Comptonization in supercritical winds. I - Spectral evolution. II - Dynamics and observational diagnostics

Abstract

The physics governing spectral evolution in steady, fully ionized, radiatively driven winds from compact objects is examined. A largely analytic theory is developed to describe the effects of diffusion, adiabatic cooling, and repeated Compton scattering on the emergent radiation spectrum. Analytic forms for the wind temperature profile are derived, and spectral solutions obtained by considering a modified, time-independent Kompaneets equation are presented subject to a variety of initial conditions. A probabilistic formalism which describes the effect of diffusion photons travelling beyond the trapping radius is developed to allow the calculation of spectra observed at infinity. The second paper focuses on the dynamics of supercritical winds and on observational diagnostics which may be used to constrain model parameters in the contexts of specific astrophysical systems, including X-ray burst sources and mass-losing quasars.