Relativistic large-scale jets and minimum power requirements

The recent discovery, by the Chandra satellite, that jets of blazars are strong X-ray emitters at large scales     , lends support to the hypothesis that emitting plasma is still moving at highly relativistic speeds on these scales. In this case in fact the emission via inverse Compton scattering off cosmic background photons is enhanced and the resulting predicted X-ray spectrum accounts well for the otherwise puzzling observations. Here we point out another reason to favour relativistic large-scale jets, based on a minimum power argument: by estimating the Poynting flux and bulk kinetic powers corresponding to, at least, the relativistic particles and magnetic field responsible for the emission, one can derive the value of the bulk Lorentz factor for which the total power is minimized. It is found that both the inner and extended parts of the jet of PKS     satisfy such a condition.     

A theoretical unifying scheme for gamma-ray bright blazars

The phenomenology of γ-ray bright blazars can be accounted for by a sequence in the source power and intensity of the diffuse radiation field surrounding the relativistic jet. Correspondingly, the equilibrium particle distribution peaks at different energies. This leads to a trend in the observed properties: an increase of the observed power corresponds to: (i) a decrease in the frequencies of the synchrotron and inverse Compton peaks, and (ii) an increase in the ratio of the powers of the high- and low-energy spectral components. Objects along this sequence would be observationally classified respectively as high-frequency BL Lac objects, low-frequency BL Lac objects, high-polarization quasars and low-polarization quasars.   The proposed scheme is based on the correlations among the physical parameters derived in the present paper by applying to 51 γ-ray loud blazars two of the most accepted scenarios for the broad-band emission of blazars, namely the synchrotron self-Compton and external Compton models. This also explains the observational trends presented by Fossati et al., dealing with the spectral energy distributions of all blazars. This gives us confidence that our scheme applies to all blazars as a class.     

X-ray polarization in relativistic jets

We investigate the polarization properties of Comptonized X-rays from relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) using Monte Carlo simulations. We consider three scenarios commonly proposed for the observed X-ray emission in AGN: Compton scattering of blackbody photons emitted from an accretion disc; scattering of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons and self-Comptonization of intrinsically polarized synchrotron photons emitted by jet electrons. Our simulations show that for Comptonization of disc and CMB photons, the degree of polarization of the scattered photons increases with the viewing inclination angle with respect to the jet axis. In both cases, the maximum linear polarization is  ≈20 per cent  . In the case of synchrotron self-Comptonization (SSC), we find that the resulting X-ray polarization depends strongly on the seed synchrotron photon injection site, with typical fractional polarizations   P ≈ 10–20 per cent  when synchrotron emission is localized near the jet base, while   P ≈ 20–70 per cent  for the case of uniform emission throughout the jet. These results indicate that X-ray polarimetry may be capable of providing unique clues to identify the location of particle acceleration sites in relativistic jets. In particular, if synchrotron photons are emitted quasi-uniformly throughout a jet, then the observed degree of X-ray polarization may be sufficiently different for each of the competing X-ray emission mechanisms (synchrotron, SSC or external Comptonization) to determine which is the dominant process. However, X-ray polarimetry alone is unlikely to be able to distinguish between disc and CMB Comptonization.     

High-redshift Faranoff–Riley type II radio galaxies: X-ray properties of the cores

We present an extensive X-ray spectral analysis of the cores of 19 Faranoff–Riley type II sources in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 1.0 which were selected to be matched in isotropic radio power. The sample consists of 10 radio galaxies (RGs) and nine quasars. We compare our results with the expectations from a unification model that ascribes the difference between these two types of sources to the viewing angle to the line of sight, beaming and the presence of a dust and gas torus. We find that the spectrum of all the quasars can be fitted with a single power law, and that the spectral index flattens with decreasing angle to the line of sight. We interpret this as the effect of increasingly dominant inverse Compton X-ray emission, beamed such that the jet emission outshines other core components. For up to 70 per cent of the RGs we detect intrinsic absorption; their core spectra are best fitted with an unabsorbed steep power law of average spectral index Γ= 2.1 and an absorbed power law of spectral index Γ= 1.6, which is flatter than that observed for radio-quiet quasars (RQQs). We further conclude that the presence of a jet affects the spectral properties of absorbed nuclear emission in active galactic nuclei. In RGs, any steep-spectrum component of nuclear X-ray emission, similar to that seen in RQQs, must be masked by a jet or by jet-related emission.     

