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EssentialRadioAstronomy
4FreeFreeRadiation 6Pulsars

Chapter5
SynchrotronRadiation
5.1Magnetobremsstrahlung
Anyacceleratedchargedparticleemitselectromagneticradiationwithpowerspecifiedby
Larmorsformula(Equation2.143).Inastrophysicalsituations,electromagneticforcesproduce
thestrongestaccelerationsofchargedparticles.Accelerationbyanelectricfieldaccountsfor
freefreeradiation.Accelerationbyamagneticfieldproducesmagnetobremsstrahlung,the
Germanwordformagneticbrakingradiation.Thelightestchargedparticles(electrons,and
positronsifanyarepresent)areacceleratedmorethanrelativelymassiveprotonsandheavier
ions,soelectrons(andpossiblypositrons)accountforvirtuallyalloftheradiationobserved.The
characterofmagnetobremsstrahlungdependsonthespeedsoftheelectrons,sothesesomewhat
differenttypesofradiationaregivenspecificnames.Gyroradiationcomesfromelectrons
whosevelocitiesaremuchsmallerthanthespeedoflight:v c.Mildlyrelativisticelectrons
whosekineticenergiesarecomparablewiththeirrestmassm ec 2emitcyclotronradiation,and
ultrarelativisticelectrons(kineticenergies m ec 2)producesynchrotronradiation.

Synchrotronradiationisubiquitousinastronomy.Itaccountsformostoftheradioemission
fromactivegalacticnuclei(AGNs)thoughttobepoweredbysupermassiveblackholesin
galaxiesandquasars,anditdominatestheradiocontinuumemissionfromstarforminggalaxies
likeourownatfrequenciesbelow 30GHz.ThemagnetosphereofJupiterisasynchrotron
radiosource.TheopticalemissionfromtheCrabNebulasupernovaremnant,theopticaljetof
theradiogalaxyM87,andtheopticalthroughXrayemissionfrommanyquasarsissynchrotron
radiation.

Therelativisticelectronsinnearlyallsynchrotronsourceshavepowerlawenergy
distributions,sotheyarenotinlocalthermodynamicequilibrium(LTE).Consequently,
synchrotronsourcesareoftencallednonthermalsources.However,asynchrotronsourcewith
arelativisticMaxwellianelectronenergydistributionwouldbeathermalsource,so
synchrotronandnonthermalarenotcompletelysynonymous.

Eventhoughsynchrotronradiationisquitedifferentfromfreefreeemission,noticehow
manythemesfromthederivationoffreefreesourcespectraarerepeatedforsynchrotron
sourcesLarmorsequationisusedtoderivethetotalpowerandspectrumofradiationbya
singleelectron,thespectrumofanopticallythinsourceisobtainedasthesuperpositionofthe
spectraofindividualelectrons,theelectronenergydistributionisbroadenoughthatthe
spectrumofanindividualelectroncanbeapproximatedbyadeltafunction,Kirchhoffslaw
yieldstheabsorptioncoefficientintermsoftheemissioncoefficient(eventhoughthe
synchrotronsourceisnotinLTE!),andthesimplecylindricalcowgeometryisusedtoyield
thespectrumofasourcethatisopticallythickatlowfrequencies.

5.1.1GyroRadiation

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Larmorsequationisvalidonlyforgyroradiationfromaparticlewithchargeqmovingwitha

smallvelocityv c.ThemagneticforceFexertedontheparticlebyamagneticfieldBis

q( v B)
F= . (5.1)
c

Themagneticforceisperpendiculartotheparticlevelocity,soF v = 0.Consequentlythe
magneticforcedoesnoworkontheparticle,doesnotchangetheparticleskineticenergymv 2 / 2
,anddoesnotchangethecomponentofvelocityv paralleltothemagneticfield.Becauseboth
|v|andv areconstant,themagnitudeofthevelocitycomponent|v |perpendiculartothe
magneticfieldmustalsobeconstant.Inauniformmagneticfield,theparticlemovesalongthe
magneticfieldlineonahelicalpathwithconstantlinearandangularspeeds.Intheinertialframe
movingwithvelocityv ,theparticleorbitsinacircleofradiusrperpendiculartothemagnetic
fieldwiththeangularvelocityneededtobalancethecentripetalandmagneticforces:

q q
m|v| = m 2r =

| v B| = rB
c c (5.2)

theorbitalangularfrequencyis

qB
= . (5.3)
mc

Equation5.3impliesthattheorbitalfrequencyisindependentoftheparticlespeedsolongas
v c.Theangulargyrofrequency Gisdefinedby

qB
G .
mc (5.4)

Thisdefinitionholdsforanyparticlespeed,sothegyrofrequencyequalstheactualorbital
frequencyifandonlyifv c.

Theangulargyrofrequency(rads 1)ofanelectronis

eB 4.8 10 10 statcoul B
G = =
m ec 9.1 10 28 g 3 10 10 cm s 1 (5.5)
17.6 10 6 rad s 1 B (gauss). (5.6)
Intermsof G G / (2)theelectrongyrofrequencyinMHzis

(5.7)

( ) ( )
G B
= 2.8 .
MHz gauss

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ThetypicalinterstellarmagneticfieldstrengthinanormalspiralgalaxylikeoursisB 10 G,
sotheelectrongyrofrequencyisonly G = 2.8 MHz 10 10 6 gauss 28 Hz.The
associatedgyroradiationcannotpropagatethroughtheISMbecauseitsfrequency 28 Hzis
lessthantheplasmafrequency(Equation6.40).

Gyroradiationfromnonrelativisticelectronsisobservableinverystrongmagneticfields
suchastheB 10 12gaussmagneticfieldofaneutronstar.Forexample,thebinaryXray
sourceHerculesX1exhibitsanXrayabsorptionlineatphotonenergyE 34keV(Figure
5.1).

Figure5.1:Gyroresonanceabsorptionlinenear34keV[41].

Thisspectralfeatureisthoughttobeagyroresonanceabsorption,inwhichcasethe
frequencyofthisabsorptionlinedirectlymeasuresthemagneticfieldstrengthneartheHerX1
neutronstar.Theobservedphotonenergycorrespondstothefrequency

E 34 10 3 eV 1.60 10 12erg eV 1
= 8.2 10 18 Hz. (5.8)
h 6.63 10 27erg s

Equatingthisfrequencytothegyrofrequencyyieldsthemagneticfield:

2 G m e c
B = (5.9)
e
2 8.2 10 18 Hz 9.1 10 28 g 3 10 10 cm s 1

4.8 10 10 statcoul (5.10)
2.9 10 12 gauss. (5.11)

5.2SynchrotronPower
Cosmicraysarecelestialparticles(e.g.,electrons,protons,andheaviernuclei)withextremely
highenergies.Cosmicrayelectronsintheinterstellarmagneticfieldemitthesynchrotron
radiationthataccountsformostofthecontinuumemissionfromourGalaxyatfrequencies
belowabout30GHz.Larmorsformulacanbeusedtocalculatethesynchrotronpowerand
synchrotronspectrumofasingleelectronintheinertialframeinwhichtheelectronis

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instantaneouslyatrest,buttheLorentztransformofspecialrelativityisneededtotransform
theseresultstotheframeofanobserveratrestintheGalaxy.

5.2.1LorentzTransforms

Figure5.2:Aneventviewedbyobserversintwocoordinateframes.Theunprimedframeis
therestframeandtheprimedframeismovingtotherightwithvelocityv.

Foranypointlikeevent,theLorentztransform(seeAppendixCforaderivation)relatesthe
coordinates(x, y, z, t)intheunprimedinertialframeandthecoordinates(x , y , z , t )inthe
primedframemovingwithvelocityvinthexdirection(Figure5.2).Theyare

x = (x + vt ), y = y, z = z, t = (t + x / c), (5.12)

x = (x vt), y = y, z = z, t = (t x / c), (5.13)

where

v/c
(5.14)

and

1/ 2
(1 2) (5.15)

iscalledtheLorentzfactor.TheLorentztransformislinear,soevenforfinitecoordinate
differences(x, y, z, t)and(x , y , z , t )betweentwoevents,thedifferentialformof
theLorentztransformis

x = (x + vt ), y = y , z = z , t = (t + x / c), (5.16)

x = (x vt), y = y, z = z, t = (t x / c). (5.17)

5.2.2RelativisticMasses

Therestmassm eofanelectroncanbeconvertedtoanenergybyEinsteinsfamousmass
energyequation
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E = mc 2. (5.18)

Theenergycorrespondingtotheelectronsrestmassm eis

2
E 0 = m ec 2 = 9.1 10 28 g (3 10 10 cm s 1) = 8.2 10 7 erg
(5.19)
8.2 10 7 erg
= = 5.1 10 5 eV = 0.51 MeV.
1.60 10 12
erg (eV) 1 (5.20)

Cosmicrayelectronshavingmassesm = m e m e(EquationC.28)andtotalenergies
E E 0 = 0.51 MeVarecalledultrarelativistic.

Ultrarelativisticelectronsstillmoveonspiralpathsalongmagneticfieldlines,butthe
angularfrequencies Boftheirorbitsarelowerbecausetheirinertialmassesaremultipliedby
(AppendixC):

eB G
B = = . (5.21)
(m e)c

Theorbitalfrequencyofacosmicrayelectronwith = 10 5inaB 10 Ginterstellarmagnetic

fieldisonly

B
B 28 10 5 Hz 1 cycle per hour. (5.22)
2

Becausev cwhenever 1,theorbitalradiusrofanultrarelativisticelectronisnearly

independentofandcanbequitelarge:

c 3 10 10 cm s 1
r 1.7 10 13 cm 1 AU.
B 2 28 10 5
Hz (5.23)

Equation5.21isnotpromisingfortheproductionofobservablesynchrotronradiation:the
highobservedmassesm = m eofrelativisticelectronsreducetheirorbitalfrequenciesand
accelerationstoextremelylowvalues.However,twocompensatingrelativisticeffectscan
explainthestrongsynchrotronradiationobservedatradiofrequencies:(1)thetotalradiated
powerintheobserversframeisproportionalto 2and(2)relativisticbeamingturnsthelow
frequencysinusoidalradiationintheelectronframeintoaseriesofextremelysharppulses
containingpoweratmuchhigherfrequencies 3 B = 2 Gintheobserversframe.These
relativisticcorrectionsarederivedinSections5.2.3and5.3.1.

5.2.3SynchrotronPowerRadiatedbyaSingleElectron
Letprimedcoordinatesdescribetheinertialframeinwhichtheelectronis(temporarily)nearly
atrest.Larmorsequation(Equation2.143)givestheradiatedpowerintheelectronrestframeas

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2
2(e ) (a )
2
2e 2(a )
2 (5.24)
P = =
3c 3 3c 3

becausee = e (electricchargeisarelativisticinvariant)followsdirectlyfromMaxwells
relativisticallycorrectequations.

2 2 1/ 2
Themagneticaccelerationa = (a y + a z ) oftheelectronintheframeofanobserverat
restintheGalaxycanbederivedbyapplyingthechainruleforderivativestothedifferential
Lorentzcoordinatetransform(Equations5.16and5.17).

dv y dv y dt 1 dv y dt ay
ay = = = 2. (5.25)
dt dt dt dt dt

Similarly,a z = a z / 2so

a
a = . (5.26)
2

Thus

2 2
2e 2(a ) 2e 2a 4
P = = . (5.27)
3c 3 3c 3

ThenextstepistotransformfromtheradiatedpowerP = dE / dt intheelectronframe
toP = dE / dt,thepowermeasuredbyanobserveratrestintheGalaxy,byapplyingthechain
ruletothemassenergyEquation5.18:

dE dE dt dE dE dt
P = = = P 1 = P
dt dt dt dE dt dt (5.28)

thatis,thepowerisarelativisticinvariant.Consequently,

2
2e 2a 4
P = P = (a = 0). (5.29)
3c 3

Tocalculatea ,combineforcebalanceinacircularorbit

(5.30)

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dv
a = Bv
dt

withEquation5.21for Btoget

eBv eBvsin
a = = , (5.31)
m ec m ec

wheretheconstantanglebetweentheelectronvelocity vandthemagneticfieldBiscalledthe
pitchangle.

