The internal Compton effect
Internal Compton effect, and use of superconducting magnet spectrometer to determine multipolarity assignments
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Internal Compton effect, and use of superconducting magnet spectrometer to determine multipolarity assignments
Double Compton effect with high intensity radiation
Compton effect on relativistic electrons in solar atmosphere
This year is the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the Compton effect marked by A. H. Compton’s 1923 Physical Review article. On this occasion, we reflect on the effect’s impact on Nuclear Physics and celebrate the event a century ago and the eminent scientist who made the discovery. Much of the historical comments rely on the article by R. H. Stuewer. A recent Physics Today article presents a historical perspective of Compton’s work and provides more details. The various applications of the Compton effect and its “derivatives” (e.g. inverse Compton scattering) impact many areas of Physics and Chemistry. Here, this short article is restricted to examples taken from the authors' surroundings: the focus is on nuclear-structure experiments with γ-spectroscopic methods and nuclear cross-section measurements relevant for astrophysics.
The traditional first-order Compton-Getting effect, which relates particle distributions as observed in two frames of reference moving with constant relative velocity, is inadequate for the description of low-energy particles (less than a few hundred keV/nucleon) in the solar system. An exact procedure is given for recovering both isotropic and anisotropic distributions in the solar wind frame from observations made in a spacecraft frame. The method is illustrated by analyzing a particle event observed by an experiment on IMP-7 on Oct. 31, 1972.
Using three-dimensional general relativistic radiation-magnetohydrodynamics simulations of accretion flows around stellar mass black holes, we report that the relatively cold disk (≳10{sup 7} K) is truncated near the black hole. Hot and less dense regions, of which the gas temperature is ≳10{sup 9} K and more than 10 times higher than the radiation temperature (overheated regions), appear within the truncation radius. The overheated regions also appear above as well as below the disk, sandwiching the cold disk, leading to the effective Compton upscattering. The truncation radius is ∼30r{sub g} for M-dot ∼L{sub Edd}/c{sup 2}, where r{sub g}, M-dot ,L{sub Edd},c are the gravitational radius, mass accretion rate, Eddington luminosity, and light speed, respectively. Our results are consistent with observations of a very high state, whereby the truncated disk is thought to be embedded in the hot rarefied regions. The truncation radius shifts inward to ∼10r{sub g} with increasing mass accretion rate M-dot ∼100L{sub Edd}/c{sup 2}, which is very close to an innermost stable circular orbit. This model corresponds to the slim disk state observed in ultraluminous X-ray sources. Although the overheated regions shrink if the Compton cooling effectively reduces the gas temperature, the sandwich structure does not disappear at the range of M-dot ≲100L{sub Edd}/c{sup 2}. Our simulations also reveal that the gas temperature in the overheated regions depends on black hole spin, which would be due to efficient energy transport from black hole to disks through the Poynting flux, resulting in gas heating.
It was found that the traditional first-order Compton-Getting effect, which relates particle distributions as observed in two frames of reference moving with constant relative velocity, is inadequate for the description of low energy particles (less than a few hundred keV/nucleon) in the solar system. An exact procedure is given for recovering both isotropic and anisotropic distributions in the solar wind frame from observations made in a spacecraft frame. The method was illustrated by analyzing a particle event observed on IPM-7.
Compton-Getting effect for cosmic ray particles and photons and Lorentz-invariance of distribution functions, discussing thermal background radiation, proton spectra, etc
The present account of the effects of soft photons from external sources on two-temperature accretion disks in electron-positron pair equilibrium solves the energy-balance equation for a given radial distribution of the input rate of soft photons, taking into account their bremsstrahlung and Comptonization. Critical rate behavior is investigated as a function of the ratio of the energy flux of incident soft photons and the energy-generation rate. As in a previous study, the existence of a critical accretion rate is established.
A closed set of fluid equations with radiation reaction force (RRF) are constructed from the moments of the appropriate single particle kinetic equation describing a relativistic degenerate (high density) electron plasma. The closure, in analogy with the Maxwellian closure for non-degenerate plasmas, is affected via a parametrized Fermi-Dirac distribution. It is shown that the degeneracy increases RRF just as will be predicted from the so-called “Compton Rocket” effect.
Transformation of differential mean and current densities and anisotropy of cosmic ray particles and photons observed in frames of reference relative to each other with isotropic flux
Theoretical studies of energetic particles in space are often referred to a special frame of reference. To compare theory with experiment, one has to transform the particle distribution from the special frame to the observer's frame, or vice versa. Various methods have been derived to obtain the directional distribution in the comoving frame from the directional fluxes measured on a spacecraft. These methods have become progressively complicated as increasingly detailed directional particle data become available. A set of 2nd order correct formulae for the transformation of an arbitrary differential intensity distribution, expressed as a series of spherical harmonics, between any two frames in constant relative motion is presented. These formulae greatly simplify the complicated procedures currently in use for the determination of the differential intensity distribution in a comoving frame.
The ways in which Compton scattering on free electrons influences the continuous spectrum and temperature structure of a hot stellar atmosphere, where most of its radiation is emitted in the 1-10 keV energy range, are discussed. The numerical results pertain to the continuum spectra of X-ray bursters. The formulation and development of the numerical code, which reproduces angle-averaged relativistic Compton scattering of thermal (unpolarized) X-rays in a plane-parallel atmosphere in hydrostatic and radiative equilibrium, are described.
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Of specific concern to this report and the related experiments is ionization of air by gammas rays and the cascading electrons in the High-Energy Radiation Megavolt Electron Source (HERMES) III courtyard. When photons generated by HERMES encounter a neutral atom or molecule, there is a chance that they will interact via one of several mechanisms: photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, or pair production. In both the photoelectric effect and Compton scattering, an electron is liberated from the atom or molecule with a direction of travel preferentially aligned with the gamma ray. This results in a flow of electrons away from the source region, which results in large scale electric and magnetic fields. The strength of these fields and their dynamics are dependent on the conductivity of the air. A more comprehensive description is provided by Longmire and Gilbert.
Anisotropy of relativistic cosmic ray electrons, considering electron exposure time to synchrotron effects, energy loss from inverse Compton effect, etc
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