Abstract:
Stimulated Raman scattering processes appear to be able to produce the typical electromagnetic continuum of an active galactic nucleus (AGN). Seed photons beat through Raman forward-scattering to create Langmuir plasma waves which can quickly accelerate electrons to Lorentz factors of 10^3^ to 10^4^. These electrons radiate their energy through Raman back- scattering off magnetic fields engendered by magnetic modulational instabilities afflicting the Langmuir waves. The frequency of emission is proportional to the square root of the ambient density, so γ-rays can be produced in the highest density regions near the central engine, with X-rays through to IR photons produced at greater distances. Both the high luminosity and broken power-law continuum characteristic of an AGN emerge from reasonable density distributions. Bremsstrahlung emission in the UV is a by-product of this mechanism and could explain the 'blue bump'. Because the electrons are continuously accelerated in this picture, a steady-state distribution arises naturally and a simple relation exists between the density of the relativistic particles which emit the radiation and the ambient plasma density which is involved in the acceleration.
