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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Moscibrodzka, Monika, Gammie, Charles F.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.00499
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author Moscibrodzka, Monika
Gammie, Charles F.
author_facet Moscibrodzka, Monika
Gammie, Charles F.
contents Synchrotron emissivities, absorptivities, and Faraday rotation and conversion coefficients are needed in modeling a variety of astrophysical sources, including Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) sources. We develop a method for estimating transfer coefficients that exploits their linear dependence on the electron distribution function, decomposing the distribution function into a sum of parts each of whose emissivity can be calculated easily. We refer to this procedure as stochastic averaging and apply it in two contexts. First, we use it to estimate the emissivity of an isotropic $κ$ distribution function with a high energy cutoff. The resulting coefficients can be evaluated efficiently enough to be used directly in ray-tracing calculations, and we provide an example calculation. Second, we use stochastic averaging to assess the effect of subgrid turbulence on the volume-averaged emissivity and along the way provide a prescription for a turbulent emissivity. We find that for parameters appropriate to EHT sources turbulence reduces the emissivity slightly. In the infrared turbulence can dramatically increase the emissivity.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_00499
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stochastic Averaging of Radiative Transfer Coefficients for Relativistic Electrons
Moscibrodzka, Monika
Gammie, Charles F.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Synchrotron emissivities, absorptivities, and Faraday rotation and conversion coefficients are needed in modeling a variety of astrophysical sources, including Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) sources. We develop a method for estimating transfer coefficients that exploits their linear dependence on the electron distribution function, decomposing the distribution function into a sum of parts each of whose emissivity can be calculated easily. We refer to this procedure as stochastic averaging and apply it in two contexts. First, we use it to estimate the emissivity of an isotropic $κ$ distribution function with a high energy cutoff. The resulting coefficients can be evaluated efficiently enough to be used directly in ray-tracing calculations, and we provide an example calculation. Second, we use stochastic averaging to assess the effect of subgrid turbulence on the volume-averaged emissivity and along the way provide a prescription for a turbulent emissivity. We find that for parameters appropriate to EHT sources turbulence reduces the emissivity slightly. In the infrared turbulence can dramatically increase the emissivity.
title Stochastic Averaging of Radiative Transfer Coefficients for Relativistic Electrons
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.00499