OBSERVATIONS OF THE OWENS VALLEY RADIO OBSERVATORY. THE SPECTRA OF NON-THERMAL RADIO SOURCES,

Abstract

The spectra of most non-thermal sources can be closely represented by a simple power law at least between 40 and 1400 Mc/s. The distribution of spectral indices for the sources away from the galactic plane is sharply peaked about a median value of -0.76, while the sources near the plane have a considerably wider dispersion of indices. The small-diameter, relatively weak sources tend to have relatively flat spectra. The most luminous sources, with high surface brightnesses, have normal spectra at decimeter wavelengths but are considerably flatter at meter wavelengths, suggesting that they are younger sources where equilibrium between the rate of injection of relativistic electrons and the rate of radiation loss has not yet been established. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1944
Accession Number
AD0434038

Entities

People

  • Kenneth I. Kellermann

Organizations

  • California Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Brightness
  • Corpuscular Radiation
  • Diameters
  • Dispersions
  • Electrons
  • Elementary Fermions
  • Elementary Particles
  • Fermions
  • Ionizing Radiation
  • Nuclear Radiation
  • Observation
  • Observatories
  • Radiation
  • Spectra
  • Subatomic Particles

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Solar Physics

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics