Radiative equilibrium of high-density clouds with application to active galactic nucleus continua

Details Radiative equilibrium of high-density clouds with application to active galactic nucleus continua Radiative equilibrium of high-density clouds with application to active galactic nucleus continua

Sep 1988

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1988apj...332..141f&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, Part 1 (ISSN 0004-637X), vol. 332, Sept. 1, 1988, p. 141-156.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

127

Active Galactic Nuclei, Continuous Radiation, Emission Spectra, Galactic Radiation, Molecular Clouds, X Ray Astronomy, Heavy Elements, Hydrogen Atoms, Optical Thickness, Oscillator Strengths, Radiative Transfer, Thermal Radiation, Thermodynamic Equilibrium

Scientific paper

Models of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) suggest that thermal material may exist within the central engine itself, on scales as small as 10 to the 15th cm. Relatively cool clouds could then reprocess part of the nonthermal continuum and affect the observed spectrum. This paper discusses the thermal and ionization equilibrium of dense clouds in very intense radiation fields. The numerical techniques and assumptions used to model this environment are described in detail, and test cases illustrating the approach to LTE are considered. Calculations show that clouds with densities not less than 10 to the 14th/cu cm could attenuate and harden the soft-medium-energy X-ray continuum, while simultaneously producing a thermal continuum in the infrared and optical regions. These effects are in the sense required to account for the observed infrared-X-ray continua of AGNs. A simplified treatment of thermal clouds within the continuum-forming region, suggested by the numerical calculations, is outlined. This should form the basis for further development of the theory of dense thermal clouds in AGNs.

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