The contribution of unresolved radio-loud AGN to the extragalactic diffuse gamma-ray background

We present a calculation of the blazar contribution to the extragalactic diffuse γ -ray background (EGRB) in the EGRET energy range. Our model is based on inverse-Compton scattering as the dominant γ -ray production process in the jets of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and BL Lac objects, and on the unification scheme of radio-loud AGN. According to this picture, blazars represent the beamed fraction of the Fanaroff–Riley radio galaxies (FR galaxies).
The observed log  N –log  S distribution and redshift distribution of both FSRQs and BL Lacs constrain our model. Depending slightly on the evolutionary behaviour of blazars, we find that unresolved AGN underproduce the intensity of the extragalactic background radiation. With our model only 20–40 per cent of the extragalactic background emission can be explained by unresolved blazars if we integrate to a maximum redshift of Z _max=3. For Z _max=5, blazars could account for 40–80 per cent of the EGRB. Roughly 70–90 per cent of the AGN contribution to the EGRB would result from BL Lacs. While the systematic uncertainties in our estimate for the FSRQ contribution appear small, in the case of BL Lacs our model parameters are not consistent with the results from studies in other wavelength regimes, and therefore may have larger systematic uncertainties. Thus we end up with two possibilities, depending on whether we underpredict or overpredict the BL Lac contribution: either unresolved AGN cannot account for the entire EGRB, or unresolved BL Lacs produce the observed background.
We predict a significant flattening of the γ -ray log  N –log  S function in the next two decades of flux below the EGRET threshold.     

Radio, optical and X-ray nuclei in nearby 3CRR radio galaxies

HST observations have shown that low-redshift 3CR radio galaxies often exhibit a point-like optical component positionally coincident with the GHz-frequency radio core. In this paper we discuss the correlation between the luminosities of the radio, optical and X-ray cores in these objects, and argue that all three components have a common origin at the base of the relativistic jets. In unified models, FR I radio galaxies should appear as dimmed, redshifted versions of BL Lac objects. We show that such models are consistent with the spectral energy distributions of the radio galaxies only if the nuclear X-ray emission in radio galaxies is inverse Compton in origin.     

Jet and accretion power in the most powerful Fermi blazars

Among the blazars detected by the Fermi satellite, we have selected the 23 blazars that in the 3 months of survey had an average γ-ray luminosity above 10⁴⁸ erg s⁻¹. For 17 out of the 23 sources we found and analysed X-ray and optical–ultraviolet data taken by the Swift satellite. With these data, implemented by archival and not simultaneous data, we construct the spectral energy distributions, and interpreted them with a simple one-zone, leptonic, synchrotron and inverse Compton model. When possible, we also compare different high-energy states of single sources, like 0528+134 and 3C 454.3, for which multiple good sets of multiwavelength data are available. In our powerful blazars the high energy emission always dominates the electromagnetic output, and the relatively low level of the synchrotron radiation often does not hide the accretion disc emission. We can then constrain the black hole mass and the disc luminosity. Both are large (i.e. masses equal or greater than  10⁹ M _⊙  and disc luminosities above 10 per cent of Eddington). By modelling the non-thermal continuum we derive the power that the jet carries in the form of bulk motion of particles and fields. On average, the jet power is found to be slightly larger than the disc luminosity, and proportional to the mass accretion rate.     

