We all love to prove things [spectral broadening/relativity]

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around spectral broadening and the Doppler effect in the context of astrophysics, specifically addressing questions related to wavelength shifts, gas particle speeds, and their implications for absorption and emission lines. Participants are seeking to understand and prove various concepts rather than completing homework assignments.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant seeks assistance with proving concepts related to spectral broadening and relativity, indicating a need for clarification on specific problems.
  • Another participant proposes starting from basic principles, asking about the wavelength shift due to the Doppler effect for an object moving at velocity v and how this relates to material at a specific radius R.
  • There is a discussion about the formula for the Doppler shift, with one participant suggesting a relationship involving angular velocity and questioning how it translates to ordinary velocity.
  • Participants explore the relationship between frequency and wavelength, with one asking if it is valid to relate changes in wavelength to changes in frequency.
  • There is a mention of the root mean square (rms) speed of gas particles and how it relates to the Doppler shift and the width of absorption/emission lines, with some confusion about the distinction between rms speed and most probable speed.
  • One participant expresses uncertainty about the derivation of certain formulas and seeks clarification on the meaning of specific variables used in the context of the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying levels of understanding and uncertainty regarding the mathematical relationships involved in the Doppler effect and spectral broadening. There is no consensus on the correct application of certain formulas or the interpretation of terms, indicating that multiple competing views remain.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific formulas and concepts without fully resolving the assumptions or dependencies involved, such as the relationship between angular velocity and ordinary velocity, and the distinction between different measures of particle speed.

fasterthanjoao
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Well, hopefully this is going to be my last help-thread for a while, i'd like to start repaying the members. You may have noticed I've posted a few threads asking for help tonight, and I thank the members who have read my threads very much. I've narrowed down points of my course that I remain unsure about (after hours, believe me) of reading my textbooks and any others I can find and I *think* this is the last of it.

I have attached two documents (yeah I know, attached) of scanned in questions that require prooving. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to prove these myself, yet, and I have spent a lot of time trying to do so. I also apologize for the lack of latex, I spent ages trying to 'tex these questions up, but kept getting error messages to be honest I need to take a break, so I'd appreciate it a lot if some of you guys would look at my problems.

Note: these are not homework problems, I'm just trying to understand my course - any help with any of these proofs is greatly appreciated - be it completed proofs or guidelines. I promise that when I'm back on after a nap, I'll give latex another bash and respond to any queries you may have about these questions.

They require pre-honours level astronomy knowledge (or good thermal/bit o' quantum physics) - The first ones are on spectral broadening, and there's a quick relativity related proof (I think these ones are the easiest).

Thank you, and yes I'm aware that several members don't like handwritten documents so i'll try and get it sorted. thanks,
\delta

ftj.
 

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Alright, let's start from the beginning and treat these like homework problems. It won't help much if you don't work through them.

1a. What is the wavelength shift produced by the doppler effect if an object is moving at a velocity, v? Then, imagine you're viewing the disk edge-on and you're looking only at material located at a radius, R. Which material will exhibit the strongest doppler shift? How quickly is it moving relative to you?

b. What is the rms speed of a gas at temperature, T, composed of particles, each of mass, m? What is the doppler shift produced by particles moving at this speed? How does this relate to the width of the associated absorption/emission line?
 
SpaceTiger said:
1a. What is the wavelength shift produced by the doppler effect if an object is moving at a velocity, v? Then, imagine you're viewing the disk edge-on and you're looking only at material located at a radius, R. Which material will exhibit the strongest doppler shift? How quickly is it moving relative to you?

The Doppler shift of material at a radius R is? with omega as the angular velocity?
\Delta \nu = \frac{\nu_{0}}{c}[\Omega(R) - \Omega(R_{0})]R_{0}

Though, I think if I take that the Doppler shift is in one direction (in my direction?) I can take the shift as: \Delta \nu = \frac{\Omega_{x}}{c}

Can I then change from frequency to wavelength and substitute the Keplerian speed in the process? Is it wrong to say that radio of a change in wavelength to the initial wavelength is the ratio of change in frequency to the initial frequency?

SpaceTiger said:
b. What is the rms speed of a gas at temperature, T, composed of particles, each of mass, m? What is the doppler shift produced by particles moving at this speed? How does this relate to the width of the associated absorption/emission line?


\frac{1}{2}m&lt;v_{x}&gt;^2 = \frac{1}{2}kT \\<br /> v_{x}=\sqrt{\frac{kT}{m}} - I think I see that this is the most probable speed rather than the rms, and I'm reading that the rms is:v_{rms}=\sqrt{\frac{8kT}{\pi m}}

I can go from this to say that since, \frac{\Delta \nu}{\nu_{0}} = \frac{\nu_{x}}{c}} then:
\frac{\Delta \nu}{\nu_{0}} = \sqrt{\frac{8kT}{\pi m c^2}}.
 
Last edited:
fasterthanjoao said:
The Doppler shift of material at a radius R is? with omega as the angular velocity?
\Delta \nu = \frac{\nu_{0}}{c}[\Omega(R) - \Omega(R_{0})]R_{0}

This is the maximum Doppler shift from material at radius, R, and yes, omega is the angular velocity. How is it expressed in terms of ordinary velocity?


Though, I think if I take that the Doppler shift is in one direction (in my direction?) I can take the shift as: \Delta \nu = \frac{\Omega_{x}}{c}

I'm not sure how you're getting this formula. What happened to \nu_0 and R?


Can I then change from frequency to wavelength and substitute the Keplerian speed in the process? Is it wrong to say that radio of a change in wavelength to the initial wavelength is the ratio of change in frequency to the initial frequency?

Yes to the first question. You can answer the second question yourself. What is the relationship between wavelength and frequency. What happens when I differentiate this formula (i.e., take small intervals \Delta \lambda and \Delta \nu)?




and I'm reading that the rms is:v_{rms}=\sqrt{\frac{8kT}{\pi m}}

Where are you reading that? In a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution, that looks like the mean speed.


I can go from this to say that since, \frac{\Delta \nu}{\nu_{0}} = \frac{\nu_{x}}{c}} then:

What is \nu_x?
 

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