The magnetic dipole model for superluminal radio sources

The magnetic dipole model (MAD) for superluminal radio sources is described in detail. Analytic derivations are presented for a number of observationally accessible kinematic quantities, as well as for the size and shape of the radio lobes and the probability distributions for the velocities. The results are in satisfactory agreement with observations. The astrophysical aspects of MAD are discussed assuming that the dominant emission mechanism is curvature radiation. The possibility that the local radius of curvature of the magnetic field is much smaller than the curvature radius of an ideal dipole field is considered. The physical effects that are discussed include coherent emission and absorption, circular and linear polarization, and inverse Compton scattering. The time-dependence of the flux and the shape of the spectrum that are deduced on the basis of the assumed emission mechanism are consistent with observation.