类星体的能量之谜

The mystery of quasar power

类星体,是遥远宇宙中最明亮的一类天体.光变研究表明类星体发出光学辐射的区域很小,只有几光天到几光年.如此小的发光区域,每秒钟释放的能量却比大小是它几十万甚至千万倍的普通星系还大上千倍.那么,类星体的巨大能量来源是什么呢?超大质量黑洞对周围物质的吸积,是对这个问题的最简单回答.那么,黑洞如何吸积周围物质?此外,黑洞不仅吸积物质,还可能吹出盘风,产生喷流,与周围星际介质发生相互作用,从而能影响类星体寄主星系的演化.本文将着重介绍:(1)类星体的发现;(2)类星体的能源;(3)黑洞吸积盘理论模型;(4)类星体的喷流;(5)超大质量黑洞与其寄主星系的演化.

Quasars are the brightest objects in the distant Universe. The quasar optical emitting region is very small, ranging from a few light days to a few light years based on quasar variability studies. Such a small region is thousands times greater than much larger normal galaxies. What physical mechanism powers such a gigantic energy source？ The answer is the accretion of surrounding materials to the central supermassive black hole. In addition to the accretion process, quasars may also produce winds/jets, which interact with surrounding interstellar medium to influence the host galaxy evolution. In this paper we will discuss the followings in detail：（1） discovery of quasars,（2） quasar power engine,（3） theoretical model of black hole accretion disk,（4） quasar jets,（5） the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.