Scribd
Upload
81 views2 pages

Solutions To Radiative Processes

This document provides solutions to radiative processes problems involving calculating fluxes from different astronomical sources. It solves for the flux from: 1) An optically thick spherical source of radius R located a distance r from the observer. The flux is proportional to the square of the radius R over the distance r. 2) An isotropic circular disk of radius R observed at an angle theta from the normal. The flux is proportional to the cosine of the angle theta. 3) Various geometry problems calculating fluxes and intensities from sources using magnitudes, solid angles, and other radiative transfer concepts.

Uploaded by

Wessel van Dam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
81 views2 pages

Solutions To Radiative Processes

This document provides solutions to radiative processes problems involving calculating fluxes from different astronomical sources. It solves for the flux from: 1) An optically thick spherical source of radius R located a distance r from the observer. The flux is proportional to the square of the radius R over the distance r. 2) An isotropic circular disk of radius R observed at an angle theta from the normal. The flux is proportional to the cosine of the angle theta. 3) Various geometry problems calculating fluxes and intensities from sources using magnitudes, solid angles, and other radiative transfer concepts.

Uploaded by

Wessel van Dam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Radiative Processes: Werkcollege 1; solutions

Michiel Hogerheijde, Leiden Observatory


September 4, 2019

1. a. The magnitude system is defined as


F 
?
m? − mS = −2.5 log10 .
FS

Rearranging and filling in the given values gives F? = 2.3 × 10−22


erg s−1 cm−2 .
b. The solid angle of a beam with an angular diameter of θ = 1.200 is
Ωtelescope = π(θ/2)2 . Expressing θ in radians gives Ω = 2.7 × 10−11
sr and Iν = 8.77 × 10−12 erg s−1 cm−2 sr−1 .
c. This is eseentially the same calculation as (b), but now we take
θ = θ? = (1.2 R )/(43.3 pc) = 6.28×10−10 rad = 1.2×10−4 arcsec.
This way we find Ω = 1.24 × 10−18 sr, and get Iν = 1.88 × 10−4
erg s−1 cm−2 sr−1 .

1
2. Calculate the total flux at point P emanating from an isotropic, optically
think sphere of radius R (see Figure 1).

Figure 1
Figure 1: Geometry for problem 2.

2. The derivation is given in RL in the text above eq. (1.13).


Optically thick: the only emission we detect comes from the surface of
the sphere. a. The derivation goes as follows
Isotropic: the intensity I‹ isZ the same Zat 2π each
Z θ point on the surface.
c
F = I cos θdΩ = dφ I cos θ sin θdθ,
3. Calculate the flux observed at the detector (indicated by a B) from a
0 0

supernova (SN), where


that θwent off at an angle – from the vector normal to the
c is the largest angle of a ray that still goes through the
sphere, θc = arcsin(R/r).
detector surface. Assume that the SN is an optically thick sphere with
radius R a distance r ∫ R away.
Z θ c
⇔ F = 2πB sin θ cos θdθ
0

1  2  θc
= 2πB cos θ
2 0
 
= πB 1 − cos2 θc
= πB sin2 θc
 R 2
= πB .
r
3. (RL problem 1.3) Solution given in solutions section RL.

4. Problem 4 has been moved to a future werkcollege.

Figure 2

Having calculated the observed flux, could you have guessed this answer
2

a priori using your result from question 2?

4. Calculate the flux from an isotropic, circular disk of radius R we measure


at detector B. The disk is observed at an angle – from the normal vector

You might also like