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Quasar Hypothesis Updated


On October 16 I posted a rough hypothesis for a quasar. This post supersedes that earlier post to include references to the attached paper (and its reference). Much of the original text is unchanged. The references provide support for the hypothesis.

A new post version is better than a list of changes.


I describe the quasar observations and basis before the conclusion.

1) Quasar Definition

from Wikipedia ===

Quasars or quasi-stellar radio sources are the most energetic and distant active galactic nuclei (AGN).

They are quite small in comparison with the energy they put out. Quasars are not much larger than the Solar System. The mechanism of brightness changes probably involves relativistic beaming of jets pointed nearly directly toward us. The highest redshift quasar known (as of June 2011) has a redshift of 7.085, which means it is about 29 billion light-years from Earth. This estimate is made using the concept of comoving distance.
===

2) Halton Arp's observations

Halton Arp observed quasars with similar red shifts could appear in pairs around a Seyfert galaxy, as if from their parent.
Their red shifts seem to drop in quantized increments as the objects had greater distance from their parent.
Both quasars and BL Lac objects could be associated with the same parent but the BL Lac objects have no emission line to compare red shifts.

Arp proposed quasars evolved into a galaxy implying it either stays as ejected or somehow changes to that AGN type for a spiral galaxy.

3) BeppoSax study of quasars

On July 18 I posted about a BeppoSax study of quasars and BL Lac objects. Their conclusion was these objects have a source of synchrotron radiation, not thermal radiation.

4) Thornhill description of a plasmoid in M87

Elliptical galaxies (M87) emit jets from their plasmoid out opposing directions along its axis. The plasmoid is a source of synchrotron radiation.
These jets include neutrons which disintegrate into proton/electron pairs.

The attached paper provides more detail about the jets.

excerpt ===
The study found that the location of particle acceleration occurs very close to the black hole, far closer to the central engine than the acceleration distance. Notably, high-resolution very-long-baseline interferometry images of the jet show a "pinching" of the outflow around this distance. This, according to the researchers, suggests that the initial injection of particle acceleration in the jet may be influenced by this pinching region.
===

The references to the black hole (or the central engine) and the jet's 'pinching' are clear references to the plasmoid accelerating the jet's stream through the relative small diameter of the plasmoid's torus.
==

at the bottom of this paper there is a link to another paper about the collimated jets.

excerpt ===
The collimated jets are more likely to be formed and launched.
Our findings are in contrast with single-zone SSC models, which can match the high-energy SED but only if the plasma is highly matter-dominated. Such a strongly matter-dominated emitting region is unlikely to exist in the magnetically-dominated inner jet, but might exist in the outer sheath of the jet.
===

This 'matter-dominated plasma' reference is probably the uncharged neutrons(accompanying the plasma) in the jet.

5) Quasars are usually small faint objects in images.

They are assumed to be very luminous because their extreme red shift is assumed to be a great distance so the object is not dim enough for its distance. The distance is wrong.

The basic hypothesis for a quasar: A quasar is a plasmoid like the one in M87 but the plasmoid in the quasar must have enough energy so its jets achieve the observed superluminal velocities.

M87 is bright in radio and quasars are radio sources.

BL Lac objects are also a plasmoid but are never observed to generate the jets along the plasmoid axis.


A quasar is not extremely luminous but its calculated distance is totally wrong. Its luminosity and size are as observed.

The explanation for its extreme red shift:

The neutrons in the relativistic jet from the plasmoid decay into proton/electron pairs which immediately link to form a hydrogen atom.
The electron in the new atom quickly relaxes to the atom's ground state which results in the Hydrogen Lyman-alpha emission line. This wavelength is in the ultraviolet range.
Because the atom is moving at the instant of this emission the wavelength is shifted based on velocity and direction.
The atoms zooming away get a redshift so UV could become visible or infrared (10^-6 m) while those atoms zooming toward us get a blue shift so UV could become X-ray (wavelength change reduction by factor of 10, as in from 10^-7 m(UV) to 10^-8 m (X) ). In either case the emission line from one or a small number of atoms will be probably weak.

This atom's emission line is incorrectly used for the quasar velocity.

a brief divergent comment:
The shift to X-ray is interesting because I have recently posted (Oct 1, Oct 10) about X-ray point sources at a significant distance from any galaxy. Those remote sources never have spectrum details.

No matter the red or blue shift this is the atom's motion not the quasar. This atom's emission line shift should never be used for a quasar's velocity.

The quantized red shift:

Over time with successive jets the plasmoid loses energy. That reduction is in increments due to the jet ejection process. The jets are part of sequential decreases in the amount of energy in the plasmoid, not a linear reduction over a time span.

There is no observation of a filament from the Seyfert to a quasar. If a filament exists (in dark mode) then with increasing distance the plasmoid would become subject to line losses.

Arp proposed a quasar in a path of galaxy evolution. I am not an astrophysicist so that is far beyond this hypothesis.
For the same reason I do not explain the mechanism for a Seyfert galaxy to eject a pair of plasmoids emitting almost identical jets having the same velocity.

This rough hypothesis is certainly missing details but it covers most of the significant observed behaviors of a quasar.

This rough hypothesis offers no definable predictions to be tested.

These superluminal hydrogen atoms from the quasar could be detected as cosmic rays with the atom having an extreme velocity like from a particle accelerator.

Perhaps an astrophysicist can improve this hypothesis.
I suspect no one has truly considered a quasar (i.e., something else is more important) but this hypothesis has a practical basis.

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