unlikely situation occurs naturally only if $`_{other}_{}+_{gas}`$, so $`f_d1`$. The modest intrinsic scatter in the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation therefore suggests that the luminous mass in stars and gas represents nearly all the baryons associated with an individual galaxy and its halo, arguing against a significant mass of dark baryons in these systems.

## 5 Conclusions

We have explored the Tully-Fisher relation over five decades in luminous mass. This is a considerable increase in dynamic range over previous studies. We find clear evidence for a break in the optical Tully-Fisher relation around $`V_c90\mathrm{km}\mathrm{s}^1`$. Galaxies with rotation velocities less than this are underluminous relative to the extrapolation of the fit to more rapidly spinning galaxies. However, these faint galaxies are very gas rich. Considering both stellar and gas mass restores a linear relation over the entire observed range.

These observations strongly suggest that the Tully-Fisher relation is fundamentally a relation between rotation velocity and total baryonic disk mass. This relation has the form

$$_d=𝒜V_c^4$$

with $`𝒜35(\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^K^{}/0.8)h_{75}^2_{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{km}^4\mathrm{s}^4`$. The well known optical Tully-Fisher relation is an approximation to this more fundamental relation in the limit of galaxies dominated by stars.

The existence of the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation has a number of important implications. That it works means that stars in spiral galaxies have mass-to-light ratios which are reasonable for composite stellar populations. The modest amount of scatter indicates that the IMF must be nearly universal in order to yield such uniform mass-to-light ratios. Only corrections for gas content are necessary to obtain the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation. The data do not allow much room for any further significant baryonic mass components. Any component of dark baryons which does exist must do so in strict proportionality to the observed baryons, with effectively zero scatter. This unlikely situation argues against a significant mass in dark baryons in any form (be it very cold molecular gas in the disk, very hot ionized gas in the halo, or baryonic MACHOs). Any model which supposes a large mass of such baryons must explain why it contributes so little to the scatter in the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation.

The results presented here make sense in terms of a simple interpretation of the Tully-Fisher relation in which the mass of observed baryons is directly proportional to the total mass which in turn scales with the observed rotation velocity. This potentially includes the case where the mass observed in baryons is the total mass (Milgrom 1983). Matching these observations is a substantial challenge for modern structure formation theories based on cold dark matter. These predict a slope which is too shallow (3 rather than 4, different by $`8\sigma `$), and fail to anticipate that effectively all the baryons associated with a halo have cooled into the disk.

We thank Ken Freeman for relevant conversations, and the referee, H.-W. Rix, for many insightful comments. The work of SSM is supported in part by NSF grant AST 99-01663. ADDENDUM:
The text above is rigorously identical to that accepted by ApJ Letters. Two points were lost in the effort to meet the Letters’ page limit.
1: Maximum Disk Mass-to-Light Ratios: We have assumed a constant $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}`$ which is plausible for a composite stellar population. Presumably, there is scatter about this value which is reflected in the non-observational component of the scatter in Figure 1(b). If instead we adopted the stellar mass-to-light ratio suggested by maximum disk fits to rotation curves, the resultant relation would have a much larger scatter. The reason for this is that $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^{max}`$ increases systematically with decreasing disk central surface brightness (de Blok & McGaugh 1997, MNRAS, 290, 533; Swaters, Madore, & Trewhella 2000, ApJ, 531, L107), yet there is a range of surface brightnesses at a given luminosity. For example, Swaters et al. discuss a number of galaxies with $`M_B18`$ for which $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}^{max}`$ ranges from 1.5 to 17. Obviously, this factor would cause a large difference in the computed mass at a given circular velocity, and inflate the scatter in the Baryonic Tully-Fisher Relation. This argues against maximal disks in low surface brightness galaxies, though these remain plausible for high surface brightness galaxies.
2: Deviant Galaxies: Recently, O’Neil, Bothun, & Schombert (1999, AJ, 119, 136) have pointed out a population of red low surface brightness galaxies. Four of these galaxies deviate significantly from the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, falling roughly an order of magnitude below it (having too little mass for their circular velocity). Given their red colors, these galaxies might have high $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}`$, or could contain some other component of baryonic mass. This point is tentative, so here we note only that the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation is a good diagnostic for identifying unusual galaxies. This also applies to galaxies which might have very low $`\mathrm{{\rm Y}}_{}`$ as a result of a young stellar population (e.g., Meurer et al. 1996, AJ, 111, 1551).


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# Inflationary Universe in Higher Derivative Induced Gravity

## Abstract

In an induced-gravity model, the stability condition of an inflationary slow-rollover solution is shown to be $`\varphi _0_{\varphi _0}V(\varphi _0)=4V(\varphi _0)`$. The presence of higher derivative terms will, however, act against the stability of this expanding solution unless further constraints on the field parameters are imposed. We find that these models will acquire a non-vanishing cosmological constant at the end of inflation. Some models are analyzed for their implication to the early universe.

PACS numbers: 98.80.Cq; 04.20 -q;

In a scale-invariant model, all dimensionful parameters are functionals of the scalar field. Therefore, scale invariance provides a natural way resolving the physical origin of these dimensionful parameters.

Scale invariance is also known to be important in various branches of physics. For example, QCD  and many other inflationary models have been studied in the literature . Note that inflation resolves many problems of the standard big bang cosmology . These problems include the flatness, the monopole, and the horizon problem. In addition, local scale (or Weyl) symmetry has been suggested to be related to the missing Higgs problem in electro-weak theory . Weyl symmetry has also been the focus of many recent activities . Scale-invariant effective theory is also suggested to be important for the physics near fixed points of the renormalization group trajectory .