X-ray Emissions of Fermi Blazarstwo

The X-ray emissions of blazars are located at the end of synchrotron radiation and the beginning of inverse Compton radiation. Therefore, the origin of the X-ray emissions is rather complex. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of blazars from radio to X-ray bands can be fitted approximatively by a parabolic function. If we consider approximately the fitting curves as the physical spectra of blazars to analyze the X-ray emissions of Fermi blazars, the results show that: (1) The X-ray emissions of blazars contain two components, i.e. the synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton radiation, which can be simply separated by these fitting curves; (2) the higher the synchrotron peak frequency of the source, the greater the synchrotron radiation component, and the less the inverse Compton radiation component; (3) at 1 keV of the X-ray waveband, the synchrotron radiation component accounts for 17%, 27%, and 73% of the total X-ray emission, for FSRQs (Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars), LBLs (Low synchrotron peak frequency BL Lac objects), and HBLs (High synchrotron peak frequency BL Lac objects), respectively; (4) there is a strong positive correlation between the synchrotron peak frequency and the synchrotron radiation flux density at 1 keV, while no correlation exists between the synchrotron peak frequency and the inverse Compton radiation flux density; (5) the radiation mechanism of LBLs may be similar to that of FSRQs in the X-ray waveband.     

Linkage between accretion disks and blazars

The magnetic field in an accretion disk is estimated assuming that all of the angular momentum within prescribed accretion disk radii is removed by a jet. The magnetic field estimated at the base of the jet is extrapolated to the blazar emission region using a model for a relativistic axisymmetric jet combined with some simplifying assumptions based on the relativistic nature of the flow. The extrapolated magnetic field is compared with estimates based upon the synchrotron and inverse Compton emission from three blazars, MKN 501, MKN 421 and PKS 2155-304. The magnetic fields evaluated from pure synchrotron self-Compton models are inconsistent with the magnetic fields extrapolated in this way. However, in two cases inverse Compton models in which a substantial part of the soft photon field is generated locally agree well, mainly because these models imply magnetic field strengths consistent with an important Poynting Flux component. This comparison is based on estimating the mass accretion rate from the jet energy flux. Further comparisons along these lines will be facilitated by independent estimates of the mass accretion rate in blazars and by more detailed models for jet propagation near the black hole.     

On the central core in MHD winds and jets

We analytically determine the structure of highly magnetized astrophysical jets at the origin in a region where the flow has been already collimated by an external medium, in both relativistic and non-relativistic regimes. We show that this can be achieved by solving a system of first-order ordinary differential equations that describe the transversal jet structure for a variety of external confining pressure profiles that collimate the jet to a near-cylindrical configuration. We obtain solutions for a central jet surrounded either by a self-similar wind or by an external pressure profile and derive the dependence of the velocity and the magnetic field strength along and across our jets. In particular, we find that the central core in a jet – the part of a flow with a nearly homogeneous magnetic field – must contain a poloidal field which is not much smaller than the critical value B _min. This allows us to determine the magnetic flux in a core which is much smaller than the total magnetic flux. We show that for such a small core flux the solutions with a magnetic field in a core much smaller than B _min are non-physical. For astrophysical objects the value of the critical magnetic field is quite large: 1 G for active galactic nuclei, 10¹⁰ G for gamma-ray bursts and 10⁻¹ G for young stellar objects. In a relativistic case for the core field greater than or of the order of B _min we show analytically that the plasma Lorentz factor must grow linearly with the cylindrical radius. For non-relativistic highly magnetized jets we propose that an oblique shock exists near the base of the jet so that the finite gas pressure plays an important role in force balance.     

The K-band luminosity function at z = 1: a powerful constraint on galaxy formation theory

