Radiation pressure in quasar clouds

Details Radiation pressure in quasar clouds Radiation pressure in quasar clouds

Dec 1975

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1975apj...202..306m&link_type=abstract

Astrophysical Journal, vol. 202, Dec. 1, 1975, pt. 1, p. 306-318. ERDA-sponsored research.

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

50

Hydrogen Clouds, Quasars, Radiation Pressure, Radiative Transfer, Absorption Spectra, Electromagnetic Absorption, Line Spectra, Mathematical Models, Optical Thickness, Photoionization

Scientific paper

Thee effects of ionizing radiation pressure on optically thick clouds are analyzed, and the results applied to quasars. The analysis shows that the radiative acceleration of a cloud is at least 10 percent of the fully optically-thin value unless the continuum optical depth is very large. The acceleration produced by line absorption is confined to the face of the cloud which is exposed to the incident flux, while the acceleration due to the continuum radiation increases inside the cloud. The disruptive effect of internally created line photons is analyzed for the case of an optically thick continuum, and it is found that the disruptive acceleration can be greatly enhanced and that it is anisotropic, tending to blow off the back side of the cloud. It is concluded that if quasar clouds are radiatively accelerated, they are optically thin. This result is shown to be consistent with observations. Confinement of the clouds is discussed, and it is shown that photoionized clouds cannot be confined by radiation pressure alone. A model for absorption lines produced by numerous small clouds is developed, and it is argued that the absorption lines most likely arise outside the emission-line region.

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