In addition, higher derivative terms should be important for the physics near the Planck scale . For example, higher-order corrections derived from the quantum gravity or the string theory have been considered in the study of the inflationary universe . Higher derivative terms also arise as quantum corrections to the matter fields . Moreover, the stability analysis of the pure higher-derivative models was shown in Ref. . It is hence interesting to extend this stability analysis to different models. In an induced-gravity model, it turns out that stability conditions of an inflationary solution are that the scalar field must obey a set of scale-invariant conditions under the slow-rollover approximation. We will also study the implication of this constraint to the inflationary universe in this paper.

We will focus on the induced-gravity model with an $`R^2`$ coupling  given by

$$S=d^4x\sqrt{g}\left\{\frac{1}{2}ϵ\varphi ^2R\frac{1}{2}g^{\mu \nu }_\mu \varphi _\nu \varphi V(\varphi )\frac{\alpha }{3}R^2\right\}$$
(1)
in this paper. Here $`ϵ`$ and $`\alpha `$ are dimensionless coupling constants. $`V(\varphi )`$ is any possible symmetry-breaking potential. Note that there are additional fourth-derivative terms in the most general higher derivative theory. They are related to the $`R^2`$ term, due to the Euler constraint and the fact that the Weyl tensor vanishes in the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) spaces , in four-dimensional spaces.

We will define $`sV_04V_0\varphi _0_\varphi V(\varphi _0)`$ with $`s`$ denoting the scaling factor, $`\varphi _0`$ denoting the initial condition of the inflaton $`\varphi `$, and $`V_0V(\varphi _0)`$. In addition, the case that $`s=0`$ will be referred to as the scaling condition in this paper. Note that the scaling condition will be shown to be a direct consequence of the slow-rollover approximation. Hence the initial data has to be close to the scaling condition. We are going to show, however, that the induced-gravity model tends to stabilize the inflationary phase. This is true if initial conditions of the inflaton are close to the scaling condition. The presence of the higher derivative term (HDT) will further impose strong constraints on field parameters and scalar potentials. These constraints are required to generate a stable inflationary phase. Otherwise, this theory can not permit an exponentially expanding solution under the scaling condition in the presence of the HDT.

Note that our universe is homogeneous and isotropic to a very high degree of precision . Such a universe is described by the well-known FRW metric . Therefore, we will work on the FRW metric that can be read off directly from the following equation:

$$ds^2g_{\mu \nu }dx^\mu dx^\nu =dt^2+a^2(t)\left(\frac{dr^2}{1kr^2}+r^2d\mathrm{\Omega }\right).$$
(2)
Here $`d\mathrm{\Omega }`$ is the solid angle $`d\mathrm{\Omega }=d\theta ^2+\mathrm{sin}^2\theta d\chi ^2`$ and $`k=\mathrm{\hspace{0.17em}0},\pm 1`$ stand for a flat, closed, and open universe respectively.

The Friedmann equation can be shown to be

$`3ϵ\varphi ^2(H^2+{\displaystyle \frac{k}{a^2}}+2H{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{\varphi }}{\varphi }})=V+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\dot{\varphi }^2+K.`$ (3)
Here $`K12\alpha [2H\ddot{H}+6H^2\dot{H}\dot{H}^22H^2k/a^2+k^2/a^4]`$ denotes the contribution from the HDT. Moreover, the Euler-Lagrange equation for $`\varphi `$ is

$$\ddot{\varphi }+3H\dot{\varphi }+\frac{V}{\varphi }=6ϵ\varphi (\dot{H}+2H^2+\frac{k}{a^2}).$$
(4)
Note that the HDT does not affect the $`\varphi `$ equation directly as shown above.

One will analyze the inflationary solution under the slow-rollover approximation such that $`|\dot{\varphi }/\varphi |H`$, and $`|\ddot{\varphi }/\varphi |H^2`$ for a brief period of time. The slow-rollover approximation will also be shown to be consistent with field equations. Assuming that $`\varphi =\varphi _0`$ and $`H=H_0+\delta H`$, one can perturb the Friedmann equation and the scalar field equation. These perturbed equations can be employed to study the stability of the inflationary solution. Accordingly, one can show that leading-order perturbation equations give

$`3ϵ\varphi _0^2H_0^2`$ $`=`$ $`V_0,`$ (5)
$`\varphi _0{\displaystyle \frac{V}{\varphi }}(\varphi =\varphi _0)`$ $`=`$ $`12ϵ\varphi _0^2H_0^2.`$ (6)
Therefore, the initial data satisfies the scaling condition in this approximation. In addition, linear-order perturbation equations give

$`4\alpha \delta \ddot{H}+12\alpha H_0\delta \dot{H}ϵ\varphi _0^2\delta H`$ $`=`$ $`0,`$ (7)
$`\delta \dot{H}+4H_0\delta H`$ $`=`$ $`0.`$ (8)
Therefore, one has

$`\delta H`$ $``$ $`\mathrm{exp}(4H_0t),`$ (9)
$`ϵ\varphi _0^2`$ $`=`$ $`16\alpha H_0^2.`$ (10)
Eq. (7) will not be present without the HDT. Therefore, one will not have the constraint (10) accordingly. Moreover, Eq. (9) indicates that inflation tends to stabilize the inflationary phase under the scaling condition. Note that Eq. (10) is the extra constraint derived from the HDT. This indicates that the gravitational constant ($`ϵ\varphi _0^2/2`$) is related to the Hubble constant $`H_0`$ during the inflationary phase. Therefore, a physically acceptable inflationary induced-gravity model will be affected significantly by the HDT.

