Quasar Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs)
• Very nice and relatively brief
review article from “Quasars and Cosmology” conference by Belinda Wilkes (CfA), a world expert on
the subject:
•
• Must
account for physical processes producing prodigious luminosity from radio wavelengths through the X-ray and even gamma
ray regimes.
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• Particular
features of interest include radio-jets and the radio-quiet vs. radio-loud dichotomy, the “big blue bump” that
produces the optical/UV energy
peak and is thought to arise from an accretion disk, and the far infrared that represents re-radiation by hot dust.