Insertinga fromEquation5.31intoEquation5.29givesthepowerradiatedbyasingle
electronmovingwithpitchangle:

2e 2 2 e 2B 2 2 2
P= v sin .
3c 3 m 2ec 2 (5.32)

ThispowerisusuallywrittenintermsoftheThomsoncrosssectionofanelectron, T.The
Thomsoncrosssectionistheclassicalradiationscatteringcrosssectionofachargedparticle.If
aplanewaveofelectromagneticradiationpassesafreechargedparticleinitiallyatrest,the
electricfieldofthatradiationwillacceleratetheparticle,whichinturnwillradiatepowerinall
directionsaccordingtoLarmorsequation.Thisprocessiscalledscatteringratherthan
absorptionbecausethetotalpowerinelectromagneticradiationisunchangedallofthepower
extractedfromtheincidentplanewaveisreradiatedatthesamefrequencybutinother
directions.Itisastraightforwardexercisetoshowthatthegeometricareathatwouldintercept
thisamountofincidentpowerfromtheplanewaveis

( )e2
8 2
T .
3 m ec 2 (5.33)

Numerically,

2
T =
8
3 [ (4.80 10 10 statcoul)
9.11 10 28
g (3.00 10 10
cm s ) 1 2 ] 6.65 10 25 cm 2.
(5.34)

ThereasonforusingtheThomsoncrosssectionwillbecomeclearinthediscussionofinverse
Comptonscatteringofradiationbythesamecosmicraysthatareproducingsynchrotron
radiation(Section5.5.1).

ItisalsoconventionaltoeliminatetheB 2inEquation5.32infavorofthemagneticenergy
density

(5.35)

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B2
UB = .
8

Then

[ ( )]( ) e2
8 2 B2 v2
P= 2 c 2 sin 2
3 m ec 2 8 c 2 (5.36)

simplifiesto

P = 2 T 2 2c U Bsin 2.
(5.37)

Thesynchrotronpowerradiatedbyasingleelectrondependsonlyonphysicalconstants,the
squareoftheelectronkineticenergy(via 2),themagneticenergydensityU B,andthepitch
angle.

Therelativisticelectronsinradiosourcescanhavelifetimesofthousandstomillionsof
yearsbeforelosingtheirultrarelativisticenergiesviasynchrotronradiationorotherprocesses.
Duringtheirlifetimestheyarescatteredrepeatedlybymagneticfieldfluctuationsandcharged
particlesintheirenvironment,andthedistributionoftheirpitchanglesgraduallybecomes
randomandisotropic.TheaveragesynchrotronpowerPperelectroninanensembleof
electronshavingthesameLorentzfactorandisotropicallydistributedpitchanglesis

P = 2 T 2 2c U Bsin 2,
(5.38)

wheresin 2istheaverageoverallpitchangles:

sin 2 d 1
sin 2 sin 2 d
4
= (5.39)

1 2 1 4
=
4 = 0 = 0sin 2sin d d = 4
2
3 (5.40)
2
= . (5.41)
3

Thustheaveragesynchrotronpowerperrelativisticelectroninasourcewithanisotropic
pitchangledistributionis

4
P = 2 2cU B.
3 T (5.42)

Forall 1,thefactor 2 = 1 2 1canbeignored.Relativisticeffectsmultiplythe

averageradiatedpowerbyafactor 2comparedwiththenonrelativistic( = 1)Larmor
equation.

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5.3SynchrotronSpectra

5.3.1TheSynchrotronSpectrumofaSingleElectron

Whydoessynchrotronradiationappearatfrequenciesmuchhigherthan B = G / ?First,
relativisticaberrationbeamsthedipolepatternofLarmorradiationintheelectronframe
sharplyalongthedirectionofmotionintheobserversframeasvapproachesc(Figure5.3).
Relativisticphotonbeamingfollowsdirectlyfromtherelativisticvelocityadditionequations
(EquationsC.22throughC.26)thatrelatethephotonvelocitycomponentv xintheunprimed

frameoftheobservertothephotonvelocitycomponentv x intheprimedframeandthevelocity
v = coftheprimedframeinwhichtheelectronisinstantaneouslyatrest:

vx
dx
dt
=
dx dt
dt dt
= ( dx
dt
+v
dt
dt
)( ) dt
dt
1
(5.43)

dx
[( )]
1

= (v x + v) 1 + , (5.44)
c dt

v x 1

v x = (v x + v) 1 +
c ( . ) (5.45)

Intheydirection,

vy
dy
dt
=
dy dt
dt dt
=
dy
dt ( )
dt
dt 1
, (5.46)

vyv x 1
vy =

1+
c (. ) (5.47)

Considerthesynchrotronphotonsemittedwithspeedcatanangle fromthex axis.Let

v x andv y betheprojectionsofthephotonspeedontothex andy axes.Then

vx vy
cos = , sin = . (5.48)
c c

Intheobserversframethesamephotonshave

vx vy
cos = , sin = . (5.49)
c c

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InsertingthevelocityEquations5.45and5.47intotheangleEquations5.48and5.49yields
relationsconnectingand :

vx + v
cos = (
1 + v x / c c
) (
1
=
ccos + v
1 + ccos / c c ) 1
=
cos +
1 + cos (5.50)

and

vy sin
sin = = .
(1 + cos ) (5.51)
c(1 + v x / c)

Intheframemovingwiththeelectron,theLarmorequationimpliesapowerpattern
proportionaltocos 2 withnullsat = / 2.Intheobserversframe,thesenullsareoffsetby
muchsmallerangles

= arcsin(1 / ).
(5.52)

Anobserveratrestseestheradiationconfinedtoaverynarrowbeamofwidth2 / between
nulls,asshowninFigure5.3.Forexample,a10GeVelectronhas 2 10 4so
2 / 10 4 rad 20arcsec!Althoughtheelectronisemittingcontinuously,theobserverseesa
shortpulseofradiationonlyfromthetinyfraction

2 1
=
2 (5.53)

oftheelectronorbitwheretheelectronismovingalmostdirectlytowardtheobserver.

Figure5.3:RelativisticaberrationtransformsthedipolepowerpatternofLarmorradiation
in the electron rest frame (dotted curve) into a narrow searchlight beam in the observers
frame.Thesolidcurveisthetransformedpatternfor = 5.Theobservedanglebetweenthe
nullsoftheforwardbeamfallsto = 2arcsin(1 / ),whichapproaches = 2 / inthelimit
1.

Thedurationt poftheobservedpulseisevenshorterthanthetimettheelectronneedsto
cover1 / ()ofitsorbitbecausetheelectronismovingalmostdirectlytowardtheobserverwith
aspeedapproachingc(Figure5.4)whenitisobservable.Asittravelstowardtheobserver,the
electronnearlykeepsupwiththeradiationthatitemits:

t p = t(end of observed pulse) t(start of observed pulse)

(5.54)
x (x x) x
= + . (5.55)
v c c

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Figure5.4:The beamed radiation from an ultrarelativistic electron is visible only while the
electronsvelocitypointswithin 1 / ofthelineofsight( 2 / ).Duringthattimetthe
electronmovesadistancex = vttowardtheobserver,almostkeepingupwiththeradiation
thattravelsadistancect.Asaresult,theobservedpulsedurationisshortenedbyafactor
(1 v / c).

Thefirstterminthisequationrepresentsthetimetakenbytheelectrontocoverthe
distancex,thesecondisthelighttraveltimefromtheelectronpositionattheendofthepulse
seenbytheobserver,andthethirdisthelighttraveltimefromtheelectronpositionatthe
beginningofthepulseseenbytheobserver.Notethattheobservedpulseduration

t p =
x
v

x
c
=
x
v ( ) 1
v
c

x
v
= t (5.56)

ismuchlessthanthetimettheelectronneedstomoveadistancexbecause,intheobservers
frame,theelectronnearlykeepsupwithitsownradiation.Inthelimitv c,

( ) ( )
1
v
c
= 1
v 1 + v/c
c 1 + v/c
=
1 v2 / c2
1 + v/c

2
2
=
1
2 2
(5.57)

so

t x 1 1
t p = = = .
2 2 v 2 2 B 2 2 (5.58)

Recallthat 2 / (Figure5.4)so

2 1 1
t p = = 3 = 2
2
B2 B G (5.59)

isthefullobserveddurationofthepulse.Allowingforthemotionoftheelectronparalleltothe
magneticfieldreplacesthetotalmagneticfieldbyitsperpendicularcomponentB = Bsin,
yielding

(5.60)
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1
t p = 2 ,
Gsin

whereisthepitchangleoftheelectron.Thusaplotofthepowerreceivedasafunctionoftime
isveryspiky.If 10 4andB 10 G,thehalfwidthofeachpulseist p / 2 < 10 10sandthe
spacingbetweenpulsesis / G > 10 2s(Figure5.5).

Figure5.5:Synchrotronradiationisaveryspikyseriesofwidelyspacednarrowpulses.The
numericalvaluesonthisplotofpowerversustimecorrespondtoanelectronwith 10 4ina
magneticfieldB 10 G.

TheobservedsynchrotronpowerspectrumistheFouriertransformofthistimeseriesof
pulses.Thepulsetrainistheconvolutionoftheindividualpulseprofilewiththeshahfunction
(seeFigureA.1orBracewell[15],avaluablereferencebook):

III(t / t) [(t / t)] n), (5.61)

n=

whereeachdeltafunctionisaninfinitesimallynarrowspikeatintegert / t = nandwhose
integralisunity.Theconvolutiontheorem(EquationA.15)statesthattheFouriertransformof
thepulsetrainistheproductoftheFouriertransformofonepulseandtheFouriertransformof
theshahfunction.

TheFouriertransformoftheshahfunctionisalsotheshahfunction(FigureA.1),sothe
similaritytheorem(EquationA.11)impliesthattheFouriertransformof

( )
t G
III (5.62)

inthetimedomainisproportionalto

III ( )
G

, (5.63)

whichisanearlycontinuousseriesofspikesinthefrequencydomain.Adjacentspikesare
separatedinfrequencybyonly

(5.64)
G
= < 10 3 Hz.

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Althoughthisisnotformallyacontinuousspectrum,thefrequencyshiftscausedbyeventiny
fluctuationsinelectronenergy,magneticfieldstrength,orpitchanglecausefrequencyshifts
muchlargerthan,sothespectrumofsynchrotronradiationiseffectivelycontinuous.

Figure5.6:Thisfigureshowsfourdifferentwaystoplotthesynchrotronspectrumofasingle

electron in terms of F(x) x x K 5 / 3(), where x / c is the frequency in units of the
criticalfrequency c.Althoughtheyallplotthesamespectrum,theylookquitedifferentand
emphasize or suppress information in different ways. (1) Simply plotting F(x) versus x on
linear axes (lower left panel) completely obscures the spectrum below the peak of F(x) at
x 0.29.(2)Replottingonlogarithmicaxes(upperleftpanel)showsthatthelowfrequency
spectrum has a logarithmic slope of 1 / 3, but it obscures the fact that most of the power is
emittedatfrequenciesnearx 1becauseF(x)isthespectralpowerperunitfrequency,not
perunitlog(frequency).(3)ThepowerperunitlogxisF(logx) = ln(10)xF(x),whichisplotted
onlogarithmicaxesintheupperrightpanel.Ithasaslopeof4 / 3atlowfrequencies,making
itclearerthatmostofthepowerisemittednearx 1,asrequiredtojustifytheapproximation
(usedinthenextsection)thatallofthepowerisemittedatx = 1.(4)Thelowerrightpanel
plotsF(logx) with a linear ordinate but a logarithmic abscissa to expand the lowfrequency
spectrum lost in the lower left panel. It is clearly consistent with the approximation that all
emissionisnearx = 1butdoesntclearlyshowthatthelowfrequencyspectrumisapower
law.NotealsothatthepeakofF(logx)isatx 1.3,notx 0.29.Areasunderthecurvesin
thetwolowerpanelsareproportionaltothepowerradiatedingivenfrequencyranges.Both
lower panels show that about half of the power is emitted at frequencies below the critical
frequencyandhalfathigherfrequencies.