In addition, the first-order perturbation equation shows that the inflationary solution is indeed stable against the perturbation $`\delta H`$. Therefore, inflation will remain effective for at least a brief moment while $`\varphi `$ changes slowly. Note also that the $`\varphi `$ equation states that

$$\ddot{\varphi }+3H_0\dot{\varphi }0$$

during the period when $`HH_0`$. This gives

$$\varphi \varphi _0+\frac{\dot{\varphi }_0}{3H_0}[1\mathrm{exp}(3H_0t)].$$
(11)
Therefore, the slow-rollover approximation is indeed consistent with field equations. Consequently, if the initial data satisfies the scaling condition, the system will undergo a strong inflationary process and remain stable for a long period of time under the scaling condition. Therefore, we will focus on the case that the initial data of the effective theory obeys the $`s=0`$ condition.

Note that leading-order perturbation equations give us a few constraints on the field parameters according to

$$4V_0=\varphi _0\frac{V}{\varphi }(\varphi =\varphi _0)=12ϵ\varphi _0^2H_0^2=192\alpha H_0^4.$$
(12)
This is equivalent to

$`H_0^2`$ $`=`$ $`{\displaystyle \frac{ϵ\varphi _0^2}{16\alpha }},`$ (13)
$`4V_0`$ $`=`$ $`\varphi _0{\displaystyle \frac{V}{\varphi }}(\varphi =\varphi _0)={\displaystyle \frac{3ϵ^2}{16\alpha }}\varphi _0^4.`$ (14)
Therefore, there are indeed strong constraints on the possible form of the scalar field potential according to Eq. (14). These constraints also relate the field parameters in a nontrivial way. We will come back to this point later and study the constraint equation for some extended $`\varphi ^4`$ models.

If the scaling condition is not obeyed closely, the inflationary solution will not be strictly stable. This will act in favor of the graceful-exit process. In such cases, the scalar field will obey the following equation

$`\ddot{\varphi }`$ $`+`$ $`3H\dot{\varphi }+{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{\varphi }^2}{\varphi }}+\left[_\varphi V4V/\varphi \right]/(1+6ϵ)`$ (15)
$`=`$ $`\left[\dot{K}+4HK\right]/(1+6ϵ)\varphi `$ (16)
which can be derived from differentiating Eq. (3) and comparing it with Eq. (4). Note further that Eq. (16) is equivalent to the $`G_{ij}`$ component of the Einstein equation. Even this equation is redundant, it is still very useful for our analysis. In summary, the inflationary solution can not be stable unless (i) the scaling condition is closely obeyed and (ii) $`\alpha `$ is constrained by Eq. (10). In such cases, the dynamics of the scalar field can be depicted from Eq. (16). We are about to show that the case (ii) will be violated in the conventional $`\varphi ^4`$ SSB potential. Therefore, the system will follow the evolutionary process similar to the one described in Ref. . On the other hand, the physics will be different when the initial data falls too close to the scaling condition.

For comparison, the equation of motions will become

$`(H^2+{\displaystyle \frac{k}{a^2}}+2H{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{\varphi }}{\varphi }})=V+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\dot{\varphi }^2+K,`$ (17)
$`\ddot{\varphi }+3H\dot{\varphi }+{\displaystyle \frac{V}{\varphi }}=0`$ (18)
for the $`R^2`$-corrected Einstein theory given by $`=R/2\alpha R^2+_\varphi `$. Hence the scaling constraint no longer holds here since the $`\varphi `$-equation does not couple to the $`R^2`$ term directly. Indeed, one can show that $`H_0^2=V_0/3`$ from the zeroth-order perturbation equation. Note that the perturbation is done with respect to $`H=H_0+\delta H`$ under the slow-rollover approximation $`|\ddot{\varphi }|H|\dot{\varphi }|`$ and $`H|\dot{\varphi }|`$. One can also show that the first-order perturbation equation gives Eq. (8) after setting $`ϵ\varphi _0^21`$. Therefore, the effect of the $`R^2`$-corrected Einstein theory is different from the induced-gravity model. Hence the scale-invariant initial condition is a very unique property of induced-gravity models.

For a physical application, we will consider the following effective symmetry-breaking potential

$$V=\frac{\lambda _1}{4}(\varphi ^2v^2)^2+\frac{\lambda _2}{4}\varphi ^4\mathrm{\Lambda }.$$
(19)
We are about to show that the apparent cosmological-constant term $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$ has to be non-vanishing in order to admit a consistent inflationary solution. In addition, it reduces to the standard $`\varphi ^4`$ SSB potential if $`\lambda _2=\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$. Therefore, neither scale-invariant potential nor standard $`\varphi ^4`$ SSB potential can provide a physically acceptable inflationary solution under the influence of the HDT. Hence one has to introduce an alternative asymmetric potential in order to generate an inflationary solution.

