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Schuster-Schwarzschild model

(Schuster-Schwarzschild approximation)
(simplified model of a star's production of absorption lines)

The Schuster-Schwarzschild model is a simplified model of the Sun's mechanism for producing absorption lines, treating the Sun as if a distinct outer layer (termed a reversing layer) produces the lines through opacity at specific wavelengths, which surrounds a black body producing a continuum emission. It was inspired by Kirchhoff's laws. The method has been refined and can still be used, e.g., for calculating a curve of growth. It can be considered an example of a two-stream approximation and can also be used for other phenomena, e.g., similarly for other stars.

It is a simplification because real stars do not have such neat distinction between the source of the continuum emission and of the spectral lines. A more complex model of line formation that does not make this artificial distinction is the Milne-Eddington model. These were early-twentieth century models and today's computation capabilities make more complex and realistic models practical.

The original model simplifies by ignoring details of a ray's travel through the reversing layer such as the ray's angle and the thickness of the layer, effectively making it an early two-stream approximation, perhaps the first.


In some sciences (other than astrophysics), the term Schuster-Schwarzschild model is used to mean two-stream approximation, often in cases that do not involve absorption lines or even EMR.


(physics,EMR,stars)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-stream_approximation
http://ftp.astro.wisc.edu/~townsend/resource/teaching/astro-310-F08/17-line-profiles-2.pdf
http://ads.harvard.edu/books/1989fsa..book/AbookC13.pdf
http://users.metu.edu.tr/itari/me508/CHAPTER13.pdf
https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1905ApJ....21....1S/abstract
https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN252457811_1906

Referenced by page:
two-stream approximation

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