We report the first detection of an inverse Compton X-ray emission, spatially correlated with a very steep spectrum radio source (VSSRS), 0038-096, without any detected optical counterpart, in cluster Abell 85. The ROSAT PSPC data and its multiscale wavelet analysis reveal a large-scale (linear diameter of the order of 500 h ⁻¹₅₀ kpc), diffuse X-ray component, in addition to the thermal bremsstrahlung, overlapping an equally large-scale VSSRS. The primeval 3 K background photons, scattering off the relativistic electrons, can produce the X-rays at the detected level. The inverse Compton flux is estimated to be (6.5 ± 0.5) × 10⁻¹³ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻² in the 0.5–2.4 keV X-ray band. A new 327-MHz radio map is presented for the cluster field. The synchrotron emission flux is estimated to be (6.6 ± 0.90) × 10⁻¹⁴ erg s⁻¹ cm⁻² in the 10–100 MHz radio band. The positive detection of both radio and X-ray emission from a common ensemble of relativistic electrons leads to an estimate of (0.95 ± 0.10) × 10⁻⁶ G for the cluster-scale magnetic field strength. The estimated field is free of the 'equipartition' conjecture, the distance, and the emission volume. Further, the radiative fluxes and the estimated magnetic field imply the presence of 'relic' (radiative lifetime ≳ 10⁹ yr) relativistic electrons with Lorentz factors γ ≈ 700–1700; this would be a significant source of radio emission in the hitherto unexplored frequency range ν ≈ 2–10 MHz.     

Analysis of λ = 6 cm VLBI polarization observations of a complete sample of northern BL Lacertae objects

The results of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) total intensity ( I ) and linear polarization ( P ) observations at     are presented for 10 radio bright BL Lacertae objects. These images complete first-epoch polarization observations for the 1-Jy sample of northern BL Lacertae objects defined by Kühr & Schmidt. Estimates of superluminal speeds are presented for several sources, bringing the total number of sources in the sample for which such estimates are available to 16. Second-epoch observations currently being reduced should yield speed estimates for VLBI features in essentially all the sources in the sample. The jet magnetic fields of these BL Lacertae objects are usually transverse to the local jet direction, but a sizeable minority (about 30 per cent) have VLBI jet components with longitudinal magnetic fields. This may suggest that the conditions in the VLBI jets of BL Lacertae objects are favourable for the formation of relativistic shocks; alternatively, it may be that the toroidal component of the intrinsic jet magnetic field is characteristically dominant in these sources.     

The fraction of Compton-thick sources in an INTEGRAL complete AGN sample

We study the N _H distribution in a complete sample of 88 active galactic nuclei (AGN) selected in the 20–40 keV band from INTEGRAL /Imager on Board the Integral Satellite (IBIS) observations. We find that the fraction of absorbed  ( N _H≥ 10²² cm²)  sources is 43 per cent while the Compton thick AGN comprise 7 per cent of the sample. While these estimates are fully compatible with previous soft gamma-ray surveys, they would appear to be in contrast with results reported by Risaliti, Maiolino & Salvati using an optically selected sample. This apparent difference can be explained as being due to a selection bias caused by the reduction in high energy flux in Compton thick objects rendering them invisible at our sensitivity limit. Taking this into account, we estimate that the fraction of highly absorbed sources is actually in close agreement with the optically selected sample. Furthermore, we show that the measured fraction of absorbed sources in our sample decreases from 80 to ∼20–30 per cent as a function of redshift with all Compton thick AGN having   z ≤ 0.015  . If we limit our analysis to this distance and compare only the type 2 objects in our sample with the Risaliti et al. objects below this redshift value, we find a perfect match to their N _H distribution. We conclude that in the low-redshift bin we are seeing almost the entire AGN population, from unabsorbed to at least mildly Compton thick objects, while in the total sample we lose the heavily absorbed 'counterparts' of distant and therefore dim sources with little or no absorption. Taking therefore this low z bin as the only one able to provide the 'true' distribution of absorption in types 1 and 2 AGN, we estimate the fraction of Compton thick objects to be ≥24 per cent.     

Chandra observations of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 3256

We present a detailed analysis of high-resolution Chandra observations of the merger system NGC 3256, the most infrared-luminous galaxy in the nearby universe. The X-ray data show that several discrete sources embedded in complex diffuse emission contribute ≳20 per cent of the total emission     in the  0.5–10 keV  energy range). The compact sources are hard and extremely bright and their emission is probably dominated by accretion-driven processes. Both galaxy nuclei are detected with  L_X∼3–10×10⁴⁰ erg s⁻¹  . No evidence is found for the presence of an active nucleus in the southern nucleus, contrary to previous speculation. Once the discrete sources are removed, the diffuse component has a soft spectrum that can be modelled by the superposition of three thermal plasma components with temperatures   kT =0.6  , 0.9 and 3.9 keV. Alternatively, the latter component can be described as a power law with index  Γ∼3  . Some evidence is found for a radial gradient of the amount of absorption and temperature of the diffuse component. We compare the X-ray emission with optical, H α and NICMOS images of NGC 3256 and find a good correlation between the inferred optical/near-infrared and X-ray extinctions. Although inverse Compton scattering could be important in explaining the hard X-rays seen in the compact sources associated with the nuclei, the observed diffuse emission is probably of thermal origin. The observed X-ray characteristics support a scenario in which the powerful X-ray emission is driven solely by the current episode of star formation.     

On the content of cold electrons in blazar and microquasar jets

We explore the possibility of determining the corpuscular composition of the plasma in the relativistic jets of blazars and microquasars from data on the polarization and intensity of their radio synchrotron emission. We have constructed a universal diagram that allows the relative content of nonrelativistic electrons to be established in specific objects using information about their frequency spectra and polarization at individual frequencies. As a result, we have found that the electron plasma component in the jets of the blazars 3C 279 and BL Lac is relativistic. In the jets of the microquasar GRS 1915+105, the cold plasma density may be comparable to or considerably higher than the relativistic particle density.     

The klein–nishina Effects in Blazar Jets

Blazars are the only (with one or two exceptions) extragalactic objects which were detected and identified at gamma-ray energies so far. It is suspected that most of the unidentified gamma-ray sources may be the blazars as well. Because the entire electromagnetic spectrum of these objects is dominated by non-thermal radiation from relativistically moving jets, the effects such as the Klein–Nishina regime in the Compton scattering may play a major role in shaping some parts of the blazar spectrum. Within the framework of external radiation Compton model, we present how these effect influence the spectra of blazars for which the production of gamma rays is dominated by Comptonization of external radiation.     

Continuum radiation from active galactic nuclei

Summary Active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be divided into two broad classes, where the emitted continuum power is dominated either by thermal emission (radio-quiet AGN), or by nonthermal emission (blazars). Emission in the 0.01–1 m range is the primary contributor to the bolometric luminosity and is probably produced through thermal emission from an accretion disk, modified by electron scattering and general relativistic effects. The 1–1000 m continuum, the second most important contributor to the power, is generally dominated by thermal emission from dust with a range of temperatures from 40 K to 1000–2000 K. The dust is probably reemitting 0.01–0.3 m continuum emission, previously absorbed in an obscuring cone (or torus) or an extended disk. The 1–10 keV X-ray emission is rapidly variable and originates in a small region. This emission may be produced through Compton scattering by hot thermal electrons surrounding an accretion disk, although the observations are far from being definitive. The weak radio emission, which is due to the nonthermal synchrotron process, is usually elongated in the shape of jets and lobes (a core may be present too), and is morphologically distinct from the radio emission of starburst galaxies.In the blazar class, the radio through ultraviolet emission is decidedly non-thermal, and apparently is produced through the synchrotron process in an inhomogeneous plasma. The plasma probably is moving outward at relativistic velocities within a jet in which the Lorentz factor of bulk motion (typically 2–6) increases outward. This is inferred from observations indicating that the opening angle becomes progressively larger from the radio to the optical to the X-ray emitting regions. Shocks propagating along the jet may be responsible for much of the flux variability. In sources where the X-ray continuum is not a continuation of the optical-ultraviolet synchrotron emission, some objects show variability consistent with Compton scattering by relativistic electron in a large region (in BL Lacertae), while other objects produce their X-ray emission in a compact region, possibly suggesting pair production.When orientation effects are included, all AGN may be decomposed into a radio-quiet AGN, a blazar, or a combination of the two. Radio-quiet AGN appear to have an obscuring cone or torus containing the broad emission line clouds and an ionizing source. Most likely, the (non-relativistic) directional effects of this obscuring region give rise to the difference between Seyfert 1 and 2 galaxies or narrow and broad line radio galaxies. For different orientations of the nonthermal jet, relativistic Doppler boosting can produce BL Lacertae objects or FR I radio galaxies, or at higher jet luminosities, flat-spectrum high-polarization quasars or FR II radio galaxies.     

