Abstract
Thermal and nonthermal interpretations of the flat visual-UV continuum emitted by active galactic nuclei (AGN) and quasars are evaluated for validity. Data on the continuum over the range 100-1000 THz are examined with respect to the spectra expected from thermal accretion disks around supermassive collapsed objects (SCO). The possibility that the observed continuum arises from synchrotron radiation from secondary electrons in the relatively strong magnetic fields projected around SCOs is evaluated and relatively flat continuum spectra are predicted for blazars and AGNs, along with synchrotron losses as large as Compton losses and an absence of any Lyman discontinuity. It is concluded that a synchrotron model with few free parameters can be defined for the emitting regions of AGNs. 73 references.
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