The Lyman break, which is analogous to the Balmer break, forms because at wavelengths shorter than 912 Å radiation is completely absorbed by neutral gas. Recall that the Balmer series deals with hydrogen atoms in the first excited state (n=2) and the Lyman series deals with hydrogren atoms in the ground state (n=1).The Lyman break, which is analogous to the Balmer break, forms because at wavelengths shorter than 912 Å radiation is completely absorbed by neutral gas. Recall that the Balmer series deals with hydrogen atoms in the first excited state (n=2) and the Lyman series deals with hydrogren atoms in the ground state (n=1).12-Jun-2013
What is the Lyman break technique?
The Lyman-break galaxy selection technique relies on the fact that radiation at higher energies than the Lyman limit at 912 Å is almost completely absorbed by neutral gas around star-forming regions of galaxies.
What causes the Lyman alpha forest?
There are clouds of gas between distant quasars and the Earth that absorb ultraviolet light at the wavelength of the Lyman alpha line of hydrogen at a wavelength of 122 nm. Quasars also emit a strong Lyman alpha emission line.
What are Lyman alpha photons?
Lyman α is light Radiation consists of light particles, or photons, which are small packets of energy. The higher the energy, the higher the frequency, but the shorter the wavelength, and vice versa.
What is the series limit for the Lyman series?
91.2 nm The Lyman limit is the short-wavelength end of the hydrogen Lyman series, at 91.2 nm (912 Å). It corresponds to the energy required for an electron in the hydrogen ground state to escape from the electric potential barrier that originally confined it, thus creating a hydrogen ion.
What is the 4000 angstrom break?
A primary feature is the strong break at 4000A (Angstroms), caused by the blanket absorption of high energy radiation from metals in stellar atmospheres and by a deficiency of hot, blue stars. A smoothly varying function can easily be fit to spectra, with a clear drop off in intensity at 4000A.
Why is Lyman-alpha important?
Lyman alpha systems are becoming a very useful source of information in physical cosmology. The Lyman series is the series of energies required to excite an electron in hydrogen from its lowest energy state to a higher energy state.
How is the Lyman-alpha line split due to fine structure?
Fine structure Because of the spin–orbit interaction, the Lyman-alpha line splits into a fine-structure doublet with the wavelengths of 1215.668 and 1215.674 angstroms. These components are called Ly-α3/2 and Ly-α1/2, respectively.
Why is Lyman alpha important?
Lyman alpha systems are becoming a very useful source of information in physical cosmology. The Lyman series is the series of energies required to excite an electron in hydrogen from its lowest energy state to a higher energy state.
What is the longest wavelength in Lyman series?
Q. The shortest wavelength in Lyman series is 91.2nm. The longest wavelength of the series is
- 121.6nm. 42%
- 182.4nm. 33%
- 243.4nm. 17%
- 364.8nm. 8%