Indeed, one can solve Eq. (14) and show that

$$\varphi _0^2=v^2\frac{4\mathrm{\Lambda }}{\lambda _1v^2}=\frac{16\alpha \lambda _1v^2}{16\alpha (\lambda _1+\lambda _2)3ϵ^2}.$$
(20)
Therefore, one can derive

$$\mathrm{\Lambda }=\frac{\lambda _1}{4}v^4\left[\frac{16\alpha \lambda _23ϵ^2}{16\alpha (\lambda _1+\lambda _2)3ϵ^2}\right].$$
(21)
Writing $`\lambda \lambda _1+\lambda _2`$, one can further show that the extended $`\varphi ^4`$ SSB potential reads

$$V=\frac{\lambda }{4}\varphi ^4(\frac{\lambda }{2}\frac{3ϵ^2}{32\alpha })\varphi _0^2\varphi ^2+(\frac{\lambda }{4}\frac{3ϵ^2}{64\alpha })\varphi _0^4.$$
(22)
This is the form of the most general extended $`\varphi ^4`$ SSB potential that could admit an inflationary solution. One can also show that the minimum of this potential is $`V_mV(\varphi _m)=(3ϵ^2/16\alpha )[1/43ϵ^2/64\alpha \lambda ]\varphi _0^4`$ when $`\varphi ^2=\varphi _m^2(13ϵ^2/16\alpha \lambda )\varphi _0^2`$. In addition, one has $`V_m=(3ϵ^2/16\alpha \lambda )V(0)`$ where $`V(0)V(\varphi =0)`$ is the maximum of $`V`$. Note also that $`V_m<V(0)`$ is consistent with the equation $`\varphi ^2=\varphi _m^2(13ϵ^2/16\alpha \lambda )\varphi _0^2`$. This implies that $`3ϵ^2/16\alpha \lambda <1`$. Hence one has $`\alpha >0`$ because that $`V_0=3ϵ\varphi _0^2H_0^2=3ϵ^2\varphi _0^4/64\alpha >0`$. In addition, one expects $`\lambda >0`$ since $`V^{\prime \prime }(\varphi _m)=2\lambda \varphi _m^2>0`$ for a local minimum at $`\varphi _m`$. Therefore, one shows that $`V_m=3ϵ^2\varphi _0^2\varphi _m^2/64\alpha >0`$.

Moreover, the effective gravitational constant observed in the post-inflationary phase is related to $`\varphi _0`$ by the identity $`1/4\pi G=ϵ\varphi _m^2=(13ϵ^2/16\alpha \lambda )ϵ\varphi _0^2`$. In addition, the effective cosmological constant observed in the post-inflationary phase is $`V_m=3H_0^2/2`$. Here we have set $`ϵ\varphi _m^2/2=1`$ in Planck unit. If the scale factor $`a(t)`$ is capable of expanding some $`60`$ e-fold in a time interval of roughly $`\mathrm{\Delta }T10^8`$ Planck unit, the Hubble constant should be of the order $`H_0^210^6`$ in Planck unit. Therefore, one ends up with a rather big cosmological constant of the order $`10^6`$ if the extended $`\varphi ^4`$ model is in effect.

One can now show that the case $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=\lambda _2=0`$ is problematic. Indeed, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=0`$ implies that $`\lambda _2=3ϵ^2/16\alpha `$ from Eq. (21). Hence $`ϵ/\alpha =0`$ if $`\lambda _2=0`$. This is apparently inconsistent with our assumption that $`\alpha `$ is small and $`ϵ`$ is finite. In fact, the case that $`ϵ=0`$ will lead to an infinite gravitational constant. Hence it should be ruled out. Therefore, the case that $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=\lambda _2=0`$ can not support an inflationary phase if the HDT is present.

Note that the expansion rate $`H_0=\sqrt{ϵ\varphi _0^2/16\alpha }`$ can be adjusted to accommodate $`60`$ e-fold expansion rather easily . Note also that small $`\alpha `$, hence small higher-order correction, will act in favor of the inflationary process. In addition, the slow-rollover approximation is taken care of automatically by the higher-order term. Therefore, the only constraint on $`\varphi _0`$ is that it should be small according to Eq. (11).

Once the scalar field rolls down toward the minimum-potential state, inflation will come to an end. In addition, the soft-expansion era in the post-inflationary phase will be dominated by another lower-order induced-gravity model . Therefore, the re-heating process will be taken over by that lower-order effective induced-gravity model . Hence the HDT, acting in favor of the inflation process, plays an important role during the inflationary phase. It is still true even if the higher-order correction is small, namely, $`\alpha 1`$. Note, however, that this model implies a non-vanishing cosmological constant. This may have to do with the field contents of the early universe .

In other words, the smallness of the cosmological constant is not resolved by this approach. Something else has to help resolving the cosmological-constant problem. One possibility already mentioned earlier is that this induced-gravity theory remains effective, only during the inflationary era, as an collective effect of the physics in the early universe . This effective induced theory will no longer be held responsible for the physics after inflation is completed.

