Deprojection of Axially Symmetric Objects

Abstract

The deprojection of axisymmetric density distributions is generally indeterminate to within the addition of certain axisymmetric distributions (konus densities) that are invisible in projection. The known class of konus densities is expanded considerably here through the introduction of {\em semikonus functions}. These functions are closed with respect to multiplication in ordinary space, and the real part of an arbitrary polynomial of semikonus functions is a konus function. This property facilitates the construction of semikonus (and konus) functions with tailored properties, such as asymptotic forms. We also develop a simple technique for constructing several classes of konus distributions with arbitrary density profiles in the equatorial plane.