Thusthesynchrotronspectrumofasingleelectronisfairlyflatatlowfrequenciesand
tapersoffatfrequenciesabove

1
max 2 Gsin 2B .
2t p (5.65)

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ItisntnecessarytoknowtheFouriertransformofthepulseshapepreciselytocalculatethe
synchrotronspectraofcelestialsourcesbecauserealsourcesdontcontainelectronswithjust
oneenergyandonepitchangleinauniformmagneticfield.Theactualenergydistributionof
cosmicraysinarealradiosourceisaverybroadpowerlaw,broadenoughtosmearoutthe
detailsofthespectrumfromeachelectronenergyrange.Justfortherecord,thesynchrotron
powerspectrumofasingleelectronis

3e 3Bsin
P() =
m ec 2 ( )
c

K ()d,
/ c 5 / 3 (5.66)

whereK 5 / 3isamodifiedBesselfunctionand cisthecriticalfrequencywhosevalueis

3 2
c = sin.
2 G (5.67)

ForthefullmathematicalderivationofEquations5.66and5.67,seePacholczyk[77],avaluable
referencefordetailsofradiationprocesses.

ThesynchrotronpowerspectrumofasingleelectronisplottedinFigure5.6.Ithasa
logarithmicslope

dlogP() 1

dlog 3 (5.68)

atlowfrequencies,abroadpeaknearthecriticalfrequency c,andfallsoffsharplyathigher
frequencies.Onewaytolookat cis

c = ( )( )
3
2
sin
E
mc 2
2 eB
2m ec
E 2B . (5.69)

Thatis,thefrequencyatwhicheachelectronemitsmoststronglyisproportionaltothesquareof
itsenergymultipliedbythestrengthoftheperpendicularcomponentofthemagneticfield.

5.3.2SynchrotronSpectraofOpticallyThinRadioSources
Ifasynchrotronsourcecontaininganyarbitrarydistributionofelectronenergiesisopticallythin
( 1),thenitsspectrumisthesuperpositionofthespectrafromindividualelectronsandits
fluxdensitycannotrisefasterthan 1 / 3atanyfrequency.Inotherwords,the(negative)
spectralindex dlogP / dlog(becarefulnottoconfusethisspectralindexwiththe
electronpitchangle)mustalwaysbegreaterthan 1 / 3.Mostastrophysicalsourcesof
synchrotronradiationhavespectralindicesnear 0.75atfrequencieswheretheyareoptically
thin,andtheirhighfrequencyspectralindicesreflecttheirelectronenergydistributions,notthe
spectraofindividualelectrons.

Theenergydistributionofcosmicrayelectronsinmostsynchrotronsourcesisroughlya
powerlaw:
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n(E)dE E dE, (5.70)

wheren(E)dEisthenumberofelectronsperunitvolumewithenergiesEtoE + dE.Theenergy
rangearound 10 4isrelevanttotheproductionofradioradiation.Becausen(E)isnearlya
powerlawovermorethanadecadeofenergyandthecriticalfrequency cisproportionaltoE 2,
thesynchrotronspectrumwillreflectthispowerlawoverafrequencyrangeofatleast
10 2 = 100.Consequentlythedetailedspectraofindividualelectronscanbeignoredbecause
theyaresmearedoutinthesourcespectrumbythebroadpowerlawenergydistribution.The
sourcespectrumcanbecalculatedwithgoodaccuracyfromtheapproximationthateachelectron
radiatesallofitsaveragepower(Equation5.42)

dE 4
P= = T 2 2cU B
dt 3 (5.71)

atthesinglefrequency

2 G,
(5.72)

whichisveryclosetothecriticalfrequency(Equation5.67).Thentheemissioncoefficient
(Equation2.26)ofsynchrotronradiationbyanensembleofelectronsis

dE
j d = n(E)dE,
dt (5.73)

where

E = m ec 2 ( )
G
1/ 2
m ec 2. (5.74)

DifferentiatingE()inEquation5.74gives

m ec 2 1 / 2
dE d
2 G
1/ 2 (5.75)

so

m ec 2 1 / 2
j ( 4

3 T
2 2cU B ) (
(E )
1/ 2
2 G
) .
(5.76)

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EliminatingEinfavorof / Gandthenusing G Byieldsanexpressionforj intermsof

andBonly:

j ( )( )

G
B2

G
/ 2
( G) 1 / 2 () ()

B
B2
/ 2
B
( B) 1 / 2. (5.77)

Thissimplifiesto

j B ( + 1 ) / 2 ( 1 ) / 2.
(5.78)

Thusthespectrumofopticallythinsynchrotronradiationfromapowerlawdistribution
n(E) E ofelectronsisalsoapowerlaw,andthespectralindex = dlnS / dlndependsonly
on:

1
= .
2 (5.79)

InourGalaxyandinmanyothersynchrotronsources, 0.75near 1GHz,sotheradio

spectraimply 2.5.Thisvalueofreflectstheinitialpowerlawenergyslope 0ofcosmic
raysacceleratedinshocks,suchastheshocksproducedbysupernovaremnantsexpandinginto
theambientinterstellarmedium,modifiedbylossprocessesthatdepletethepopulationof
relativisticelectrons.Forexample,therateatwhichanelectronlosesenergytosynchrotron
radiationisproportionaltoE 2,sohigherenergyelectronsaredepletedmorerapidly.Thecritical
frequencyisalsoproportionaltoE 2,sosynchrotronlosseseventuallysteepensourcespectraat
higherfrequencies.Ifrelativisticelectronswithinitialpowerlawslope 0arecontinuously
injectedintoasynchrotronsource,synchrotronlosseswilleventuallysteepenthatslopeto
= 0 + 1athighenergiesandthehighfrequencyspectralindexwillsteepenby = 1 / 2.See
Pacholczyk[77]foramoredetaileddiscussionofenergylossesandtheirspectralconsequences.

5.3.3SynchrotronSelfAbsorption
Thebrightnesstemperaturesofsynchrotronsourcescannotbecomearbitrarilylargeatlow
frequenciesbecauseforeveryemissionprocessthereisanassociatedabsorptionprocess.Ifthe
emittingparticlesareinlocalthermodynamicequilibrium(LTE),theyhaveaMaxwellianenergy
distributionandthesourceisthermal.Nothermalsourcecanhaveabrightnesstemperature
greaterthanthekinetictemperatureoftheemittingparticles.Iftheenergydistributionof
relativisticelectronsinasynchrotronsourcewerea(relativistic)Maxwellian,theelectrons
wouldhaveawelldefinedkinetictemperature,andsynchrotronselfabsorptionwouldprevent
thebrightnesstemperatureofthesynchrotronradiationfromexceedingthekinetictemperature
oftheemittingelectrons.Mostastrophysicalsynchrotronsourcesarenonthermalsources
becausetheenergydistributionoftherelativisticelectronsisapowerlawandthereisnowell
definedelectrontemperature.However,synchrotronselfabsorptionoccursforanyelectron
energydistribution,andthelowfrequencyspectrumofanopticallythicksynchrotronsourceisa
powerlawwhoseslopeis = dlnS / dln = 5 / 2.Thatresultisderivedbelow.

ElectronswithenergyE = m ec 2emitmostoftheirsynchrotronpowernearthecritical
frequency

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2eB (5.80)
c ,
2m ec

sothesynchrotronemissionatfrequencycomesprimarilyfromelectronswithLorentzfactors
near

( )
2m ec 1 / 2
. (5.81)
eB

InthisapproximationthatonlythoseelectronshavingoneparticularenergyEcontributetothe
emission(andhenceabsorption)ateachfrequency,allotherelectronscouldhavearelativistic
Maxwellianenergydistributiontomatchwithoutchangingtheresultingemissionandabsorption
atthatfrequency.Consequently,asufficientlybrightsynchrotronsourcewillbeopticallythick,
anditsbrightnesstemperatureatanyfrequencycannotexceedtheeffectivetemperatureofthe
electronsemittingatthatfrequency.

Inanultrarelativisticgas,theratioofspecificheatsatconstantpressureandatconstant
volumeisc p / c v = 4 / 3,notthenonrelativistic5 / 3,sotherelationbetweenelectronenergyE
andtemperatureT eis

3kT e
E = 3kT e, not . (5.82)
2

ThustheeffectivetemperatureofrelativisticelectronswithenergyEcanbedefinedas

E m ec 2
Te = , (5.83)
3k 3k

eveniftheensembleofelectronshasanonthermalenergydistribution.UsingEquation5.81to
eliminateinfavorofgivestheeffectivetemperatureofthoseelectronsproducingmostofthe
synchrotronradiationatfrequency:

2m ec 1 / 2 m ec 2
Te ( eB ) 3k
. (5.84)

Numerically,

( ) ( ) ( )
Te 1/ 2 B 1/ 2
1.18 10 6 . (5.85)
K Hz gauss

Forexample,theeffectivetemperatureoftherelativisticelectronsemittingsynchrotronradiation
at = 0.1 GHz = 10 8 HzinaB = 100 gauss = 10 4gaussmagneticfieldis
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( )
Te
1/ 2 1/ 2
1.18 10 6 (10 8) (10 4) 10 12. (5.86)
K

Atasufficientlylowfrequency,thebrightnesstemperatureT bofanysynchrotronsource
willapproachtheeffectiveelectrontemperatureT eofelectronsemittingatthatfrequencyand
thesourcewillbecomeopaque.Equation2.33definesbrightnesstemperatureintheRayleigh
Jeanslimit:

I c 2
Tb . (5.87)
2k 2

SettingT b T eandusingEquation5.85toeliminateT einfavorofandBgives

2kT e 2
I 2
1 / 2 2B 1 / 2 = 5 / 2B 1 / 2. (5.88)
c

Thusatlowfrequenciesthespectrumofasynchrotronselfabsorbedandspatiallyhomogeneous
sourceisapowerlawofslope5 / 2:

S() 5 / 2, (5.89)

independentoftheslopeoftheelectronenergyspectrum.Thefluxdensityofanopaquebut
trulythermalsource(e.g.,anHregion)isproportionalto 2theextra 1 / 2forsynchrotron
radiationcomesfromthefactthatT e 1 / 2(Equation5.85).

Thefullspectrumofahomogeneouscylindricalsynchrotronsource(Figure5.7)is[77]

S ( )
5/ 2
1 { [( )
1 exp

1
(+4) / 2
]} , (5.90)

where 1isthefrequencyatwhich = 1.Realastrophysicalsourcesareinhomogeneous,so

synchrotronselfabsorptionalwaysyieldsslopesmuchlowerthan5 / 2,asillustratedby
Figure5.8.

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Figure 5.7: The spectrum of a homogeneous cylindrical synchrotron source in terms of the
frequency 1atwhich = 1.Equation5.90showsthatitapproachesapowerlawwithslope
5 / 2 at frequencies 1 and slope (1 ) / 2 for 1. Real astrophysical sources are
inhomogeneous,sotheirlowfrequencyspectralslopesaresmallerthan5/2andtheirspectral
peaksarenotsosharp.