In addition, one can also consider the following symmetry-breaking Coleman-Weinberg potential from radiative correction

$$V=\frac{\lambda _1}{4}\varphi ^4\mathrm{ln}(\frac{\varphi }{v})^4+\frac{\lambda _2}{4}\varphi ^4\mathrm{\Lambda }.$$
(23)
Note that we will use the same notation for $`V`$, $`\lambda _i`$, $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$, etc. for simplicity although we are working on a different model. One can show that the first constraint in Eq. (14) gives $`\mathrm{\Lambda }=\lambda _1\varphi _0^4/4`$. The second one gives $`V_0=3ϵ^2\varphi _0^4/64\alpha `$. This implies that $`\varphi _0=v\mathrm{exp}[3ϵ^2/64\alpha \lambda _1(\lambda _1+\lambda _2)/4\lambda _1]`$. Therefore, one can put the potential as

$$V=\frac{\lambda _1}{4}\varphi ^4\mathrm{ln}(\frac{\varphi }{\varphi _0})^4+\frac{3ϵ^2}{64\alpha }\varphi ^4\frac{\lambda _1}{4}(\varphi ^4\varphi _0^4).$$
(24)
In addition, one can show that the minimum state occurs when $`\varphi =\varphi _m=\varphi _0\mathrm{exp}[3ϵ^2/64\alpha \lambda _1]`$. Furthermore, one can show that $`V_m=(\lambda _1\varphi _0^4/4)\{1\mathrm{exp}[3ϵ^2/16\alpha \lambda _1]\}`$. Therefore, inflation can be achieved rather easily. On the other hand, one can show that $`V_m`$ depends on the choice of the parameters $`xϵ^2/\lambda _1`$ and $`y3/16\alpha `$ according to

$$V_m=\frac{e^{xy}1}{x}.$$
(25)
One can hence show that $`V_m`$ increases as $`x`$ decreases or $`y`$ increases. This is proved by showing that $`_xV_m`$ is always negative and $`_yV_m`$ is always positive definite. Hence by choosing smaller $`\lambda _1`$, larger $`\alpha `$, or larger $`ϵ`$ would lead to a smaller $`V_m`$. In practice, one should choose $`xy1`$ such that $`V_m3/16\alpha `$. In addition, the condition $`xy1`$ is equivalent to the condition $`\lambda _13ϵ^2/16\alpha =ϵ^2V_m(xy1)`$. Therefore, $`\alpha `$ has to be very large in order to push $`V_m`$ toward $`0`$. This is somewhat inappropriate as $`\alpha `$, related to the particle contents during inflation, can be computed from their quantum corrections in curved space . Therefore, one expects $`\alpha `$ to be small. Hence it is not likely that one can tune field parameters in order to push $`V_m`$ to the limit of observation in this theory. Note further that one has $`\alpha >0`$ because $`V_0=3ϵ\varphi _0^2H_0^2=3ϵ^2\varphi _0^4/64\alpha >0`$. In addition, one expects $`\lambda >0`$ since $`V^{\prime \prime }(\varphi _m)=4\lambda \varphi _m^2>0`$ where $`\varphi _m`$ is a local minimum. Hence one has $`V_m>0`$ if $`\alpha \lambda _1>0`$.

Note that the scaling condition is derived from the slow-rollover approximation. It was shown that the initial data has to be close to the scaling condition. We have, however, shown that a stable inflationary solution exists only when (i) scaling condition is closely obeyed and (ii) $`\alpha `$ is constrained by Eq. (10). We also show explicitly that two different extended models are not able to produce a universe with a vanishing cosmological constant all alone. Therefore, in the traditional $`\varphi ^4`$ SSB model under the scaling condition, inflationary solution does not favor a stable inflationary solution in the presence of the HDT. Accordingly, the traditional slow-rollover inflationary solution will soon fall off the scaling limit even if it started out close to the scaling condition. Hence, one does not need to worry about whether the scalar field will be frozen to the scaling condition. Therefore, the effect of the HDT will act in favor of the graceful-exit process.

Acknowledgments : This work is supported in part by the National Science Council under the contract number NSC88-2112-M009-001.


text:
# Signatures of the excitonic memory effects in four-wave mixing processes in cavity polaritons

## Abstract

We report the signatures of the exciton correlation effects with finite memory time in frequency domain degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in semiconductor microcavity. By utilizing the polarization selection rules, we discriminate instantaneous, mean field interactions between excitons with the same spins, long-living correlation due to the formation of biexciton state by excitons with opposite spins, and short-memory correlation effects in the continuum of unbound two-exciton states. The DFWM spectra give us the relative contributions of these effects and the upper limit for the time of the exciton-exciton correlation in the unbound two-exciton continuum. The obtained results reveal the basis of the cavity polariton scattering model for the DFWM processes in high-Q GaAs microcavity.

Importance of the effects associated with the exciton-exciton interaction in the nonlinear optical response at the fundamental band edge has been revealed in a number of experiments in $`\chi ^{(3)}`$-regime. These effects, which originate from the electromagnetic Coulomb interaction between photo-generated carriers and Pauli exclusion principle, are referred to as four particle correlation effects . Extensive effort has been devoted to investigate such correlations in semiconductors by four-wave mixing spectroscopy, which gives us a unique opportunity to evaluate limits of applicability of the fermionic mean field theory . However, under actual experimental conditions, the nonlinear optical measurements are affected by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic effects, which are caused by non-electronic degrees of freedom. These effects can not be discriminated in a nonlinear optical experiment in wide spectral region, preventing the direct comparison between theory and experiment.

However, the situation becomes more transparent when we restrict ourselves to the spectral window close to the exciton resonance, where the effects of four particle correlation can be classified in terms of spin dependent interaction between excitons . In particular, a simple model , referred to as the weakly interacting boson (WIB) model, in which the interaction between $`1s`$ excitons is described by using two parameters to account for the interaction between excitons with the same and opposite spins, has allowed us to reproduce the overall features of the polarization-sensitive DFWM spectra.

