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Inference of relativistic electron spectra from measurements of inverse compton radiation

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Abstract

The inference of relativistic electron spectra from spectral measurement of inverse Compton radiation is discussed for the case where the background photon spectrum is a Planck function. The problem is formulated in terms of an integral transform that relates the measured spectrum to the unknown electron distribution. A general inversion formula is used to provide a quantitative assessment of the information content of the spectral data. It is shown that the observations must generally be augmented by additional information if anything other than a rudimentary two or three parameter model of the source function is to be derived. It is also pointed out that since a similar equation governs the continuum spectra emitted by a distribution of black-body radiators, the analysis is relevant to the problem of stellar population synthesis from galactic spectra.

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Author notes

  1. I. J. D. Craig

    Present address: Department of Mathematics, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Astronomy, The University, Glasgow, Scotland

    I. J. D. Craig & J. C. Brown

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  1. I. J. D. Craig
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  2. J. C. Brown
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Craig, I.J.D., Brown, J.C. Inference of relativistic electron spectra from measurements of inverse compton radiation. Astrophys Space Sci 70, 425–432 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00639566

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00639566

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