Equipartition brightness temperature and the inverse Compton catastrophe

view Abstract Citations (501) References (32) Co-Reads Similar Papers Volume Content Graphics Metrics Export Citation NASA/ADS Equipartition Brightness Temperature and the Inverse Compton Catastrophe Readhead, Anthony C. S. Abstract It is shown that the distribution of brightness temperatures in powerful extragalactic radio sources does not accord with the commonly accepted hypothesis that the observed upper limit in brightness temperatures is due to the "inverse Compton catastrophe." The "equipartition brightness temperature" is defined and is shown to be close to the observed cutoff in brightness temperature, which is significantly lower than the limiting brightness temperature predicted by the inverse Compton catastrophe. The equipartition brightness temperature is found to depend only weakly on observed quantities, in consequence of which it can be estimated with high precision. It is shown further that the observed brightness temperature and the equipartition brightness temperature may be used to make an independent estimate of the Doppler factor-defined here as the "equipartition Doppler factor." The evidence suggests that there is some mechanism which prevents radical departures from minimum energy and equipartition in these objects. Publication: The Astrophysical Journal Pub Date: May 1994 DOI: 10.1086/174038 Bibcode: 1994ApJ...426...51R Keywords: Brightness Temperature; Compton Effect; Doppler Effect; Equipartition Theorem; Radio Astronomy; Radio Jets (Astronomy); Synchrotron Radiation; Gamma Ray Observatory; Radio Interferometers; Tdr Satellites; Very Long Base Interferometry; Astrophysics; GALAXIES: ACTIVE; RADIATION MECHANISMS: NONTHERMAL; RADIO CONTINUUM: GALAXIES full text sources ADS | data products SIMBAD (1)