SubstitutingT b T eintoEquation5.85yieldsanestimateofthemagneticfieldstrength
inaselfabsorbedsourcewhosebrightnesstemperaturehasbeenmeasuredatfrequency:

( ) ( )( )
B Tb 2
1.4 10 12 . (5.91)
gauss Hz K

Forexample,aselfabsorbedradiosourcewithobservedbrightnesstemperatureT b 10 11Kat
= 1GHzhasamagneticfieldstrength

( ) B
gauss
1.4 10 12 10 9 (10 11)
2
0.1.

Thespectraofcelestialradiosourcesaremorecomplexbecauserealsourceshave
nonuniformmagneticfieldsandelectronenergydistributionsingeometricallycomplex
structures.Representativespectraofpowerfulradiogalaxiesandquasarsareillustratedin
Figure5.8.

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Figure5.8:Representativespectraofradiogalaxiesandquasars[110].Theradiosource3C84
inthenearbygalaxyNGC1275containsaverycompactnuclearcomponentthatisopaque
belowabout20GHz.Theradiogalaxy3C123istransparentatallplottedfrequencies,and
energylossessteepenitsspectrumaboveafewGHz.Thequasar3C48issynchrotronself
absorbed only below 100 MHz, while the quasar 3C 454.3 contains structures of different
sizesthatbecomeopaqueatdifferentfrequencies.

Synchrotronradiationfromcosmicrayelectronsacceleratedbythesupernovaremnantsof
relativelymassive(M > 8M )andshortlived(T < 3 10 7yr)starsdominatestheradio
continuumemissionofthenearbystarburstgalaxyM82(Figure8.13)atfrequencies < 30GHz
(seethedotdashlineinFigure2.24).Thermalemission(dashedline)fromHregionsionized
primarilybyevenmoremassive(M > 15M )andshorterlivedstarsisstrongestbetweenabout
30and200GHz.Atfrequencieswellbelow1GHz,freefreeabsorptionflattenstheoverall
spectrum.

5.4SynchrotronSources

5.4.1MinimumEnergyandEquipartition
Theexistenceofasynchrotronsourceimpliesthepresenceofrelativisticelectronswithsome
energydensityU eandamagneticfieldwhoseenergydensityisU B = B 2 / (8).Whatisthe
minimumtotalenergyinrelativisticparticlesandmagneticfieldsrequiredtoproducea
synchrotronsourceofagivenradioluminosity

L = maxL
min (5.92)

overthefrequencyrangeconventionallyboundedby min = 10 7Hzand max = 10 11Hz?

TheenergydensityofrelativisticelectronsintheenergyrangeE mintoE maxis

E
U e = E maxEn(E) E,
min (5.93)

wheren(E)dEisthenumberdensityofelectronsintheenergyrangeEtoE + dE.Electronswith
energyEemitmostoftheradiationseenatfrequency E 2B,sotheelectronenergy
correspondingtoradiationatfrequencysatisfies

E B 1 / 2. (5.94)

ThustheratioofU etoLcanbewrittenintermsoftheenergylimits:

E max
Ue En(E) E
E min
,
L E max (5.95)
(dE / dt)n(E) E
E min

wherethesynchrotronpoweremittedperelectronis
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wherethesynchrotronpoweremittedperelectronis( dE / dt) B 2E 2.Forapowerlawelectron

energydistributionn(E) E ,

E max
Ue
E max 1
E min
E E |
E2 E
min
E
E max
. (5.96)
L B 2 E maxE 2 E 2 3
B E |E
min min

TheenergylimitsE minandE maxarebothproportionaltoB 1 / 2(Equation5.94)so

Ue 2
(B 1 / 2) B 1+/ 2
= = B 3/ 2
L 2 1/ 2 3 2 3/ 2+/ 2
B B (5.97)
B (B )

Thustheelectronenergydensityneededtoproduceagivensynchrotronluminosityscalesas

U e B 3 / 2,
(5.98)

whilethemagneticenergydensityis

U B B 2.
(5.99)

Theinvisiblecosmicrayprotonsandheavierionsemitnegligiblesynchrotronpowerbutthey
stillcontributetothetotalcosmicrayparticleenergy.Iftheion/electronenergyratiois,then
thetotalenergydensityincosmicraysisU E = (1 + )U eandthetotalenergydensityUofboth
cosmicraysandmagneticfieldsis

U = (1 + )U e + U B.
(5.100)

CosmicrayscollectedneartheEarthhave 40,butthevalueofinradiogalaxiesand
quasarshasnotbeenmeasured.

ThegreatlydifferingdependencesofU eandU BonBmeansthatthetotalenergydensityU

hasafairlysharpminimumnearequipartition,thepointatwhich(1 + )U e U B(Figure5.9).

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Figure 5.9: For a source of a given synchrotron luminosity, the particle energy density
U E (1 + )U eisproportionaltoB 3 / 2andthemagneticenergydensityU Bisproportional
toB 2.ThetotalenergydensityU = U E + U Bhasafairlysharpminimumnearequipartitionof
theparticleandmagneticenergydensities(U E U B).

TheminimumofthetotalenergydensityUoccursat

dU d[(1 + )U e + U B]
= = 0. (5.101)
dB dB

ThelogarithmicderivativeoftheelectronenergydensityU e B 3 / 2is

()
dU e 3 3
1
Ue = B 5 / 2B 3 / 2 = , (5.102)
dB 2 2B

so

dU e 3U e
= . (5.103)
dB 2B

ThelogarithmicderivativeofthemagneticfieldenergydensityU B B 2is

dU B 2B 2
1
UB = 2
= , (5.104)
dB B B

so

dU B 2U B
= . (5.105)
dB B

InsertingEquations5.103and5.105intotheminimumenergyEquation5.101gives

3(1 + )U e 2U B
+ = 0. (5.106)
2B B

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Theratioofcosmicrayparticleenergydensitytomagneticfieldenergythatminimizesthetotal
energyis

particle energy density (1 + )U e 4

= = .
magnetic field energy density UB 3 (5.107)

Thisratioisnearlyunity,sominimumenergyimplies(near)equipartitionofenergy:thetotal
cosmicrayenergydensity(includingtheenergyofthenonradiatingions)(1 + )U eisnearly
equaltothetotalmagneticenergydensityU B.Itisnotknownwhethermostsynchrotronsources
areinequipartition,butradioastronomersoftenassumesobecause

1.itisphysicallyplausiblesystemswithinteractingcomponentsoftentendtoward
equipartition
2.extragalacticradiosourceswithhighluminositiesLandlargevolumesVsuchasCygA
haveenormoustotalenergyE = UVrequirementsevennearequipartitiontheenergy
problemisevenworseotherwise
3.iteliminatesanunknownparameterandpermitsestimatesoftherelativisticparticle
energiesandthemagneticfieldstrengthsofradiosourceswithmeasuredluminositiesand
sizes.

Gettingtheactualnumericalvaluesoftheparticleandmagneticfieldenergydensitiesfrom
thesynchrotronemissioncoefficientisastraightforwardbuttediousalgebraicchore(Wilson
etal.[116,Section10.10]).Theresults(fromPacholczyk[77,p.171])aresummarizedin
Equations5.109and5.110.Thefunctionsc 12andc 13intheseequationsabsorbtheintegrations
fromfrequency minto maxandthephysicalconstantsinGaussianCGSunits.Thevaluesof
c 12andc 13areplottedinFigures5.10and5.11.

ForasphericalradiosourcewithradiusRandmagneticfieldstrengthB,thetotalmagnetic
energyis

B 2 4R 3 B 2R 3
E B = U BV = = . (5.108)
8 3 6

TheminimumenergymagneticfieldstrengthforasourceofradioluminosityLis

B min = [4.5(1 + )c 12L] 2 / 7R 6 / 7 gauss

(5.109)

andthecorrespondingtotalenergyis

E min(total) = c 13[(1 + )L] 4 / 7R 9 / 7 ergs.

(5.110)

ThesynchrotronlifetimeofasourceisdefinedastheratiooftotalelectronenergyE eto
theenergylossrateLfromsynchrotronradiation:

(5.111)

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Ee
s .
L

Itapproximatesthelifetimeofasynchrotronsourceiftheprimarylossmechanismis
synchrotronradiationifotherlossmechanisms(e.g.,inverseComptonscattering)are
significant,theactualsourcelifetimewillbeshortened.Thesynchrotronlifetimecanbewritten
as

3/ 2
s c 12B .
(5.112)

Figure 5.10: Plots of c 12 in Gaussian CGS units as a function of (negative) spectral index
dlogS / dlog for min = 10 6 Hz (dashed curves) and 10 7 Hz (solid curves) and
max = 10 10Hz,10 11Hz,and10 12Hz.

Figure 5.11: Plots of c 13 in Gaussian CGS units as a function of (negative) spectral index

for
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dlogS / dlog for min = 10 6 Hz (dashed curves) and 10 7 Hz (solid curves) and
max = 10 10Hz,10 11Hz,and10 12Hz.

5.4.2TheEddingtonLuminosityLimit

ThesteadystateluminosityofanastronomicalobjectoftotalmassMislimitedbythe
requirementthattheoutwardradiationpressurecannotexceedthepullofgravity.Otherwise,
radiationpressurewouldexpeltheouterlayersofastarordisruptaccretionontoacompact
objectsuchasablackholeorneutronstar.Iftheatmosphereofthestarortheinfallingmaterial
isprimarilyionizedhydrogen,thefreeelectronswillThomsonscatteroutflowingradiation.The
Thomsonscatteringcrosssection TisgivenbyEquation5.33.Eachelectronbeingpushed
awaybyradiationpressurewilldragalongoneproton(m p m e)withittomaintaincharge
neutrality.Balancingtheforcesfromradiationandgravityoneachelectron/protonpairat
distancerfromtheaccretingobjectdefinestheEddingtonluminosity:

LE T GM(m p + m e) GMm p
= . (5.113)
4r 2 c r2 r2

Bothforcesareproportionaltor 2so

4GMm pc
LE
T (5.114)

isproportionaltothemassMandindependentofdistance.InCGSunits,

4 6.67 10 8 dyne cm 2 g 2 M 1.66 10 24 g 3 10 10 cm s 1

LE = ,
6.65 10 25 cm 2
L E(erg s 1) = 6.28 10 4 M(g).
(5.115)

NormalizedtosolarunitsL 3.83 10 33ergs 1andM 1.99 10 33g,

( ) ( )
LE 6.28 10 4 1.99 10 33 g M
, (5.116)
L 3.83 10 33 erg s 1 M

( ) ( )
LE M
3.3 10 4 . (5.117)
L M

Forexample,asthemassofamainsequencestarapproachesM 100M ,itsluminosity

approachesitsEddingtonluminosity.Verymassivestarsoftenhaveradiationdrivenwinds,and
starsmoremassivethan100M maynotbestable.TheEddingtonlimitdoesntapplyonlyto
objectssurroundedbyionizedhydrogen,andanalogstotheclassicalEddingtonlimitcanbe
derivedforotherabsorbers,suchasinterstellardust.Theratiooftheabsorptioncrosssection
tomassforatypicaldustgrainis 500timeslargerthantheratioforionizedhydrogen,sothe
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maximumluminositytomassratioofadustygalaxyis 500timeslowerthangivenby
Equation5.117.ThusasupermassiveblackholeemittingatitsEddingtonlimitforionized
hydrogeninthenucleusofadustygalaxymayremovethedustyISMifthegalaxymassisless
than 500timestheblackholemass.Suchradiativefeedbackprocessesmayaccountforthe
observedmassratio 500ofgalaxybulgesandtheircentralblackholes[37].

