Abstract
In a previous paper it was shown that the steady state theory of the universe can be reconciled with the Cambridge counts of radio sources if a substantial fraction of the sources lie within the galaxy and have a certain set of properties. In this paper we describe an astrophysical mechanism which might give rise to such a distribution of galactic sources. The mechanism consists in the rotational instability of gravitationally contracting low mass stars, and the consequent conversion of rotational energy into magnetic and relativistic particle energy. If the radio data are correct this scheme will work only if certain extreme conditions are satisfied, namely if : ( a ) about 80 per cent of the galactic background emission is due to the sources rather than to emission from the interstellar gas, ( b ) the amount of matter locked up in the sources is about the maximum permitted by dynamical arguments concerning the “missing matter” in the galaxy, ( c ) the distribution of radio sources is highly anisotropic at flux levels below about 0.1 × 10 −28 w(c/s) −1 m −2 . These and other predictions of our model will probably be tested in the near future.
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