Doppler boosting, superluminal motion, and the kinematics of AGN jets

We discuss results from a decade long program to study the fine-scale structure and the kinematics of relativistic AGN jets with the aim of better understanding the acceleration and collimation of the relativistic plasma forming AGN jets. From the observed distribution of brightness temperature, apparent velocity, flux density, time variability, and apparent luminosity, the intrinsic properties of the jets including Lorentz factor, luminosity, orientation, and brightness temperature are discussed. Special attention is given to the jet in M87, which has been studied over a wide range of wavelengths and which, due to its proximity, is observed with excellent spatial resolution. Most radio jets appear quite linear, but we also observe curved non-linear jets and non-radial motions. Sometimes, different features in a given jet appear to follow the same curved path but there is evidence for ballistic trajectories as well. The data are best fit with a distribution of Lorentz factors extending up to γ∼30 and intrinsic luminosity up to ∼10²⁶ W Hz⁻¹. In general, gamma-ray quasars may have somewhat larger Lorentz factors than non gamma-ray quasars. Initially the observed brightness temperature near the base of the jet extend up to ∼5×10¹³ K which is well in excess of the inverse Compton limit and corresponds to a large excess of particle energy over magnetic energy. However, more typically, the observed brightness temperatures are ∼2×10¹¹ K, i.e., closer to equipartition.     

Models for jet power in elliptical galaxies: a case for rapidly spinning black holes

The power of jets from black holes is expected to depend on both the spin of the black hole and the structure of the accretion disc in the region of the last stable orbit. We investigate these dependencies using two different physical models for the jet power: the classical Blandford–Znajek (BZ) model and a hybrid model developed by Meier. In the BZ case, the jets are powered by magnetic fields directly threading the spinning black hole while in the hybrid model, the jet energy is extracted from both the accretion disc as well as the black hole via magnetic fields anchored to the accretion flow inside and outside the hole's ergosphere. The hybrid model takes advantage of the strengths of both the Blandford–Payne and BZ mechanisms, while avoiding the more controversial features of the latter. We develop these models more fully to account for general relativistic effects and to focus on advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs) for which the jet power is expected to be a significant fraction of the accreted rest mass energy.
We apply the models to elliptical galaxies, in order to see if these models can explain the observed correlation between the Bondi accretion rates and the total jet powers. For typical values of the disc viscosity parameter  α∼ 0.04 –0.3  and mass accretion rates consistent with ADAF model expectations, we find that the observed correlation requires   j ≳ 0.9  ; that is, it implies that the black holes are rapidly spinning. Our results suggest that the central black holes in the cores of clusters of galaxies must be rapidly rotating in order to drive jets powerful enough to heat the intracluster medium and quench cooling flows.     

A relativistic mixing-layer model for jets in low-luminosity radio galaxies

We present an analytical model for jets in Fanaroff & Riley Class I (FR I) radio galaxies, in which an initially laminar, relativistic flow is surrounded by a shear layer. We apply the appropriate conservation laws to constrain the jet parameters, starting the model where the radio emission is observed to brighten abruptly. We assume that the laminar flow fills the jet there and that pressure balance with the surroundings is maintained from that point outwards. Entrainment continuously injects new material into the jet and forms a shear layer, which contains material from both the environment and the laminar core. The shear layer expands rapidly with distance until finally the core disappears, and all of the material is mixed into the shear layer. Beyond this point, the shear layer expands in a cone and decelerates smoothly. We apply our model to the well-observed FR I source 3C 31 and show that there is a self-consistent solution. We derive the jet power, together with the variations of mass flux and entrainment rate with distance from the nucleus. The predicted variation of bulk velocity with distance in the outer parts of the jets is in good agreement with model fits to Very Large Array observations. Our prediction for the shape of the laminar core can be tested with higher-resolution imaging.