Abstract
THE observation of forbidden transitions in the emission spectra of quasi-stellar objects1,2 has led previous authors to deduce limiting values for the electron density in relevant regions of these sources (for example, ref. 1). In this report I shall show that significant limits must be set on the ultraviolet radiation intensity in the emitting region, and thus on the size of the region, if the observations of certain [O II] transitions are to be explained even at low electron densities.
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References
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BURGESS, D. Emission of [O II] and [O III] Forbidden Transitions by Quasi-stellar Objects. Nature 216, 1092–1094 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/2161092b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2161092b0
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