5.4.3ApplicationtotheLuminousRadioGalaxyCygA

Figure 5.12: A highresolution VLA image of the radio source Cyg A. The bright central
component is thought to coincide with a supermassive black hole that accelerates the
relativisticelectronsalongtwojetsterminatinginlobeswelloutsidethehostgalaxy.Image
credit:NRAO/AUI/NSFInvestigators:R.Perley,C.Carilli,&J.Dreher.

CygAisaluminousdoubleradiosource(Figure5.12)inapeculiargalaxyatadistance
d 230Mpc.ItsradiolobeshaveradiiR 30kpc,andthetotalfluxdensityofCygAis

S 2000 Jy ( )
GHz
0.8
.

ToestimatethetotalradioluminosityofCygA,firstconvertthedatafromastronomicalunits
toGaussianCGSunits:

R = 30 kpc ( )(
10 3 pc
kpc
3.09 10 18 cm
pc ) 9.0 10 22 cm,

S = 2000 Jy ( 10 23 erg s 1 Hz 1 cm 2
Jy )(
10 9 Hz ) 0.8

=
3.17 10 13 erg s 1 Hz 1
cm 2 ( )

Hz
0.8
,

d = 230 Mpc ( 10 6 pc
Mpc )( 3.09 10 18 cm
pc ) 7.1 10 26 cm.

ThespectralluminosityofCygAis

L 4d 2S

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4 (7.1 10 26 cm)
2
( 3.17 10 13 erg s 1 Hz 1
cm 2 )( )
Hz
0.8

2.0 10 42 erg s 1 Hz 1 ( )

Hz
0.8
.

ThetotalradioluminosityofCygAinthefrequencyrange10 7Hzto10 11Hzis

= 1011 Hz

L =
1011 Hz
107 HzL
42 1
2.0 10 erg s Hz 1
0.2
0.2 ( )| = 107 Hz
1.33 10 45 erg s 1.

InunitsofthebolometricsolarluminosityL 3.83 10 33 erg s 1,theradioluminosityof

CygAis

L 1.33 10 45 erg s 1
3.5 10 11.
L 3.83 10 33 erg s 1

TheradiopowerfromCygAexceedsthetotalpowerproducedbyallofthestarsinourGalaxy.

Theenergysourceforthisradioemissionisacompactobjectatthecenterofthehost
galaxy.TheEddingtonlimit(Equation5.117)yieldsalowerlimittoitsmassM:

( ) M
M

3.5 10 11
3.3 10 4
10 7.

NotethattheEddingtonmasslimitdependsonlyontheinstantaneouspoweremittedbythe
source,notonthetotalenergyofthesource,thesourceage,oranyotherindicatorofitshistory.

ThemagneticfieldstrengthB minthatminimizesthetotalenergyintherelativisticparticles
andmagneticfieldsimpliedbytheluminoussynchrotronsourcecanbeestimatedwith
Equation5.109.ApproximateCygA(Figure5.12)bytwosphericallobesofradiusR 30kpc
andluminosityL / 2each,whereListhetotalluminosityofCygA:

B min [4.5(1 + )c 12(L / 2)] 2 / 7R 6 / 7

2/ 7 6/ 7
[(4.5 3.9 10 7 1.33 10 45 erg s 1 / 2) (9 10 22 cm) ] (1 + ) 2 / 7.

Theion/electronenergyratiohasnotbeenmeasuredinextragalacticradiosourcessuchas
CygA.Thecosmicraysacceleratedbyasupermassiveblackholemightbeprimarilyelectrons
andpositrons.Electronsandpositronshaveequallylargecharge/massratios,soanelectron
positronplasmawouldhave 1.Ifelectronsandprotonsareacceleratedtothesamevelocity
(same),thentheprotonscarrym p / m e 2 10 3asmuchenergybutemitalmostnothingand
2 10 3.Fortunately,B min (1 + ) 2 / 7isonlyweaklydependentonvaryingfrom1
to2 10 3changes(1 + ) 2 / 7fromabout1to9:

B min 1.45 10 15 2.1 10 20 (1 to 9) gauss

(5.118)
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(30 to 300) 10 6 gauss 10 4 gauss. (5.119)

Theminimumtotalenergy(Equation5.110)ofCygAistwicetheenergyofeachlobe:

E min 2(lobes) c 13[(1 + )L] 4 / 7R 9 / 7

2 2.0 10 4 ( 2 )
1.33 10 45 erg s 1 4 / 7 9/ 7
(9 10 22 cm) (1 + ) 4 / 7,

where(1 + ) 4 / 7isintherangeofabout1to80
E min 4 10 4 4.1 10 25 3.26 10 29 (1 to 80) ergs
(5.120)
5.4 10 59 (1 to 80) ergs 5 10 60 ergs. (5.121)
Suchlargecalculatedenergiescanbeconfirmedobservationallyforsourcesinclustersof
galaxies.Figure8.15showsthattheradiosource(red)inthegalaxyclusterMS07356+7421has
displacedtheXrayemittinggas(blue)inalargevolume.Thegaspressurecanbederivedfrom
theintensityofitstheXrayemission,andthetotalenergyrequiredtodisplacethegasisthe
productofthevolumeandthepressure[71].

Thisenormousenergyimpliesanindependentlowerlimittothemassofthecentralobject
poweringtheradiosource.Masscannotbeconvertedtoenergywithmorethan100%efficiency,
sotheminimummassneededtoproduceE minis

E min 5 10 60 ergs
M 6 10 39 g,
2 1 2 (5.122)
c (3 10 10 cm s )

( )
M
M 6 10 39 g 33
3 10 6M . (5.123)
1.99 10 g

Thisisaveryconservativelowerlimit.Nuclearfusioncanconvertmasstoenergywithonly
1%efficiency,soM > 3 10 8M wouldberequiredfornuclearfusioninstars.Accretion
ontoaspinningblackholecanyieldefficienciesupto(1 3 1 / 2) 0.4intheory,implying
M > 10 7M .Manyauthorsassumethatmassaccretedbyastronomicalblackholesisconverted
toenergywithabout10%efficiencythisyieldsM > 3 10 7M .Thesmallsizeoftheradio
coremeasuredbyVeryLongBaselineInterferometry(VLBI)anditsobservedfluxvariabilityon
timescalesofmonthstoyearscombinedwiththelargeminimummassesestimatedfromthe
Eddingtonlimitandthetotalenergyoftheradiolobestogethermakeitdifficulttoavoidthe
conclusionthatthecompact,massiveobjectpoweringtheradiosourceisasupermassiveblack
hole(SMBH).TheadjectivesupermassiveisusedforblackholeswithM > 10 6M ,whichis
farmoremassivethanthemostmassivestars,M 100M .

AlowerlimittotheageoftheradiosourceCygAistheaveragesynchrotronlifetime
(Equation5.111)oftherelativisticelectronsestimatedbytakingtheratiooftheelectronenergy
totheobservedsynchrotronluminosity:

Ee E min / (1 + )
s , (5.124)
L L
5.4 10 59 erg (1 + ) 4 / 7
4 10 14 s 3 / 7 10 14 s 3 10 6 yr.
1.33 10 45 erg s 1 (1 + ) (5.125)

BecauseeachelectronradiatesenergyatarateproportionaltoE 2andthecriticalfrequency
isproportionaltoE 2,themostenergeticelectronsemittingatthehighestfrequencieshavethe
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shortestlifetimes.Therapiddepletionofhighenergyelectronssteepenstheradiospectrum
(Figure5.13)ofCygAfrequencieshigherthan 1 GHz.

Figure5.13:TheradiospectrumofCygA(andCasA,VirA)fromBaarsetal.[6].Notethe
spectralsteepeningabove 10 3MHz.

Supposethatnewrelativisticelectronsarecontinuouslyinjectedwithapowerlawenergy
distribution

N(E) E 0 (5.126)

intoaradiosource.Afteralongtime,electronsemittingatfrequencieshigherthanwillbe
depletedbyradiativelosses E 2andthesehighenergyelectronswilleventuallyreachan
energydistributionN(E) E ( 0 + 1 ) .Consequently,the(negative)spectralindexwillbe

0 1
0 = (5.127)
2

atlowfrequenciesandapproach

= ( 0 + 1 1) / 2 = ( 0 + 1 / 2)
(5.128)

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athigherfrequenciesthatis,thehighfrequencyspectrumsteepensby = 1 / 2.

Iftheobservedfrequencyofthespectralbendishighenough,theimpliedsynchrotron
lifetimeofelectronswith c maybelessthanthetimeneededfornewrelativisticelectrons
totravelfromtheradiocoretotheemittingfeatureinajetorlobe.Thisimpliesinsitu
accelerationsomethingoutsidetheradiocore(e.g.,shocksinthejet)mustreplenishthe
supplyofrelativisticelectrons.TheradiospectrumofVirA,thesourceinthegalaxyM87,is
straighttoatleast 30GHz(Figure5.13),andthissynchrotronemissionextendstooptical
frequencies,somanyofthecosmicraysmustbeacceleratedinthebrightshockedregions,not
justneartheblackhole.

5.5InverseComptonScattering
Theambientradiationfieldisnormallyfairlyisotropicintherestframeofasynchrotronsource.
However,sucharadiationfieldlooksextremelyanisotropictoeachultrarelativistic( 1)
electronproducingthesynchrotronradiation.Relativisticaberration(Section5.3.1)causes
nearlyallambientphotonstoapproachwithinanangle 1radofheadon(Figure5.14).
Thomsonscatteringofthishighlyanisotropicradiationsystematicallyreducestheelectron
kineticenergyandconvertsitintoinverseCompton(IC)radiationbyupscatteringradio
photonstobecomeopticalorXrayphotons.InverseComptoncoolingoftherelativistic
electronsalsolimitsthemaximumrestframebrightnesstemperatureofanincoherent
synchrotronsourcetoT b 10 12K.

Figure5.14:Forarelativisticelectronatrestintheprimedframemovingwithvelocityv
alongthexaxis, the angle of incidence of incoming photons will be much less than the
correspondingangleintherestframeoftheobserver(Equations5.50and5.51).Thisfigure
shows the aberration of an isotropic radiation field (left) seen in a moving frame with
1/ 2
= (1 v 2 / c 2) = 5(right).

5.5.1ICPowerfromaSingleElectron

ToderivetheequationsdescribinginverseComptonscattering,firstconsidernonrelativistic
Thomsonscatteringintherestframeofanelectron.IfthePoyntingflux(powerperunitarea)of
aplanewaveincidentontheelectronis

c c 2
S= EB= |E| ,
4 4 (5.129)

theelectricfieldoftheincidentradiationwillacceleratetheelectron,andtheaccelerated
electronwillinturnemitradiationaccordingtoLarmorsequation.Thenetresultissimplyto
scatteraportionoftheincomingradiation,withnonettransferofenergybetweentheradiation
andtheelectron.Thescatteredradiationhaspower

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(5.130)
P = | S| T,

where

( )e2 2
8
T 6.65 10 25 cm 2
3 me c2 (5.131)

iscalledtheThomsoncrosssection(Equation5.33)ofanelectron.Inotherwords,theelectron
willextractfromtheincidentradiationtheamountofpowerflowingthroughthearea Tand
reradiatethatpoweroverthedoughnutshapedpatterngivenbyLarmorsequation.The
scatteredpowercanberewrittenas

P = TcU rad,
(5.132)

whereU rad = | S| / cistheenergydensityoftheincidentradiation.