The remarkable efficiency of the WIB model in the describing the polarization-sensitive DFWM measurements in time  and frequency domain  has made it a promising and handy scheme to study the correlation effects by methods of nonlinear spectroscopy. However, the underlying physics and, especially, the role of second,- and higher-order in exciton-exciton interactions effects , still remain unclear because the model does not account for memory effects. These effects are responsible for the temporal evolution of the $`2\omega `$-coherence within the continuum of the unbound two-exciton states and the long-living correlation due to the existence of biexciton, which has also been found to be important in FWM at semiconductor band edge . Note, that the evolution equation for the excitonic polarization with account for the biexciton state has been obtained in  as a natural extension of the WIB model. Similar semi-phenomenological treatment, which ignores the memory effects due to the unbound two-exciton continuum, can be developed by starting from the fermionic description of the excitonic nonlinearity . The study of the effects of the bound and unbound two-exciton states in the third-order optical response is especially interesting in GaAs system, where - in strong contrast to the wide gap semiconductors such as CuCl  or ZnSe  \- the biexciton binding energy is the order of the exciton linewidth .

In order to elucidate the role of the memory effects at the fundamental band edge, a special attention should be paid to the choice of the material for the nonlinear-optical measurements. Specifically, the experiment should be performed in a system where effects associated with the finite exciton population and inhomogeneity are minimized. In this condition the effects of the exciton population can be minimized by performing pump-probe experiment at large detuning from the excitonic resonance. In this condition the polarization-sensitive shift of the excitonic resonance, which is referred to as the optical Stark effect, is the signature of the four-particle correlation . At resonance condition, the exciton-cavity coupled system is a well suited candidate to observe the signature of the four-particle correlation. This is because strong coherent coupling between exciton and photon in the high-Q microcavity, which leads to the formation of cavity polaritons  and suppresses incoherent effects in the DFWM signal . In this paper, we show that the study of polarization-sensitive DFWM spectra in GaAs/AlGaAs QW embedded in the high-Q microcavity allows us to discriminate the memory effects. By comparing the results of the experiment and theory, we show that the correlation memory time of excitons in GaAs is very short justifying the description of the DFWM process, which is based on cavity polariton scattering. We also obtain the relative contributions from the bound and unbound two-exciton states to the nonlinear optical response.

The semiconductor microcavity investigated in this work has a single 12-nm-thick GaAs quantum well at the antinode of a $`\lambda /2`$-planar microcavity, consisting of 22 and 14.5 pairs of distributed Bragg reflectors for the bottom and topside respectively. All the measurements were performed at 13 K. The linear reflection spectrum shows that the normal mode splitting at zero detuning (4.3 meV) is larger than the linewidth of either exciton or cavity mode (1.5 meV). The DFWM signal was measured in (xxx)-, (xyy)-, (+++)-, (x++)- and (x+-)-configurations, which are abbreviated by the polarizations of the pump, test and signal beams, respectively, in the self-pumped phase conjugation geometry . We used the tunable picosecond pulses (pulse width of 1.9 psec and spectral width of 0.7 meV) from a Kerr-lens mode-locked Ti:Sapphire laser with a 76 MHz repetition rate. In order to ensure that the measurements were performed in the $`\chi ^{(3)}`$-regime, we examined excitation-power dependence of the DFWM signal and found that it is proportional to $`I_{pump}^2I_{test}`$. The detailed description of the experiment can be find in .

The DFWM spectra at zero exciton-cavity detuning are presented in Fig.1a for different polarization configurations . In the (x++)\- and (+++)-configurations, the spectra experiment show nearly the same intensities for upper and lower polaritons. In the (x+-)\- configuration, where the DFWM signal is dominated by the cavity polariton scattering is due to two-exciton states with zero angular momentum, the signal at lower mode is found to be 2.5 times of that at upper mode. The DFWM spectra in (xxx)\- and (xyy)-configurations show a switching between upper and lower modes.

In order to explain these results, we need to examine how the memory effects in the exciton interaction manifest themselves in different polarization configuration. Following  we consider the resonant excitation only and start from the equation of motion for the normalized complex amplitudes of the right- and left-circular components of the excitonic polarization at the frequency $`\omega `$, $`p_\pm =<b_\pm >/(Vv_e)^{1/2}`$, where $`b_\pm `$ is the exciton annihilation operator, $`V`$ and $`v_e`$ are the crystal and exciton volume respectively, subscripts $`\mathrm{"}\pm \mathrm{"}`$ label right- and left-circular components. The exciton volume is defined from the conventional relationship between the exciton and interband dipole moments: $`\mu _{ex}/\mu =(V/v_e)^{1/2}`$. The evolution equation for $`p_\pm `$ can be presented in the following form:

$`i{\displaystyle \frac{p_\pm }{t}}+\mathrm{\Delta }p_\pm =`$ $`(1C|p_\pm |^2)\mathrm{\Omega }_\pm +`$ (2)
$`p_\pm ^{}{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}F(\tau )p_\pm ^2(t\tau )e^{2i\mathrm{\Delta }\tau }𝑑\tau p_{}^{}{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}G(\tau )p_+(t\tau )p_{}(t\tau )e^{2i\mathrm{\Delta }\tau }𝑑\tau `$
Here $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\pm =\mu E_\pm /\mathrm{}`$ are the Rabi frequencies, which correspond to the right- and left-circular components of the electric field $`E_\pm `$ of the light wave at the QW, $`\mathrm{\Delta }=\omega _e\omega i\gamma `$, $`\omega _e`$ and $`\gamma `$ are the exciton frequency and dephasing rate, respectively; $`C>0`$ is the phase space filling (PSF) constant ; $`F(\tau )`$ and $`G(\tau )`$ are memory functions, which account for both instantaneous and retarded parts of the exciton-exciton interaction.

