Exploring the Possibility of Quasars Emitting Above Their Eddington Limit

[Aziza]

A study is showing that higher redshift quasars emit more and more above their Eddington limit. How is this possible? Shouldnt this be causing the accretion disk to fly apart?

 

[Drakkith]

Do you have a link to this study?

 

[Aziza]

Do you have a link to this study?

yup here it is!

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:1XHScFrhhEYJ:symposia.obs.carnegiescience.edu/series/symposium1/ms/szuszkiewicz_ms.ps.gz+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

 

[goldsax]

the study tries to give an explantion .
it has been known for a while that the Eddington Limit(Le) can be exceeded for periods of time..
but recall that the Le is a hypthetical limit based on the presumption that all the material is ionized hydorgen and all the material is accreted uniformally.

 

[pmacias]

I find this study on the possibility of quasars emitting above their Eddington limit to be very intriguing. The Eddington limit is the theoretical maximum luminosity that an object can emit based on its mass. It is determined by the balance between the inward gravitational force and the outward radiation pressure. Therefore, it is expected that if a quasar emits above its Eddington limit, the accretion disk should fly apart due to the overwhelming radiation pressure.

However, there could be several explanations for the observed trend of higher redshift quasars emitting more above their Eddington limit. One possibility is that these quasars have larger black holes with higher mass accretion rates, which would explain their higher luminosity. Another explanation could be that the Eddington limit itself is not a fixed value and can vary depending on the properties of the accretion disk and the environment of the quasar.

It is also important to consider the limitations of the study and potential sources of error. The redshift measurements of quasars can be affected by various factors such as the Doppler effect and gravitational lensing, which could lead to an overestimation of the quasar's luminosity. Additionally, the Eddington limit is based on theoretical calculations and may not accurately reflect the true limit in extreme environments such as quasars.

In conclusion, while it may seem counterintuitive for quasars to emit above their Eddington limit, further studies and observations are needed to fully understand this phenomenon. It is also important to consider alternative explanations and potential sources of error before drawing definitive conclusions.