Nextconsiderradiationscatteringbyanultrarelativisticelectron.Equation5.132isvalid
onlyintheprimedframeinstantaneouslymovingwiththeelectron:

P = TcU rad.
(5.133)

Thisnonrelativisticresultneedstobetransformedtotheunprimedrestframeofanobserver.
UsingtheresultP = P (Equation5.28)gives

P = TcU rad.
(5.134)

TotransformU radintoU rad,supposethatanelectronmovingwithspeedv = v xintherest
frameoftheobserverishitsuccessivelybytwolowenergyphotonsapproachingfromanangle
intheobserversframe( intheelectronframe)fromthexaxisasshowninFigure5.15.If
thecoordinatescorrespondingtothefirstandsecondphotonshittingtheelectron(whichis
alwayslocatedatx = y = z = 0)are

(x 1, 0, 0, t 1) and (x 2, 0, 0, t 2)
(5.135)

intheobserversframe,thentheLorentztransformEquation5.12givesthecoordinatesofthese
twoeventsas

(vt 1 , 0, 0, t 1 ) and (vt 2 , 0, 0, t 2 ),
(5.136)

asshowninFigure5.15.
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Figure 5.15: Two successive photons striking an electron moving to the right. The photons
approachatanglefromthexaxis,asseenintheunprimedobserversframe.

Intheobserversframe,thetimetelapsedbetweenthearrivalofthesetwophotonsatthe
plane(dashedlineinFigure5.15)normaltothedirectionofpropagationis

(x 2 x 1)
t = t 2 + cos t 1 (5.137)
c

(vt 2 vt 1 )

= t 2 + cos t 1 (5.138)
c

= (t 2 t 1 )[(1 + cos)],
(5.139)

where v / c.Thetimebetweenbeinghitbythetwophotonsintheelectronsframeis

t = t 2 t 1 so

t = t [(1 + cos)]. (5.140)

TherelativisticDopplerequationfollowsimmediatelyfromEquation5.140.Lettbethe
timebetweenthearrivalsoftwosuccessivecyclesofawavewhosefrequencyis = (t) 1in
1
theobserversframeand = (t ) inthemovingframe.Then

1
1 = ( ) [(1 + cos)] (5.141)

or

= [(1 + cos)]. (5.142)

Intheelectronsframe,thefrequency andenergyE = h ofeachphotonare

multipliedby[(1 + cos)].Moreover,therateatwhichsuccessivephotonsarriveismultiplied
bythesamefactor.Ifn isthephotonnumberdensityintheobserversframe,then

n = n [(1 + cos)].Intheobserversframe,theradiationenergydensityis

U rad = n h.
(5.143)

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Intheelectronsframe

U rad = n h = n [(1 + cos)]h[(1 + cos)] = U rad[(1 + cos)] 2.
(5.144)

ThusthetransformationbetweenU radandU raddependsontheanglebetweenthedirectionof
thephotonsintheplanewaveandthedirectionoftheelectronmotion.

ForaradiationfieldoftotalenergydensityU radthatisisotropicintheobserversframe,the
energydensityperunitsolidangleisU rad / 4andthetotalenergydensityintheelectronframe
canobtainedbyintegratingEquation5.144overalldirections:

U rad 2

[(1 + cos)] 2sin d d,
4 = 0 = 0
U rad = (5.145)

whereistheazimuthalanglearoundthexaxis.Thus

U rad 2

U rad =
2 = 0(1 + cos) 2sin d. (5.146)

Toevaluatethisintegral,substitutez cossodz = sin dandeliminateinfavorof:

U rad 2 1

(1 + z) 2( 1)z = U rad 2(1 + 2 / 3)
2 1
U rad = (5.147)

= U rad [ 2 +
2
3
( 2
3

2 2
3 )] = U rad [ 4 2
3

1 2
3 ]
(1 2) . (5.148)

Recallthat 2(1 2) = 1so

4( 2 1 / 4)
U rad = U rad . (5.149)
3

SubstitutingthisresultforU radintoEquation5.134yields

4
P= TcU rad( 2 1 / 4)
3 (5.150)

forthetotalpowerradiatedafterinverseComptonupscatteringoflowenergyphotons.The
initialpowerofthesephotonswas TcU rad,sothenetpoweraddedtotheradiationfieldby
inverseComptonscatteringis

(5.151)

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4 1 4
P IC =
3 (
TcU rad 2
4 )
TcU rad = TcU rad( 2 1).
3

Replacing( 2 1)by 2 2givesthefinalresult

4
P IC = Tc 2 2U rad
3 (5.152)

forthenetinverseComptonpowergainedbytheradiationfieldandlostbytheelectron.
Dividingbythecorrespondingsynchrotronpower(Equation5.42)

4
P syn = c 2 2U B
3 T (5.153)

revealstheremarkablysimpleratioofICtosynchrotronradiationlosses:

P IC U rad
= .
P syn UB (5.154)

TheIClossisproportionaltotheradiationenergydensityandthesynchrotronlossis
proportionaltothemagneticenergydensity.NotethatsynchrotronandinverseComptonlosses
havethesameelectronenergydependence(dE / dt 2),sotheireffectsonradiospectra
(Equation5.128)areindistinguishable.

5.5.2TheICSpectrumofaSingleElectron
WhatisthespectrumoftheinverseComptonradiation?Supposetheambientradiationfieldin
theobserversframecontainsonlyphotonsoffrequency 0,andconsiderscatteringbyasingle
electronmovingwithultrarelativisticvelocity+ valongthexaxis.Intheinertialframemoving
withtheelectron,relativisticaberrationcausesmostofthephotonstoapproachnearlyheadon.

TherelativisticDopplerEquation5.142givesthefrequency 0 intheelectronframeofaphoton
approachingnearthexaxis( 1)itis

0 = 0[(1 + cos)] 0[(1 + )].
(5.155)

Intheelectronframe,Thomsonscatteringproducesradiationwiththesamefrequencyasthe

incidentradiation:thescatteredphotonshave = 0 .Intheobserversframe,relativistic
aberrationbeamsthescatteredphotonsinthedirectionoftheelectronsmotion,andthe
frequencyofradiationscatterednearlyalongthe+ xdirection( 0)isgivenbythe
relativisticDopplerformula:

= [(1 + cos)] [(1 + )] 0[(1 + )] 2.

(5.156)

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Intheultrarelativisticlimit 1,

4 2.
0 (5.157)

Thisisthemaximumfrequencyoftheupscatteredradiationintheobserversframe.

Obliquecollisions( > 0)resultinlowerfrequencies.Foranisotropicradiationfieldin

theobserversframe,theaverageenergyEofscatteredphotonsequalstheaveragescattered
powerP ICperelectrondividedbyN IC,thenumberofphotonsscatteredpersecondperelectron.
Thisrateisthescatteredpowerdividedbythephotonenergyintheobserversframe,or

TcU rad
N IC = .
h 0 (5.158)

Thus

( )
P IC 4 h 0
E = h = = Tc 2 2U rad
N IC 3 TcU rad (5.159)

andtheaveragefrequencyofupscatteredphotonsis

4 2
= .
0 3 (5.160)

Forexample,isotropicradiophotonsat 0 = 1GHz,ICscatteredbyelectronshaving = 10 4,
willbeupscatteredtoanaveragefrequency

4 2
= 10 9 Hz (10 4) 1.3 10 17 Hz
3

correspondingtoXrayradiation.TheprincipalastronomicaleffectofinverseCompton
scatteringistodrainenergyfromcosmicrayelectronsthatproduceradioradiationanduseitto
produceXrayradiationinstead.

Becausethemaximumfrequency(Equation5.157)isonlythreetimestheaverage
frequency(Equation5.160),theICspectrummustbesharplypeakedneartheaveragefrequency.
ThedetailedComptonscatteringspectrumresultingfromanisotropicsinglefrequencyradiation
fieldhasbeencalculated(BlumenthalandGould[13]seealsoPacholczyk[77]).Itisindeed
sharplypeakedjustbelowthemaximum / 0 = 4 2,asshowninFigure5.16.

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Figure5.16:TheinverseComptonspectrumofelectronswithenergyirradiatedbyphotons
offrequency 0.Theloglogplotofpowerperlogarithmicfrequencyrange(right)indicates
moreclearlyjusthowpeakedthespectrumis.

Thisspectrumisevenmorepeakedthanthesynchrotronspectrumofmonoenergetic
electrons.ThereforeitisnotnecessarytousethedetailedComptonscatteringspectrumof
monoenergeticelectronstocalculatetheinverseComptonspectrumofanastrophysicalsource
containingapowerlawdistributionofrelativisticelectrons.Iftheelectronenergydistributionis
n(E) E ,theinverseComptonspectrumwillalsobeapowerlawwithspectralindex

1
= ,
2 (5.161)

whichisthesamespectralindexthatEquation5.79givesforsynchrotronradiationemittedby
thesamepowerlawdistributionofelectronenergies.

5.5.3SynchrotronSelfComptonRadiation
SynchrotronselfComptonradiationresultsfrominverseComptonscatteringofsynchrotron
radiationbythesamerelativisticelectronsthatproducedthesynchrotronradiation.
Equation5.154,

P IC U rad
= ,
P syn UB (5.162)

impliesthatmultiplyingthedensityofrelativisticelectronsbysomefactorfmultipliesboththe
synchrotronpoweranditscontributiontoU radbyf,sothesynchrotronselfComptonpoweris
proportionaltof 2.

TheselfComptonradiationalsocontributestoU radandleadstosignificantsecondorder
scatteringasthesynchrotronselfComptoncontributiontoU radapproachesthesynchrotron
contributionincompactsources.Thisrunawaypositivefeedbackisaverysensitivefunctionof
thesourcebrightnesstemperature,soinverseComptonlossesverystronglycooltherelativistic
electronsifthesourcebrightnesstemperatureexceedsT b 10 12Kintherestframeofthe
source.Radiosourceswithbrightnesstemperaturessignificantlyhigherthan

T max 10 12 K
(5.163)

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intheobserversframeareeitherDopplerboostedornotincoherentsynchrotronsources(e.g.,
pulsarsarecoherentradiosources).TheactivegalaxyMarkarian501emitsstrongsynchrotron
selfComptonradiationandtheradioemissionapproachesthisrestframebrightnesslimitfor
incoherentsynchrotronradiation.ThesynchrotronandsynchrotronselfComptonspectraof
Mrk501areshowninFigure5.17.

Figure5.17:Thesynchrotron(peakingnear10 19Hz)andsynchrotronselfCompton(peaking
near10 27 Hz) spectra of Mrk 501 [60]. The thin curve shows the bestfit synchrotron self
Compton model, the thick points represent the Xray data, and the raydataareplottedas
points with error bars. The ordinate F on this plot is proportional to flux density per
logarithmic frequency range, so the relative heights of the two peaks indicate their relative
contributionstoU rad.

5.6ExtragalacticRadioSources

5.6.1RelativisticBulkMotion
Theresultsaboveapplyonlytoradioemittingplasmasthatarenotmovingrelativisticallywith
respecttotheobserver.Brightradiosourcecomponents(discreteregionsofenhanced
brightness)areoftenseentomovewithapparenttransversevelocitiesexceedingthespeedof
light.Thisillusionofsuperluminalvelocitiescanoccurifthecomponentsaremoving
obliquelytowardtheobserverwithrelativisticspeeds,asshowninFigure5.18.

Figure5.18:Asourcemovingwithspeedv < catanangle < / 2fromthelineofsightmay

appeartobemovingfasterthancinprojectionontotheskybecausethelighttraveltimeis
reducedbyvtcos / cduringtimet.

Supposetheradioemittingcomponentismovingtowardtheobserverwithconstantspeed
v = catananglefromthelineofsight.Considertwoeventsinthemovingcomponent,the

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firstoccurringadistancerfromtheobserverattimet = 0,andthesecondattimet.Radiation
fromthefirstandsecondeventswillbereceivedattimes

r vtcos
t 1 = r / c and t 2 = + t,
c (5.164)

respectively.Thedifferencebetweenthesetimesis

t 2 t 1 = t[1 (vcos) / c].