Since in our experiment, the pulse is longer than the exciton dephasing time, we can consider the steady state approximation ignoring the time dependence of slowly varying amplitudes $`p_\pm `$ and $`\mathrm{\Omega }_\pm `$ in Eq. (2). By using Eq. (2) and the evolution equation for the electric field at the QW , the steady-state amplitudes of the third-order polarization at the frequency $`\omega `$, which is responsible for the DFWM signal in the phase conjugated geometry, can be presented in the following form:

$$p_\pm ^{(3)}=A\{E_{\pm ,pump}^2[C\mathrm{\Delta }+_0^{\mathrm{}}F(\tau )e^{2i\mathrm{\Delta }\tau }𝑑\tau ]+E_{,pump}^2_0^{\mathrm{}}G(\tau )e^{2i\mathrm{\Delta }\tau }𝑑\tau \}E_{\pm ,test}^{}$$
(3)
where $`A`$ accounts for resonance enhancement of the electric field in the microcavity, $`E_{\pm ,pump}`$ and $`E_{\pm ,test}`$ are amplitudes of the electric field associated with the pump and test beams, respectively, at the QW.

In order to show how the memory effects manifest themselves in the nonlinear response, we separate the memory function $`F(\tau )`$ in terms of instantaneous (mean field) part given by $`\varphi >0`$, and retarded (correlation) part , which is given by $`\mathrm{\Phi }(\tau )`$: $`F(\tau )=\varphi \delta (\tau )\mathrm{\Phi }(\tau )`$. The mean field parameter $`\varphi `$ is of the first order in exciton-exciton interaction and describes the interaction between excitons with same spins and zero center-of-mass momentum , while $`\mathrm{\Phi }(\tau )`$ accounts for correlation effects of the second- and higher-order of the interaction between two excitons. The memory function $`G(\tau )`$ accounts for the effects arising from the interaction between excitons with opposite spins. In this case, the first-order in exciton-exciton interaction term vanishes and this memory function contains correlation effects of the second- and higher order in interaction between two excitons. In this configuration, there exists a bound state of two excitons. Correspondingly, we separate $`G(\tau )`$ in terms of contribution from the unbound two-exciton part given by $`\mathrm{\Psi }(\tau )`$ and biexciton part given by $`\psi e^{i\omega _B\tau }`$, where $`\omega _B`$ is the biexciton binding energy: $`G(\tau )=\mathrm{\Psi }(\tau )i\psi e^{i\omega _B\tau }`$ .

In the high-Q microcavity, the strong coupling between excitons and photons produces polariton modes, which dominate both linear and DFWM spectra. These modes are referred to as lower and upper cavity polaritons. At zero exciton-cavity detuning their frequencies are $`\omega _{\alpha ,\beta }=\omega _eg`$, respectively, where $`g=(2\pi \omega \mu ^2/\mathrm{}nv_e)^{1/2}`$ is the energy of the dipole coupling between exciton and photon and $`n`$ is the refractive index. The intensities of the polarization-sensitive DFWM signal at frequencies of the lower and upper polaritons for different polarization configurations can be obtained from (3) as follows: $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{xxx}|R+W\pm (Cg+\delta R+\delta W)|^2`$, $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{xyy}|RW\pm (Cg+\delta R\delta W)|^2`$, $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{+++}|R\pm (Cg+\delta R)|^2`$ and $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{x+}|W\pm \delta W|^2`$, where

$`R=\varphi {\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}\mathrm{\Phi }(\tau )e^{2\gamma \tau }\mathrm{cos}2g\tau d\tau `$ (4)
$`\delta R=i{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}\mathrm{\Phi }(\tau )e^{2\gamma \tau }\mathrm{sin}2g\tau d\tau `$ (5)
$`W={\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}\mathrm{\Psi }(\tau )e^{2\gamma \tau }\mathrm{cos}2g\tau d\tau +{\displaystyle \frac{(2ig+\omega _B)\psi }{(2i\gamma +\omega _B)^24g^2}}`$ (6)
$`\delta W=i{\displaystyle _0^{\mathrm{}}}\mathrm{\Psi }(\tau )e^{2\gamma \tau }\mathrm{sin}2g\tau d\tau +{\displaystyle \frac{2g\psi }{(2i\gamma +\omega _B)^24g^2}}`$ (7)
Normal mode splitting $`2g`$ is the major spectral characteristic of the strongly coupled exciton-cavity system and, correspondingly, the role of the memory effects in the excitonic nonlinear response is determined by its ratio to the spectrum width of the memory functions. In order to clarify the role of the memory effects in the DFWM spectra, we first examine the long-time memory limit case, i.e. $`2g>>\tau _c^1`$, where $`\tau _c`$ is the correlation time of the memory functions $`\mathrm{\Phi }(\tau )`$ and $`\mathrm{\Psi }(\tau )`$. By simplifying Eq. (7) with account for $`2g\tau _c>>1`$ and $`g>>\gamma ,\omega _B`$ one can arrive at the following equations for the polariton intensities: $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{+++}|\varphi \pm Cg|^2`$, $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{xxx}|\varphi \pm (Cg\psi /2g)|^2`$ and $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{xyy}|\varphi \pm (Cg+\psi /2g)|^2`$. Since $`\varphi ,\psi >0`$ and $`\gamma ,\omega _B<2g`$ one may see that $`I_\alpha ^{xyy}>I_\alpha ^{+++}`$ (intensity of the lower polariton in (xyy)-configuration is higher than that in ($`+++`$)-configuration) and $`I_\beta ^{xxx}>I_\beta ^{+++}`$ (intensity of the upper polariton in (xxx)-configuration is higher than that in ($`+++`$)-configuration). However, it can be clearly observed from the spectra 1n Fig. 1a, that such a conclusion contradicts to the experimental results making assumption $`2g\tau _c>>1`$ is invalid.

