Can the Constraint of Finite Mass Smooth Fluctuations in the Background Radiation?
Abstract
In principle, the fact that only a finite amount of mass is available to create discrete sources of radiation, causes the small-scale fluctuations due to unresolved sources to be smoother than that predicted from Poisson statistics. We point out here that this effect is significant only when an appreciable fraction of all the mass goes into creating such sources. This places significant constraints on models in which the X-ray or microwave background is composed of unresolved discrete sources of number density much less than required by Poisson statistics. However, it allows reconciliation of the apparent inconsistency between the number of high-latitude Uhuru sources and X-ray background fluctuations.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- December 1974
- DOI:
- 10.1086/181687
- Bibcode:
- 1974ApJ...194L.139S
- Keywords:
-
- Background Radiation;
- Fluctuation Theory;
- Mass Distribution;
- Microwave Emission;
- Statistical Distributions;
- X Ray Sources;
- Data Smoothing;
- Galactic Radiation;
- Radio Sources (Astronomy);
- Random Variables;
- Space Radiation