(5.165)

Theapparenttransversevelocityofthemovingcomponentistheactualtransversedistance
coveredintimetdividedbytheapparenttimeinterval(t 2 t 1):

vtsin vtsin
v (apparent) = = ,
t2 t1 t[1 (vcos) / c] (5.166)

sin
(apparent) = .
1 cos (5.167)

Foreveryspeedthereisanangle mthatmaximizes (apparent).Thatanglesatisfies

(apparent) (1 cos m)cos m (sin m) 2

=0= ,
(1 cos m) 2 (5.168)

cos m 2cos 2 m 2sin 2 = cos m 2 = 0.

(5.169)

Thus

cos m =
(5.170)

and

1/ 2 1/ 2
sin m = (1 cos 2 m) = (1 2) = 1.
(5.171)

Insertingcos = andsin = 1intoEquation5.167for (apparent)yieldsthehighest

apparenttransversespeedofasourcewhoseactualspeedis:

(5.172)

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1/ 2
(1 2)
max[ (apparent)] = = .
1 2

Figure5.19:Apparentlysuperluminalmotionoftheradiocomponentsinthequasar3C279
[81].

Figure5.19showsfivesuccessivehighresolutionradioimagesofthequasar3C279.The
brightcomponentattheleftistakentobethefixedradiocore,andthebrightspotattheright
appearstohavemoved25lightyearsacrosstheplaneoftheskybetween1991and1998,foran
apparentlysuperluminalmotionof25lightyearsin7years: (apparent) 3.6.Whatisthe
minimumcomponentspeedconsistentwiththeseimages?Whatisthecorrespondingangle m
betweenthatmotionandthelineofsight?Fromtheresultsabove,

= 1/ 2
(apparent),
(1 2) (5.173)

so

2 1/ 2
(apparent)
[ 2
1 + (apparent)
] ,
(5.174)

[ (25 / 7) 2
]
1/ 2
0.96. (5.175)
1 + (25 / 7) 2

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Thecorresponding misgivenby

cos m = 0.96,
(5.176)

m 0.28 rad 16 .
(5.177)

TherelativisticDopplerformula(5.142)relatesthefrequency emittedinthecomponent
frametotheobservedfrequency.Notethatwehavereplacedby( )radiansinthecurrent
analysisbycallingittheanglebetweenthelineofsightandthevelocityofanapproaching
component,so

= , (5.178)
(1 cos)

where = 0nowcorrespondstoaradiocomponentmovingdirectlytowardtheobserver.The
quantity

[(1 cos)] 1 =
(5.179)

iscalledtheDopplerfactor.If = / 2,thereisatransverseDopplershift

= = 1.
(5.180)

ThetransverseDopplershifthasnononrelativisticcounterpartbecausethesourcehasno
componentofvelocityparalleltothelineofsightitexistsonlybecausemovingclocksrun
slowerbyafactor.TheDopplerfactorsassociatedwithagivensourcespeedrangefrom

(2) 1 (5.181)

fordirectlyreceding( = rad)sourcesto

2
(5.182)

fordirectlyapproaching( = 0)sources.Forexample,theratio / oftheobservedfrequency

totheemittedfrequencyin3C279( = 0.96,cos = )is

1

= [(1 cos)] 1 = [(1 2)] =

1/ 2
= (1 2) 3.6.

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TheobservedfluxdensitySofarelativisticallymovingcomponentemittingisotropicallyin
itsrestframedependscriticallyonitsDopplerfactor.TheexactamountofDopplerboosting
causedbyrelativisticbeamingissomewhatmodeldependent[100]butprobablyliesinthe
range

S
2 + < < 3 + ,
S0 (5.183)

whereS 0wouldbetheobservedfluxdensityifthesourcewerestationaryand = dlogS / dlog

isthe(negative)spectralindex.If 5,then0.1 < < 10dependingontheangle.
Relativisticcomponentsapproachingatangles < 1caneasilybeboostedbyfactors > 10 3
comparedwithcomponentsmovingintheskyplaneorawayfromus.Forexample,the
approachingjetof3C279( = / 3.6and 0.7)isDopplerboostedby

S
2 + < < 3 + ,
S0
S
3.6 2.7 < < 3.6 3.7,
S0
S
32 < < 114.
S0

Therecedingcounterjetisdimmedbyacomparablefactor,sothejet/counterjetobservedflux
densityratioof3C279isprobably > 10 3.

Dopplerboostingstronglyfavorsapproachingrelativisticjetsandcomponentsand
discriminatesagainstthosewith > 1influxlimitedsamplesofcompactradiosources.Radio
quasarsarentisotropiccandlesspreadthroughouttheuniversetheyarebeamedflashlights.The
brightestarentalwaysthemostluminoustheyarejustpointinginourdirection.Forevery
flashlightwesee,therearemanyothersinthesamevolumeofspacethatwedontseesimply
becausetheyarenotpointingatus.

Figure5.20:Innerjetsoftheradiogalaxy3C31[64].Ifthejetsareclosetotheplaneofthe

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sky and decelerate from relativistic speeds as they recede from the core, only the inner
portions of the jets are Doppler dimmed. Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF.The simulation at
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/~abridle/3c31free/3c31anim_const_sen_flame.htm shows how
3C31wouldappearatdifferentanglesbetweenthejetandthelineofsight.Thebestfitto
the data occurs at = 52 . Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF. Investigators: Alan Bridle &
RobertLaing.

Figure5.21:ThisVLAimageoftheradioloudquasar3C175showsthecore,anapparently
onesided jet, and two radio lobes with hot spots of comparable flux densities. The jet is
intrinsicallytwosidedbutrelativistic,soDopplerboostingbrightenstheapproachingjetand
dimstherecedingjet.Bothlobesandtheirhotspotsarecomparablybrightandthusarenot
moving relativistically. Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF Investigators: Alan Bridle, David
Hough,ColinLonsdale,JackBurns,&RobertLaing.

ThefactthatthetwolobesofveryextendedradiosourcessuchasCygA(Figure5.12)and
3C348(Figure8.14)typicallyhavefluxratios < 2indicatesthatthelobesaremovingoutward
withspeedsv c.Theradiojetsfeedingnearlyequallobesoftenappearquiteunequal,with
onejetbeingverystrongandtheotherundetectable.Thejetsofveryluminoussourcesoften
terminateinbrighthotspotsinthelobes.

Becausethejetsfeedthelobes,thelobesymmetrysuggeststhatthejetsareintrinsically
similar,buttheapproachingjetisboostedwhiletherecedingcounterjetisdimmed.Another
featureofmanyradiojetsisgapsnearthecore.Ifjetsstartoutrelativisticatthecoreandare
inclinedbymorethan 1fromthelineofsight,bothwillbeDopplerdimmed.Ifthey
proceedwithconstantbutgraduallydecelerateastheymoveawayfromthecore,oneorboth
maybecomevisiblebeyondthepointwhere 1.

Extragalacticradiosourceswithjetsandlobescanbedividedintotwomorphological
classes:(1)those,like3C31(Figure5.20),thatappeartofadeawayatlargedistancesfromthe
centerand(2)sourceswithedgebrightenedlobes,like3C175(Figure5.21).Suchsourcesare
calledFRIandFRIIsources,respectively,afterFanaroffandRiley[38],whofirstmadesuch
classificationsandnotedthatFRIsourcesareusuallylessluminousthanFRIIsources,withthe
dividinglinebeingL 10 24 W Hz 1at1.4GHz.FRIsourcesgenerallyhavelower
equipartitionenergydensitiesandhencelowerequipartitionpressures.ThejetsofFRIsources
arefairlysymmetricatdistancesgreaterthanseveralkpcfromthecores,suggestingthatthe
lowluminosityjetsarequicklydeceleratedtononrelativisticspeeds.ThelowenergyFRIjets
areeasilyinfluencedbyambientmatter.Lowluminositygalaxiesmovingthroughthe

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intraclustermediumofaclusterofgalaxiesfrequentlyhavebentheadtailradiomorphologies
similartothewakeofamovingboat.

5.6.2UnifiedModels
Thecombinationoforientationdependentbeamingandobscurationbydusthasledtovarious
unifiedmodels(Figure5.22)ofactivegalacticnuclei(AGN).

Figure 5.22: This cartoon shows the main features of a unified model for active galactic
nuclei[109].ImageCredit:RobertFindlay.

Thesemodelsattributesomeorallofthedifferencesbetweenobservationallydifferent
objectstotheinclinationsoftheirjetsrelativetothelineofsight.Iftheinclinationissmall,the
baseoftheapproachingjetwillbestronglyDopplerboosted,andthecompactopticalbroad
lineregionandinneraccretiondiskwillnotbeobscuredbythelargerdustyaccretiontorus
lyinginaplanenormaltothejet.Theobservedradioemissionwillbedominatedbyaonesided
jetthatmaybevariableinintensityandapparentlysuperluminal.Thermalemissionfromthe
innerpartsoftheaccretiondiskmaybevisibleasabigbluebumpintheoptical/UVspectrum,
andDopplerbroadenedemissionlinesfromthesmall( < 1pc)broadlineregionwillnotbe
obscured.IftheopticalAGNemissionismuchbrighterthanthestarlightofthehostgalaxy,the
objectwillbecalledaquasistellarobject(QSO),butotherwiseaSeyfertIgalaxy.Inextreme
cases,opticalsynchrotronemissionmaydominatethebigbluebumpandemissionlines.Objects
withlinelesspowerlawopticalspectraareoftencalledBLLacobjectsaftertheirprototypeBL
Lacertae,whichwasoriginallythoughttobeaGalacticstar(hencetheconstellationname).If
theinclinationangleislargerthanabout45degrees,theopticalcoremaybeobscuredbythe
dustytorusandhighlyrelativisticradiojetsmaybeDopplerdimmed,andwewillseeeithera
doublelobedradiogalaxyoraSeyfertIIgalaxy(aSeyfertgalaxywithonlythenarrow
emissionlinesdirectlyvisible).Theongoingdebateoverunifiedmodelsisnotaboutwhether
relativisticbeaminganddustobscurationaffecttheappearanceofAGNs,buthowmuch.

5.6.3RadioEmissionfromNormalGalaxies
TheradioemissionfromanormalgalaxyisnotpoweredbyanAGN.Thecontinuumradio
emissionfromnormalgalaxiesisdominatedbyacombinationof

1.freefreeemissionfromHregionsionizedbymassive(M > 15M )mainsequence

stars,and

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2.synchrotronradiationfromcosmicrayelectrons,mostofwhichwereacceleratedinthe
supernovaremnants(SNRs)ofmassive(M > 8M )stars.

Starsmoremassivethan 8M havemainsequencelifetimes < 3 10 7yr,muchless

thanthe > 10 10yrageofourGalaxy.Also,thesynchrotronlifetimesofcosmicrayelectronsin
thetypicalinterstellarmagneticfieldare < 10 8yr.Thusthecurrentradiocontinuumemission
fromnormalgalaxiesisanextinctionfreetracerofrecentstarformation,unconfusedby
emissionfromolderstars.Theradioemissionisroughlycoextensivewiththelocationsofstar
formation,spanningthestellardisksofmostspiralgalaxies.

Massivestarsformbygravitationalcollapseindustymolecularclouds.Thedustabsorbs
mostoftheirvisibleandultravioletradiation,isheatedtotemperaturesofseveraltensofK,and
reemitstheinputenergyatfarinfrared(FIR)wavelengths 100 m.Themolecularclouds
arenotopaqueatFIRwavelengths,soFIRluminosityisagoodquantitativemeasureofthe
currentstarformationrate.Remarkably,theradioluminositiesofnormalgalaxiesarevery
tightlycorrelatedwiththeirFIRluminosities.

Figure5.23:TheFIR/radio(1.4GHz)correlationfornormalgalaxies[27].

