Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 1986
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986natur.323..419m&link_type=abstract
Nature (ISSN 0028-0836), vol. 323, Oct. 2, 1986, p. 419-422.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
42
Astronomical Spectroscopy, Electron Acceleration, Quasars, Radio Jets (Astronomy), Synchrotron Radiation, Emission Spectra, Interstellar Magnetic Fields, Radio Spectra, Shock Waves, Spectrum Analysis
Scientific paper
Recent radio, optical and near-infrared observations of the dominant hotspot at the outer end of the quasar jet 3C273A have revealed a complex spectrum, significantly different from a simple power law, which provides a unique probe of the acceleration process supplying the synchrotron-emitting electrons. Theoretical calculations are presented of the electron spectrum produced by nonrelativistic shock acceleration which, for the first time, include both synchrotron losses and a finite emission region. The resultant synchrotron spectrum fits the observations. A new magnetic field estimate of 70 nT, remarkably similar to that derived from minimum-energy calculations, as well as an estimate for the electron mean free path, are obtained. It is predicted that the optical emission region is only about 1 pc thick, increasing with decreasing observation frequency as 1/sq rt nu.
Heavens Alan F.
Meisenheimer Klaus
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