Flat-spectrum radio sources - Cosmic conspiracy or relativistic neutrons?

The intensity spectrum of the core of radio-loud AGN varies smoothly from 10 exp 8.5 to 10 to the 16th Hz, and is flat between 10 to the 9th and 10 to the 10th Hz, implying that a single emission mechanism is responsible. It is proposed here that energy is transported from the central source by rela...

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Veröffentlicht in:Nature (London) 1990-05, Vol.345 (6273), p.319-322
Hauptverfasser: Giovanoni, Peter M., Kazanas, Demosthenes
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The intensity spectrum of the core of radio-loud AGN varies smoothly from 10 exp 8.5 to 10 to the 16th Hz, and is flat between 10 to the 9th and 10 to the 10th Hz, implying that a single emission mechanism is responsible. It is proposed here that energy is transported from the central source by relativistic neutrons which travel freely over a large volume and decay into relativistic protons. The protons produce secondary electrons which generate the observed radiation. The photon spectra thus produced are largely model-independent and flat.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/345319a0