ThephysicaloriginofthisfamousFIR/radiocorrelation(Figure5.23)ispoorly
understood,particularlyatlowfrequencieswheremostoftheradioemissionissynchrotron
radiation.ItisnotsurprisingthattheFIRandfreefreeradiofluxeswouldbecorrelatedbecause
bothareroughlyproportionaltotheionizingluminositiesofmassiveyoungstars.However,
freefreeemissionaccountsforonlyasmallfractionofthetotalradioluminosityatlow
frequencies 30GHz.TheFIR/radiospectrumofthenearbystarburstgalaxyM82
(Figure2.24)istypical.

At 1GHz,about90%oftheradiofluxisproducedbysynchrotronradiation,yetthe
FIR/radioluminosityratioisconfinedtoaverynarrowrange.Ifthestarformationrate(SFR)in
agalaxyisfairlyconstantontimescaleslongerthan3 10 7yr,thenthenumberofyoungSNRs
wouldbeproportionaltothepresentnumberofmassivestars,soitisplausiblethatthecurrent
productionrateofcosmicrayelectronsisproportionaltothecurrentstarformationrate.
However,mostofthesynchrotronradiationfromnormalgalaxiesdoesnotoriginateintheSNRs
themselves,butrathercomesfromcosmicrayelectronsthathavediffusedintotheinterstellar
medium(ISM).Thepowerradiatedbyeachelectronisproportionaltothemagneticenergy
densityU B = B 2 / (8)intheISM.Theequipartitionfieldsinnormalgalaxiesrangefromvery

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lowvaluestoB 5 Ginatypicalspiralgalaxylikeours,toB 100 GinM82andupto

B 1000 GinaparticularlycompactandluminousstarburstgalaxysuchasArp220.Thusthe
powerradiatedbyeachcosmicrayelectronmustvarybyuptoseveralordersofmagnitudefrom
onegalaxytoanother,yetallofthesegalaxiesobeythesameFIR/radiocorrelation.

Thecalorimetermodel[112]wasdevisedtoexplainhowtheFIR/radioratiocouldbe
independentofU B.ThetotalradioenergyradiatedbyeachelectronmightbeindependentofU B
1
ifthelifetimeoftheelectronisproportionaltoU B .Thus,acosmicrayelectroninastrong
magneticfieldradiatesahighpowerforashorttime,whileoneinaweakmagneticfield
radiatesalowerpowerforaproportionatelylongertime.Foragivenproductionrateofcosmic
rayelectrons,theaveragesynchrotronpowerwillthenbeindependentofU B.Thecalorimeter
modelworkswelltoexplaintheFIR/radiocorrelationsolongasthefractionoftheelectron
energygoingintosynchrotronradiationisaboutthesameinallnormalgalaxies.However,there
aremanyotherenergylosschannels.OneisinverseComptonscatteringoffthecosmic
microwavebackground,starlight,FIRradiation,etc.Anotherisdiffusionoutofthemagnetic
fieldofagalaxysomeelectronsescapesilentlyintointergalacticspace.Electronsmayalso
loseenergybycollidingwithatomsintheISM.

Galaxygalaxycollisionscantriggerintensestarbursts(starformationepisodessointense
thattheywilldepletetheavailableISMontimescalesmuchshorterthan10 10yr)withinseveral
hundredparsecsofthecentersofgalaxiesandproducecompactcentralsources.Theradiation
energydensityinacompactstarburstgalaxysuchasArp220canreachU rad 10 6erg cm 3,
yetArp220stillobeystheFIR/radiocorrelation.ThefactthatinverseComptoncoolingdoesnt
seriouslydepletethepopulationofsynchrotronemittingelectronssetsalowerlimittothe
interstellarmagneticenergydensityU B = B 2 / (8) U radviaEquation5.154.Thislimitis
B 1000 GinArp220[28].

Despiteitsuncertaintheoreticalbasis,theFIR/radiocorrelationmakesradiocontinuum
emissionfromnormalgalaxiesaveryuseful,quantitative,andextinctionfreeindicatorofthe
rateatwhichmassivestarsarebeingformed.Therate(measuredinunitsofsolarmassesper
year)atwhichstarswithmassesM > 5M areformedinagalaxycanbeestimatedfromthe
thermal(freefree)andnonthermal(synchrotron)spectralluminositiesbythefollowing
equations[24]:

( ) ( ) [ ]
LT 0.1 SFR(M > 5M )
5.5 10 20 , (5.184)
W Hz 1 GHz M yr 1

( ) ( ) [ ]
L NT 0.8 SFR(M > 5M )
5.3 10 21 . (5.185)
W Hz 1 GHz M yr 1

5.6.4ExtragalacticRadioSourcePopulationsandCosmologicalEvolution
Surveysofdiscreteradiosourceshavebeenmadeoverlargeareasoftheskyandatmany
frequenciesrangingfrom38MHzto857GHz.ThemostextensiveskysurveyistheNRAO
VLASkySurvey(NVSS)[29],whichcoversthewholeskynorthofdeclination(latitudeonthe
celestialsphere) = 40 anddetectednearly2 10 6sourcesstrongerthanS 2.3mJyat1.4
GHz.Extremelysensitiveskysurveyscoveringmuchsmallerareashavereachedfluxdensities
S 5 Jy.Sourcesdetectedbyblindsurveyscoveringrepresentativeareasofskygiveusan
unbiasedstatisticalsampleoftheradiosourcepopulation.
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Thedistributionofdiscretesourcesontheskyisextremelyisotropic,asshownin
Figure5.24.Thisisotropyindicatesthatnearlyallradiosourcesinafluxlimitedsampleare
extragalacticthecenterofourGalaxyisbarelyvisibleasthecurvedbandattheleftofthe
upperpanel.Asimilarplotofthebrightestgalaxiesselectedatopticalornearinfrared
wavelengthsismuchclumpierthantheradioplotsbecausegalaxiesclusteronscales 10Mpc
insize.Thereasonforthisdifferenceisthatthestrongestextragalacticradiosourcesaremuch
fartherawaythantheopticallybrightestgalaxies.Radiogalaxiesareatleastasclusteredas
opticalgalaxies,buttheaveragedistancebetweenradiogalaxiesissomuchgreaterthan10Mpc
thattheirclusteringcanbedetectedonlybysensitivestatisticaltests.Indeed,thedistributionof
radiosourcesontheskyissouniformthatthesmall( < 1%)dipoleanisotropyinsourcedensity
causedbyDopplerboostingfromtheEarthsmotionrelativetotheframedefinedbydistant
galaxieshasbeendetected.ThevelocityoftheEarthdeducedfromthisanisotropyisconsistent
withthemotiondeducedfromthecorrespondinganisotropyinthecosmicmicrowave
backgroundradiationproducedbythehotbigbang[11].

Figure5.24:Thesetwoequalareaplotsshowtheskydistributionofdiscretesourcesstronger
thanS = 100mJyat1.4GHzinthe82%oftheskynorthof = 40 (upperpanel)andthe
skydistributionofsourcesstrongerthanS = 2.5mJyat1.4GHzinthe1.70%oftheskynorth
of = + 75 (lowerpanel).

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Onlyasmallfraction( 1%)ofradiosourcesinafluxlimitedsamplearecloserthan
about100Mpc.ByidentifyingthosesourceswithbrightgalaxiesanddeterminingtheirHubble
distances,wecandeterminethespacedensityofnearbyradiosourcesasafunctionofradio
spectralluminositythisiscalledthelocalluminosityfunction.Thelocalluminosityfunction
canbefurtherrefinedbyspecifyingseparatelythespacedensitiesofradiosourcespoweredby
AGNandthosepoweredbystarforminggalaxiescontainingHregions,SNRs,etc.
(Figure5.25).

Figure5.25:The1.4GHzlocalluminosityfunctionsofnormalstarforminggalaxies(filled
symbols)andofAGN(opensymbols)[30].

Inagivenvolumeofspace,radiosourcesinstarforminggalaxiesoutnumberradiogalaxies
containingAGNbyanorderofmagnitude.However,therarerAGNproduceallofthemost
luminoussources,sotheyaccountforslightlyoverhalfofallradioemissionproducedby
discretesources.

Ifweassumethatthecomovingspacedensityofradiosourcesintheexpandinguniverseis
independentoftime,wecanusethelocalluminosityfunctiontocalculatethetotalnumberof
radiosourcespersteradianofskyasafunctionoffluxdensity.Theresultingsourcecountsare
usuallytabulatedindifferentialform:n(S)dSisthenumberofsourcespersrwithfluxdensities
betweenSandS + dS.InastaticEuclideanuniverse,thefluxdensityofanysourceatdistancer
isproportionaltor 2,andthevolumeenclosedbyasphereisproportionaltor 3,sotheintegral
numberN ( > S)ofsourcesstrongerthananygivenfluxdensitySshouldbeproportionalto
S 3 / 2andthedifferentialnumbern(S)perunitfluxdensityshouldben(S) S 5 / 2.Plottingthe
normalizeddifferentialsourcecountn(S) S 5 / 2asafunctionofSshouldyieldahorizontalline
inastaticEuclideanuniverse.

Theactualplotforsourcesselectedat1.4GHzisshowninFigure5.26.Thesourcecounts
arenotconsistentwithastaticEuclideanuniverse,somostradiosourcescannotbelocal
extragalacticsources.Inanexpandinguniversewithaconstantcomovingsourcedensity,distant
sourceswillbeDopplerdimmedandthenormalizedsourcecountsshoulddeclinemonotonically
atlowfluxdensities.Thisisnotthecaseeitherthenormalizedcountshaveaclearmaximum
nearS 500mJy.Thispeakindicatesthatradiosourcesmustbeevolvingoncosmological
timescalesthatis,theircomovingspacedensityvarieswithtimeandwashigheratsometimein
thepast.Thediscoveryofradiosourceevolutionwasusedasevidenceagainstthesteadystate
modeloftheuniverse[99],yearsbeforethediscoveryofthecosmicmicrowavebackground
radiationdecisivelyconfirmedthehotbigbangmodel.

Detailedmodelsconsistentwiththelocalluminosityfunction,radiosourcecounts,and
redshiftdistributionsofradiosourcesidentifiedwithgalaxiesandquasarshavebeenconstructed
tomeasuretheamountofevolution.Theresultsareactuallyquitesimple:cosmological
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evolutionissostrongthatmostradiosourcesinfluxlimitedsampleshaveredshiftsnearthe
medianz 0.8.Toradioastronomers,theuniverselookslikeanearlyhollowsphericalshell
centeredontheEarth.ThisobservationdoesnotconflictwiththeCopernicanprinciple,which
statesthattheEarthisnotinaspecialpositionatthecenteroftheuniverseitrequiresonlythat
theuniverseevolvewithtime.Mostradiosourcesseentodayhavedistancesof5to10 10 9
lightyears,andtheirdominancereflectsthehigherAGNandstarformationactivityof5to10
Gyrago.Forsourcesinathinshell,thereislittlecorrelationbetweenfluxdensityandaverage
distancerather,fluxdensityismorecloselycorrelatedwithabsoluteluminosityasshownby
labelsonthelowerandupperabscissaeinFigure5.26.Consequently,radioloudAGNsinradio
galaxiesandquasars(dashedcurveinFigure5.26)accountformostsourcesstrongerthan
S 0.1mJyat1.4GHz,andthenumerousbutlessluminousstarforminggalaxies(dotted
curveinFigure5.26)dominatethemicroJyradiosourcepopulation.

Figure 5.26: The 1.4 GHz Euclideannormalized luminosity function and source count
S 5 / 2n(S)[31] are consistent with strong ( 10 ) luminosity evolution of all extragalactic
radio sources. The dashed and dotted curves indicate the contributions of AGNs and star
forminggalaxies,respectively,tothetotalsourcecount.
4FreeFreeRadiationBibliographyIndex 6Pulsars
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