Abstract
ABSTRACT General properties of active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the optical band, and distinctions among the various classes of AGN's, are considered. Synchrotron radiation accounts for the optical emissions from blazers, and may also be responsible for the steep infrared and/or flat ultraviolet continua from nonblazer AGN's. Thermal emission from an opaque accretion disk might produce the flat ultraviolet emission observed in many nonblazer AGN's. Infrared thermal reradiation by dust is present in some less luminous AGN's, and other optical continuum processes are probably not important. Outstanding issues related to the optical continuum of AGN's include the origin of the optical continua in nonblazer AGN's, evidence for accretion-disk emission, the role of dust, and reasons for differences among the AGN's. No existing model accounts quantitatively for all AGN phenomena, including the effects of ambient gas, dust, and orientation.
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