Physics Commons^™

On The Theory Of Astronomical Masers In Three Dimensions, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

In the standard theory of three-dimensional astronomical masers, the radiation field is described as if the source were comprised of a collection of linear masers. To leading order, the standard theory is shown to provide the correct description of three-dimensional masers and its results remain intact, but only within a frequency core whose half-width is χ_sΔν_D, where Δν_D is the Doppler width and χ_s is a dimensionless parameter. For any given geometry, χ_s is ~1θ_sat, where θ_sat is the beaming angle of a maser with that geometry that has …