Therefore, our experimental findings invoke the condition $`2g<\tau _c^1`$. In such a case, we can substitute $`e^{2\gamma \tau }cos2g\tau 12\gamma \tau 2g^2\tau ^2+\mathrm{}`$ and $`e^{2\gamma \tau }sin2g\tau 2g\tau +\mathrm{}`$, and neglect $`\delta R`$ in comparison with $`Cg`$. Similarly, at $`\omega _B<2g`$ one can estimate $`W_0^{\mathrm{}}\mathrm{\Psi }(\tau )𝑑\tau `$ and $`\delta W\psi /2g`$. These gives $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{xxx}|R+W\pm (Cg+\delta W)|^2`$, $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{xyy}|RW\pm (Cg\delta W)|^2`$, $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{+++}|R\pm Cg|^2`$ and $`I_{\alpha ,\beta }^{x+}|W\pm \delta W|^2`$ ensuring $`I_\alpha ^{+++}>I_\alpha ^{xyy}>I_\alpha ^{xxx}`$ and $`I_\beta ^{+++}>I_\beta ^{xxx}>I_\beta ^{xyy}`$. Note that since we observe $`I_\alpha ^{x+}>I_\beta ^{x+}`$, the following relationship holds: $`W<\delta W<0`$. The observed difference in the intensities of the upper and lower polaritons in the (x+-)-configuration originates from the bound two-exciton state. The ratio $`I_\alpha ^{x+}/I_\beta ^{x+}2.5`$ obtained in the experiment is consistent with the followed from the sum rule  theoretical estimation $`I_\alpha ^{x+}/I_\beta ^{x+}1+2\omega _B/g`$, for typical GaAs biexciton binding energy . The calculated DFWM spectra with account for the bound and unbound two-exciton states are presented in Fig. 1b for $`(W):\delta W:R:Cg=0.7:0.23:0.12:1`$. We would like to note here, that our estimation $`\tau _c<(2g)^1`$ is consistent with the results of the calculation of the memory functions within the 1D-Hubbard model framework .

With account for $`\delta R<<Cg`$ and $`|\delta W|<|W|`$, the obtained result returns the prediction of the polariton scattering model , which has allowed us obtain Eq. (3) with the frequency independent $`W`$ and $`R`$. In this model, these parameters account for the attraction and repulsion between excitons with opposite and same spins, respectively, in the phenomenological WIB Hamiltonian . The experimental spectra at both zero (see Fig. 1a) and arbitrary detuning for the above mentioned polarization configurations have been explained by the following relationship between the parameters of the polariton scattering model: $`(W):R:Cg=0.75:0.1:1`$ . This has allowed us to conclude that the attractive interaction between excitons and the PSF effect dominate in the DFWM process in the high-Q microcavity. Apparently the polariton scattering model failed to explain the difference in $`I_\alpha ^{x+}`$ and $`I_\beta ^{x+}`$, which is due to the biexciton effect. Nevertheless, the parameters, which has been obtained in , coincide with our present estimations, because the biexcitonic effects do not affect significantly the spectra in (xxx)\- and (xyy)-configurations. The relatively small value of the parameter $`R`$ obtained in the experiment is due to nearly cancellation of the first- and higher-order in the exciton-exciton interaction contributions  to the resonant third-order susceptibility. This cancellation has also been discussed in  in terms of constraints, which are imposed on the spectral density of the memory functions by the sum rules.

In conclusion, we formulate the resonant DFWM results in terms of exciton memory functions and show that the polarization-sensitive DFWM spectra give us an important information on the memory effects in exciton-exciton interaction. The intensity of the DFWM signal in the strongly coupled exciton-cavity system is determined by both short-memory correlation in the unbound two-exciton continuum and long-memory correlation associated with the biexciton state. Both these effects give the second- and higher-order in exciton-exciton interaction contributions to the resonance optical nonlinearity, while the mean field, instantaneous contribution, which is of the first-order in the exciton-exciton interaction, is nearly canceled. By comparing the results of the experiment and theory in various polarization configurations, we estimate the upper limit of the correlation time of the memory functions, $`\tau _c<<900`$ fs, which describe the $`2\omega `$-coherence due to the continuum of the unbound two-exciton states. This also allows us to show that the relative contribution to the resonant third-order susceptibility from the biexciton in GaAs is about 30 percent. We show that the short memory time of the exciton-exciton interaction permits to describe the coherent optical response of the excitons in the high-Q semiconductor microcavity in terms of the cavity polariton scattering model, which should be extended to account for the biexciton state.

Discussions with Professor L. J. Sham, Professor A. Shimizu and Dr J. Inoue are duly acknowledged. The microcavity has been provided by Professor H. Sakaki and Dr T. Someya. We are also grateful to Dr C. Ramkumar, R. Shimano and T. Aoki for helpful discussions. M.K.-G. is partially supported by a grant-in-aid for COE Research from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports, and Culture of Japan.