- #1
CosmologyHobbyist
- 61
- 4
- TL;DR
- When we look at quasar redshift, are we looking at the redshift of the blueshifted jet pointed toward us?
When I see discussions about quasar redshift, exactly what are they talking about? I assume a quasar is similar to a black hole, so emits little radiation from the main mass. The light from a quasar comes principally from its jets of accelerated material, no? Which means the jet pointed toward us is blueshifted and the jet pointed away from us is redshifted, no? And the blueshifted jet would be extra-energized by the blueshift, so would probably obscure the red-shifted jet's spectrum, no? So doesn't all this make determining quasar redshift a complicated affair?
And on a tangentally related note, wouldn't quasar metallicity simply reflect what they are currently devouring, not the primordial black hole constituent materials? So does that mean metallicity issues concerning quasars, means no galactic cores should have second-generation stars by that time period in the universe? And determining the universe timeframe of the quasar is much dependent on accurately determining its redshift with the issues above?
When I see discussion about quasar redshifts, it appears that the redshift is being used raw without regard to the high degree of falsification owing to the way it is generated. Are all the adjustments handled behind the scenes and taken for granted? If not, then we should assume most quasars are highly blueshifted, which makes their deep redshifts even more puzzling. But as a layman, I assume I am missing the fundamentals of the picture, thus my question. "When we look at quasar redshift, are we looking at the redshift of the blueshifted jet pointed toward us?"
And on a tangentally related note, wouldn't quasar metallicity simply reflect what they are currently devouring, not the primordial black hole constituent materials? So does that mean metallicity issues concerning quasars, means no galactic cores should have second-generation stars by that time period in the universe? And determining the universe timeframe of the quasar is much dependent on accurately determining its redshift with the issues above?
When I see discussion about quasar redshifts, it appears that the redshift is being used raw without regard to the high degree of falsification owing to the way it is generated. Are all the adjustments handled behind the scenes and taken for granted? If not, then we should assume most quasars are highly blueshifted, which makes their deep redshifts even more puzzling. But as a layman, I assume I am missing the fundamentals of the picture, thus my question. "When we look at quasar redshift, are we looking at the redshift of the blueshifted jet pointed toward us?"