The depolarization properties of powerful extragalactic radio sources as a function of cosmic epoch

We use the observed polarization properties of a sample of 26 powerful radio galaxies and radio-loud quasars to constrain the conditions in the Faraday screens local to the sources. We adopt the cosmological redshift, low-frequency radio luminosity and physical size of the large-scale radio structures as our 'fundamental' parameters. We find no correlation of the radio spectral index with any of the fundamental parameters. The observed rotation measure is also independent of these parameters, suggesting that most of the Faraday rotation occurs in the Galactic foreground. The difference between the rotation measures of the two lobes of an individual source, as well as the dispersion of the rotation measure, shows significant correlations with the source redshift, but not with the radio luminosity or source size. This is evidence that the small-scale structure observed in the rotation measure is caused by a Faraday screen local to the sources. The observed asymmetries between the lobes of our sources show no significant trends with each other or other source properties. Finally, we show that the commonly used model for the depolarization of synchrotron radio emission by foreground Faraday screens is inconsistent with our observations. We apply alternative models to our data and show that they require a strong increase of the dispersion of the rotation measure inside the Faraday screens with cosmological redshift. Correcting our observations with these models for redshift effects, we find a strong correlation of the depolarization measure with redshift and a significantly weaker correlation with radio luminosity. We do not find any (anti-)correlation of depolarization measure with source size. All our results are consistent with a decrease in the order of the magnetic field structure of the Faraday screen local to the sources for increasing cosmological redshift.     

Non-Sobolev modelling of radiation-pressure-driven flows in active galactic nuclei

We present a new general scheme for calculating the structure and dynamics of radiation-pressure-driven photoionized flows. The new method goes one step beyond the Sobolev approximation. It involves a numerical solution of the radiative transfer in absorption lines, including the effects of differential expansion and line interactions such as line locking and blanketing. We also present a new scheme for calculating the radiation pressure due to trapped line photons in finite, differentially expanding flows. We compare our results for the radiation pressure force with those obtained using the Sobolev approximation and show the limitations of the latter. In particular, we demonstrate that the Sobolev method gives a poor approximation near discontinuity surfaces and its neglect of line blanketing can lead to erroneous results in high-velocity flows. We combine the newly calculated radiation pressure force with self-consistent photoionization and thermal calculations to study the dynamics and spectral features of broad absorption-line flows and highly ionized gas flows in active galactic nuclei (AGN). A comparison with Sobolev-type calculations shows that the latter overestimates the terminal velocity of the flow and, conversely, underestimates its opacity. We also show that line locking on broad emission lines can have a significant effect on the dynamics and spectral features of AGN flows.     

Opening angles, Lorentz factors and confinement of X-ray binary jets

We present a collation of the available data on the opening angles of jets in X-ray binaries, which in most cases are small (≲10°). Under the assumption of no confinement, we calculate the Lorentz factors required to produce such small opening angles via the transverse relativistic Doppler effect. The derived Lorentz factors, which are in most cases lower limits, are found to be large, with a mean >10, comparable to those estimated for active galactic nuclei (AGN) and much higher than the commonly assumed values for X-ray binaries of 2–5. Jet power constraints do not, in most cases, rule out such high Lorentz factors. The upper limits on the opening angles show no evidence for smaller Lorentz factors in the steady jets of Cygnus X-1 and GRS 1915+105. In those sources in which deceleration has been observed (notably  XTE J1550−564  and Cygnus X-3), some confinement of the jets must be occurring, and we briefly discuss possible confinement mechanisms. It is however possible that all the jets could be confined, in which case the requirement for high bulk Lorentz factors can be relaxed.     

由对FRⅡ射电星系的X射线观测试预言射电噪活动星系核的X射线喷流

在早期的文章中,基于耀变体(Blazar)的知识,我们预言了在射电噪活动星系核(AGN)中心10 kpc范围内X射线喷流的存在.钱得拉(Chandra)卫星最近对低功率射电星系的X射线观测与我们的预言相一致.在本文中我们研究了kpc尺度喷流中的电子加速,并建议通过对强的FR Ⅱ射电星系中所预言的X射线喷流的钱得拉卫星的X射线的观测,来研究红的耀变体中的康普顿冷却以及在内部致密喷流和大尺度延伸喷流间环境的不同.以上的研究可以进一步检验我们的关于射电噪活动星系核中kpc尺度X射线喷流的模型.     

X-ray synchrotron emission from the oblique shock in the jet of the powerful radio galaxy 3C 346

We report the first detection, with Chandra , of X-ray emission from the jet of the powerful narrow-line radio galaxy 3C 346. X-rays are detected from the bright radio and optical knot at which the jet apparently bends by approximately 70°. The Chandra observation also reveals a bright galaxy-scale atmosphere within the previously known cluster and provides a good X-ray spectrum for the bright core of 3C 346. The X-ray emission from the knot is synchrotron radiation, as seen in lower-power sources. In common with these sources, there is evidence of morphological differences between the radio/optical and X-ray structures, and the spectrum is inconsistent with a one-component continuous-injection model. We suggest that the X-ray-bright knot is associated with a strong oblique shock in a moderately relativistic, light jet, at ∼ 20° to the line of sight, and that this shock is caused by the jet interacting with the wake in the cluster medium behind the companion galaxy of 3C 346. The general jet curvature can result from pressure gradients in the cluster atmosphere.