An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

فرهنگ ریشه شناختی اخترشناسی-اخترفیزیک

M. Heydari-Malayeri    -    Paris Observatory



Number of Results: 12 Search : photon
baryon-photon ratio
  وابر ِ باریون-فوتون   
vâbar-e bâriyon-foton

Fr.: rapport baryon-photon   

The → baryon number compared with the number of photons in the → Universe. The baryon-photon ratio can be estimated in a simple way. The → energy density associated with → blackbody radiation of → temperature  T is aT4, and the mean energy per photon is ~kT. Therefore, the number density of blackbody photons for T = 2.7 K is: nγ = aT4/kT = 3.7 x 102 photons cm-3, where a = 7.6 x 10-15 erg cm-3 K-4 (→ radiation density constant) and k = 1.38 x 10-16 erg K-1 (→ Boltzmann's constant). The number density of baryons can be expressed by ρm/mp, where ρm is the mass density of the Universe and mp is the mass of the → proton (1.66 x 10-24 g). → CMB measurements show that the baryonic mean density is ρm = 4.2 x 10-31 g cm-3 (roughly 5% of the → critical density). This leads to the value of ~ 2 x 10-7 for the number density of baryons. Thus, the baryon/photon ratio is approximately equal to η = nb/nγ = 2 x 10-7/3.7 x 102 ~ 5 x 10-10. In other words, for each baryon in the Universe there is 1010 photons. This estimate is in agreement with the precise value of the baryon-photon ratio 6.14 x 10-10 derived with the → WMAP. Since the photon number and the baryon number are conserved, the baryon-photon ratio stays constant as the Universe expands.

baryon; → photon; → ratio.

Lyman-Werner photon
  فوتون ِ لایمن-ورنر   
foton-e Lyman-Werner

Fr.: photon de Lyman-Werner   

An → ultraviolet photon with an energy between 11.2 and 13.6 eV, corresponding to the energy range in which the Lyman and Werner absorption bands of → molecular hydrogen (H2) are found (→ Lyman band, → Werner band). The first generation of stars produces a background of Lyman-Werner radiation which can → photodissociate molecular hydrogen, the key → cooling agent in metal free gas below 104 K. In doing so, the Lyman-Werner radiation field delays the collapse of gaseous clouds, and thus star formation. After more massive → dark matter clouds are assembled, atomic line cooling becomes effective and H2 can begin to shield itself from Lyman-Werner radiation.

Lyman; → Werner band; → photon.

foton (#)

Fr.: photon   

The → quantum of the → electromagnetic field, which mediates the interaction between charged particles. It is the mass-less → boson with zero → electric charge, which propagates with the → speed of light in vacuum. The energy of a photon is connected to its → frequency ν, through the formula E = hν, where h is → Planck's constant.

From phot-, variant of → photo- before a vowel + → -on a suffix used in the names of subatomic particles (gluon; meson; neutron), quanta (photon, graviton), and other minimal entities or components. The term photon was coined by Gilbert N. Lewis in 1926 in a letter to the editor of Nature magazine (Vol. 118, Part 2, December 18, page 874).

photon escape time
  زمان ِ گریز ِ فوتون   
zamân-e goriz-e foton

Fr.: temps d'échappement des photons   

The time required for a photon created in the Sun's core to attain the → photosphere and leave the Sun. If the photons were free to escape, they would take a time of only R/c (a couple of seconds) to reach the surface, where R is the Solar radius and c the speed of light. The solar material is, however, very opaque, so that photons travel only a short distance before interacting with other particles. Therefore, photons undergo a very large number of → random walks before arriving at the surface by chance. The typical time is approximately 5 x 104 years for a constant density Sun.

photon; → escape; → time.

photon gas
  گاز ِ فوتونی   
gâz-e fotoni

Fr.: gaz de photons   

Electromagnetic radiation in equilibrium in a → black body cavity. Photons can be treated as the simplest → ideal gas because all the particles move at the same velocity, the → speed of light. There are, nevertheless, two main differences. 1) Photons are → bosons and → Bose-Einstein statistics must be used. However, photons do not interact with each others so that no approximation is made by neglecting inter-particle forces. 2) Some photons scatter off the walls, with some being absorbed and new ones being emitted continually; so that no constraint can be placed on their number.

photon; → gas.

photon hardening
  سختش ِ فوتون   
saxteš-e foton

Fr.: durcissement des photons   

An effect occurring in the outer zones of → H II regions where the number of high-energy ultraviolet photons with energies well above the → ionization potential of hydrogen increases with respect to the number of → Lyman continuum photons. The effect is due to stronger absorption of weaker photons.

hard; → photon.

photon noise
  نوفه‌ی ِ فوتون   
nufe-ye foton

Fr.: bruit de photons   

An intrinsic noise caused by the quantum nature of light. Same as → quantum noise.

photon; → noise.

photon sphere
  سپهر ِ فوتون   
sepehr-e foton

Fr.: sphère de photons   

A surface where if a photon is emitted from one of its points the photon follows a closed orbit and returns periodically to its departure point. Such a surface exists only near sufficiently → compact objects where the → curvature of → space-time is very important. In other words, a body can take a stable orbit around a → black hole provided that it moves with the → speed of light. However, only photons can have such a velocity; hence the term "photon sphere." For a non-rotating → Schwarzschild black hole, the photon sphere has a radius of R = 3GM/c2 = 3 RS/2, where G is the → gravitational constant, M is the mass, c is the → speed of light, and RS is the → Schwarzschild radius. For a rotating, → Kerr black hole, the situation is much more complex due to the → Lense-Thirring effect. In that case circular paths exist for radii whose values depend on the rotation direction. More specifically, in the equatorial plane there are two possible circular light paths: a smaller one in the direction of the rotation, and a larger one in the opposite direction.

photon; → sphere.

photon tiring limit
  حد ِ خستگی ِ فوتون   
hadd-e xastegi-ye foton

Fr.: limite par fatigue du photon   

The maximum → mass loss rate of a star when the → wind luminosity equals the total available → stellar luminosity. The mechanical luminosity of the wind at infinity is given by: Lwind = Mdot (v2/2 + GM/R) = Mdot (v2/2 + vesc2/2). For Lwind = L*, the mass loss rate is Mdotmax = 2L*/(v2 + vesc2). Following Owoki & Gayly (1997), Mdottir is the maximum mass loss rate when the wind just escapes the gravitational potential, with v tending toward zero. Mdottir is much larger than typical mass loss rates from → line-driven winds, where the driving lines become saturated with increasing density limiting the wind mass loss rates to about 10-4 Msun yr-1 in even the most luminous stars.

photon; tiring, from tire "to weary; become weary," → tired; → limit.

photon-baryon plasma
  پلاسما فوتون-باریون   
plâsmâ foton-bâriyon

Fr.: plasma photon-baryon   

The plasma filling space before the → recombination epoch that mainly consisted of → cosmic microwave background radiation photons, electrons, protons, and → light elements.

photon; → baryon; → plasma.


Fr.: photonique   


photon + → -ics.

two-photon emission
  گسیل ِ دو-فوتونی   
gosil-e do-fotoni

Fr.: émission à deux photons   

The simultaneous emission of two photons whose sum of energies is equal to that of a single electron transition. The energy of each individual photon of the pair is not fixed, so that the spectrum of two-photon emission is continuous from the wavelength of that transition to infinity. In practice, there is a peak in wavelength distribution of the emitted photons. Two-photon emission is studied atomic physics with application in astrophysics, as it contributes to the continuum radiation from → planetary nebulae. It was recently observed in condensed matter and specifically in → semiconductors.

two; → photon; → emission.