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Lecture 08

1) Radiation escaping from an optically thick source will be modified by changes in temperature as it passes through the source. 2) A two-layer model of a star treats the inner layer as a blackbody radiator at temperature Tin, with radiation escaping through an outer layer at temperature Tout. The escaping radiation intensity depends on whether Tout is greater than or less than Tin. 3) If Tout > Tin, emission lines will form on the continuum. If Tout < Tin, absorption lines will form on the continuum, as seen in the Sun's spectrum.

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Mendoza Menoy
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39 views12 pages

Lecture 08

1) Radiation escaping from an optically thick source will be modified by changes in temperature as it passes through the source. 2) A two-layer model of a star treats the inner layer as a blackbody radiator at temperature Tin, with radiation escaping through an outer layer at temperature Tout. The escaping radiation intensity depends on whether Tout is greater than or less than Tin. 3) If Tout > Tin, emission lines will form on the continuum. If Tout < Tin, absorption lines will form on the continuum, as seen in the Sun's spectrum.

Uploaded by

Mendoza Menoy
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Next, consider an optically thick source:

• Already shown that in the interior, radiation will be


described by the Planck function.
• Radiation escaping from the source will be modified
because the temperature (and thus the Planck
function) varies along the path.

Example: model a star using a two layer model:


Radiation starts from the inner
Tout layer as blackbody radiation at
Tin temperature Tin.

Escapes through an atmosphere


of optical depth t and temperature
Tout.

ASTR 3730: Fall 2003


Use same solution as before to describe change in intensity
of the radiation:
-tn -tn
In (t n ) = I0e + Bn (1- e )

Escaping Bn(Tout)
radiation Bn(Tin)
†
Valid provided that all the gas is in thermal equilibrium (LTE).
Assume that optical depth of outer layer is small and use
approximate expansion for the exponential as before:
In (t n ) = Bn (Tin )e-tn + Bn (Tout )[1- e-tn ]
In (t n ) = Bn (Tin )[1- t n ] + Bn (Tout ) ¥ t n
In (t n ) = Bn (Tin ) + t n [Bn (Tout ) - Bn (Tin )]
ASTR 3730: Fall 2003
In (t n ) = Bn (Tin ) + t n [Bn (Tout ) - Bn (Tin )]

Initial radiation Change in intensity caused


intensity by the outer layer. Depends
†
upon frequency.
Recall that intensity of blackbody radiation increases at all
frequencies as the temperature goes up.

Sign of the second term depends


upon whether Bn(Tout) is larger or
smaller than Bn(Tin) - i.e. on
whether Tout > Tin.

ASTR 3730: Fall 2003


In (t n ) = Bn (Tin ) + t n [Bn (Tout ) - Bn (Tin )]

1) Tout > Tin: second term is positive:

† Escaping intensity is larger at frequencies where tn is


greatest (frequencies corresponding to spectral lines).
Expect emission lines on top of the continuum.

2) Tout < Tin: second term is negative:

Escaping intensity is reduced at frequencies where tn is


greatest (frequencies corresponding to spectral lines).
Expect absorption lines superimposed on the continuum.

ASTR 3730: Fall 2003


For the Sun, temperature near the optical photosphere
decreases outward (as it must since energy transport is
from the center to the outside).
In second regime: Tout < Tin
Expect to see an absorption spectrum, as observed:

ASTR 3730: Fall 2003


Note: see strong UV and X-ray
emission from the Solar corona,
so obviously the temperature
there is much hotter than that
of the photosphere…

T
UV radiation comes from
region where T increasing,
so emission line spectrum
Optical radiation comes from
region where T decreasing,
so absorption spectrum
radius
ASTR 3730: Fall 2003
Summary:

Emission line spectra:


• Optically thin volume of gas
with no background light
• Optically thick gas in which
T increases outward

Absorption line spectra:


• Cold gas lies in front of a
source of radiation at a
higher temperature

ASTR 3730: Fall 2003


Broadening of spectral lines
An individual atom making a transition between energy levels
emits one photon with a well-defined energy / frequency.
However, profiles of real spectral lines are not infinitely narrow.

n
I e.g. for an emission line, width
of the spectral line Dn could be
defined as the full width at
Dn half the maximum intensity
of the line.

frequency n
Details of definition don’t matter - important to see what causes
lines to have finite width.
ASTR 3730: Fall 2003
Two basic mechanisms:

1) Energy levels themselves are not infinitely sharp:


emitted photons have a range of frequencies

2) Atoms in the gas are moving relative to the observer:


observed photons don’t have the same frequency as
the emitted photons because of the Doppler effect.

ASTR 3730: Fall 2003


Natural linewidth

Consider excited state with energy


E above the ground state.
E Electrons in excited state remain
Ground there for average time Dt before
state decaying to ground state.

Uncertainty principle: energy difference between states is


uncertain by an amount DE given by:
h
DEDt ª
2p
1
But since E = hn, DE = hDn Dn ª
2pDt
Broadening due
† to this effect is called the natural linewidth.
ASTR 3730: Fall 2003
†
Natural linewidth sets absolute minimum width of spectral
lines. However, normally very small - other effects dominate.

e.g. for hydrogen n=2 to n=1 transition (Lyman a transition)


the lifetime is of the order of 10-9 s.

Natural linewidth is ~108 Hz.


Dn
Compare to frequency of transition: ª 10-7
n
In astrophysical situations, other processes will often give
much larger linewidths than this.
†

ASTR 3730: Fall 2003


Collisional broadening
In a dense gas, atoms are colliding frequently. This effectively
reduces the lifetime of states further, to a value smaller than
the quantum mechanical lifetime.
If the frequency of collisions is ncol, then expect to get a
collisional linewidth of about Dn ~ ncol.

Frequency of collisions increases with density - expect to


see broader lines in high density regions as compared to
low density ones.

e.g. a main sequence star (small radius) has a higher density


at the photosphere than a giant of the same surface
temperature. Spectral lines in the main sequence star will
be broader than in the giant.
ASTR 3730: Fall 2003

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