For the situation of a hydrostatic profile of the plasma density, the problem of the thermalization of radiationwithin a self-emitting hydrogen isothermal environment is is subject of many studies. The probabilistic approach is used to determine the thermalization depth of a photon of a certain frequency. The value of the optical depth at which the radiation can be seen as thermalized up to a specific frequency is quantified. These findings are supported by the solutions to the radiative transfer equations. In a cool nonmagnetized and magnetised plasma, the frequency dependencies of the single-interaction free-free absorption probability are estimated. Mikhail Gornostaev of Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia studied the creation of the spectrum inside the atmosphere in a gravity field when the radiative transfer is regulated by the values of the effective mean path, characterising the photon of a certain frequency.
Consider a semi-infinite plane-parallel atmosphere made up of hydrogen plasma in the absence of a magnetic field. The situation of Thomson opacity limits the researcher's options. Because scattering is considered to be monochromatic, the effect of comptonization is ignored. In the dipole approximation, free-free processes are taken into consideration within the scope of the nonrelativistic treatment. The likelihood of free-free absorption in a single contact can be used to characterise a photon at a certain place in the atmosphere. Using the Planck distribution and a known temperature, it is possible to predict the frequency range in which practically all photons at the appropriate depth are thermalized. This work demonstrated that it appears possible to define the behaviour of the spectrum with regard to depth in termsof the typical frequency-dependent depth, which indicates the degree of thermalization of radiation (at a given point of space). Indeed, such a description is unrelated to the specific shape of the spectrum and so has only a qualitative meaning from this perspective. In the case of a hydrostatic atmosphere, the predominance of scattering causes such a characteristic optical depth to have a linear relationship with the frequency of radiation. The solution of the radiative transfer equation under the specified conditions of the hydrostatic atmosphere with the predominance of scattering and without taking into account the change in photon frequency owing to scattering has previously been presented. If the atmosphere breaks the matter (as in the case of X-ray pulsars at low enough mass accretion rates), the atmosphere's structure becomes more intricate. Obviously, it is permissible to discuss the thermalized radiation partially (i.e., in a specific frequency range) only within the realistic ranges of the problem parameters. The section of the emergent radiation spectrum that corresponds to the majority of the contribution to the radiation energy density must be in the frequency range where scattering prevails in the region of spectrum creation—a criteria that X-ray radiation meets. Thus, in the case of a neutron star's atmosphere, temperatures of roughly 0.1 keV already allow photons to be thermalized virtually simultaneously at all frequencies as depth increases. The linear relationship between frequency and th is clearly shown in the case of white dwarfs, even though they have a wider temperature range than other stars.
The study concluded that the behaviour of quantities can be regarded as a property of solutions and radiative transfer equations, which appears to be relevant in theoretical discussions. Although the settings considered in this paper are extremely idealised, applications of the conclusions, at least for estimates, can be found; one example is the atmospheres of accreting strongly magnetic neutron stars.