Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- 2 THE COSMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
- 3 RADIATIVE PROCESSES–I
- 4 RADIATIVE PROCESSES–II
- 5 THE STANDARD MODEL
- 6 SURVEYS
- 7 LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS
- 8 THE CONTINUUM
- 9 RADIO PROPERTIES
- 10 X-RAY EMISSION
- 11 X-RAY AND GAMMA-RAY SPECTRA
- 12 UNIFICATION
- 13 QUASAR ABSORPTION LINES
- 14 GRAVITATIONAL LENSING
- 15 PROBLEMS AND CONTROVERSIES
- References
- Books, reviews and proceedings
- Author index
- Subject index
3 - RADIATIVE PROCESSES–I
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- 1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
- 2 THE COSMOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
- 3 RADIATIVE PROCESSES–I
- 4 RADIATIVE PROCESSES–II
- 5 THE STANDARD MODEL
- 6 SURVEYS
- 7 LUMINOSITY FUNCTIONS
- 8 THE CONTINUUM
- 9 RADIO PROPERTIES
- 10 X-RAY EMISSION
- 11 X-RAY AND GAMMA-RAY SPECTRA
- 12 UNIFICATION
- 13 QUASAR ABSORPTION LINES
- 14 GRAVITATIONAL LENSING
- 15 PROBLEMS AND CONTROVERSIES
- References
- Books, reviews and proceedings
- Author index
- Subject index
Summary
Introduction
The continuum radiation from AGN stretches over the entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum, from the radio to the high energy γ-ray region, where pair production by photons becomes important. The continuum spectrum has an overall complex shape, but it can often be approximated by a simple power law form over fairly wide wavelength intervals. The radiation is produced in elementary processes like synchrotron emission and bremsstrahlung, and is modified by scattering, absorption and reemission. In this chapter and the next we shall consider some aspects of radiation processes which are important to the basic understanding of the continuum spectrum. The discussion will be brief, and the emphasis will be on developing concepts, summarizing important results and providing them in such a form that they can be directly applied to situations pertinent to quasars and AGN. The subject has been treated in detail in a pedagogic manner by Jackson [J75] and Rybicki and Lightman [RL79]. The more advanced and formal aspects have been covered by Blumenthal and Gould (1970) and an excellent summary, especially of the synchrotron process, with application to AGN, may be found in Moffett (1968). Our treatment and notation owe much to these sources.
In the present chapter we will consider mainly synchrotron radiation and some consequences of relativistic radiation. The other processes important to AGN and quasars will be discussed in Chapter 4.
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- Information
- Quasars and Active Galactic NucleiAn Introduction, pp. 31 - 64Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999