We report X-ray imaging of the powerful FR-II radio galaxy 3C353 using the Chandra X-ray Observatory. 3C353's two 4"-wide and 2'-long jets allow us to study in detail the internal structure of the large-scale relativistic outflows at both radio and X-ray photon energies with the sub-arcsecond spatial resolution. In a 90 ks Chandra observation, we have detected X-ray emission from most radio structures in 3C353, including the nucleus, the jet and the counterjet, the terminal jet regions (hotspots), and one radio lobe. We show that the detection of the X-ray emission associated with the radio knots and counterknots puts several crucial constraints on the X-ray emission mechanisms in powerful large-scale jets of quasars and FR-II sources. In particular, we show that this detection is inconsistent with the inverse-Compton model proposed in the literature, and instead implies a synchrotron origin of the X-ray jet photons. We also find that the width of the X-ray counterjet is possibly narrower than that measured in radio bands, that the radio-to-X-ray flux ratio decreases systematically downstream along the jets, and that there are substantial (kpc-scale) offsets between the positions of the X-ray and radio intensity maxima within each knot, whose magnitudes increase away from the nucleus. We discuss all these findings in the wider context of the physics of extragalactic jets, proposing some particular though not definitive solutions or interpretations for each problem.
High resolution images of the Crab-like SNR SNR0540-69 have been recently obtained by the HRC, on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and by the FORS1 instrument, attached to ESO/VLT1. A detailed comparison of these images with an archival Planetary Camera one will be presented.
We present results for the first three low-power radio galaxies from the B2 bright sample to have been observed with Chandra. Two have kpc-scale radio jets, and in both Chandra resolves jet X-ray emission, and detects soft X-ray core emission and an X-ray emitting galaxy-scale atmosphere of luminosity a few 10^41 ergs s^-1. These are the first detections of X-ray jets in low-power radio galaxies more distant than Cen A and M 87. The cooling time of the galaxy-scale gas implies mass infall rates of order one solar mass per year. The gas pressure near the jets is comparable to the minimum pressu…
We have searched for X-ray jets in the recent Chandra observations of three Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) quasars at redshift z ~ 6. All 3 quasars were detected in X-rays in these relatively short observations. SDSS 1030+0524 is not consistent with a point source, and may be a gravitationally lensed system. We find a possible jet-like feature 23" from the quasar SDSS 1306+0356. We can explain the emission by inverse Compton scattering off the Cosmic Microwave Background, assuming that the intrinsic properties of the system are similar to other X-ray jets at z<1. Deeper observations to confir…
We have observed the twin-jet radio galaxy 3C296 with Chandra. X-ray emission is detected from the nucleus, from the inner parts of the radio jet, and from a small-scale thermal environment around the jet deceleration region. As we have found in previous observations of other twin-jet radio galaxies, the X-ray jet and a steep pressure gradient in the external thermal environment are associated with the region where strong bulk deceleration of the jet material is suggested by radio observations. Our observations provide additional evidence that the inner jets of twin-jet objects are always asso…
We report preliminary results from the first targets observed as part of a program to image the X-ray jets in a complete sample of radio selected jets. We have acquired Australian Telescope Compact Array and Very Large Array data with resolution 1", matching the Chandra resolution. PKS 1202-262 and PKS 0208-512 show dramatic coincidence with the initial radio jet, with the X-ray emission dropping off at the large angle radio bends, similar to the structure of PKS 0637-752.
Resolution of both approaching and receding ejecta in the galactic microquasars makes possible to measure the flux ratio S_a/S_r of the twin ejecta, which contains an important information about the nature of the jets. We show that the flux ratio observed from GRS 1915+105 during the prominent March/April 1994 radio flare can be explained in terms of relativistic motion of discrete radio clouds, if one assumes that the twin ejecta are similar, but not completely identical, i.e. allowing for some asymmetry between the plasmoids in their speeds of propagation and/or luminosities. The recoil mome…
I present here a short personal view of our understanding of the Chandra detected knots and hot spots of powerful Fanaroff Rilley (FR) II radio galaxies and quasars in the context of leptonic models. Observations of the knots and hot spots strongly suggest that the jets in these powerful sources retain their relativistic velocities at large scales, all the way to the hot spots. The emission mechanism suggested for the knots of quasars and FR II radio galaxies is external Compton (EC) off the cosmic microwave backgounrd (CMB) from a relativistic flow, while for the hotspots Upstream Compton (UC…
We present results from Chandra X-ray imaging and spectroscopy of a flux-limited sample of flat spectrum radio-emitting quasars with jet-like extended structure. Twelve of twenty quasar jets are detected in 5 ks ACIS-S exposures. The quasars without X-ray jets are not significantly different from those in the sample with detected jets except that the extended radio emission is generally fainter. New radio maps are combined with the X-ray images in order to elucidate the relation between radio and X-ray emission in spatially resolved structures. We find a variety of morphologies, including long…
This paper presents multiwavelength imaging and broad-band spectroscopy of the relativistic jets in the two nearby radio galaxies 3C 371 and PKS 2201+044, acquired with Chandra, HST, VLA, and Merlin. Radio polarization images are also available. The two sources stand out as "intermediate'' between FRIs and FRIIs; their cores are classified as BL Lacs, although broad and narrow optical emission lines were detected at times. The multiwavelength images show jet morphologies with the X-ray emission peaking closer to the nucleus than the longer wavelengths. The jets are resolved at all wavelengths …
We present the first results from an X-ray and optical survey of a sample of AGN radio jets with Chandra and HST. We focus here on the first six sources observed at X-rays, in four of which a bright X-ray jet was detected for the first time. In three out of four cases optical emission from the jet is also detected in our HST images. We compare the X-ray morphology with the radio as derived from improved processing of archival VLA data and we construct spectral energy distributions (SED) for the most conspicuous emission knots. In most cases the SEDs, together with the similarity of the X-ray a…
Chandra observations of knots and hot spots in spatially resolved X-ray jets of radio galaxies show that the X-ray fluxes often lie above an extrapolation from the radio-to-optical continuum fluxes. We show that combined synchrotron and Compton losses on a single power-law electron injection function can produce a hardening in the electron spectrum at electron Lorentz factors γ\~ 2e8/[Γ(1+z)] due to KN energy losses on the cosmic microwave background radiation. Here Γis the bulk Lorentz factor of the outflow, and z is the source redshift. This produces a flattening in the spectrum at frequenci…
We present the results from an X-ray and optical survey of a sample of 17 radio jets in AGN performed with Chandra and HST. The sample was selected from the radio and is unbiased toward detection at shorter wavelengths, but preferentially it includes beamed sources. We find that X-ray emission is common on kpc-scales, with over half radio jets exhibiting at least one X-ray knot on the Chandra images. The distributions of the radio-to-X-ray and radio-to-optical spectral indices for the detected jets are similar to the limits for the non-detections,suggesting all bright radio jets have X-ray cou…
With its exquisite spatial resolution of better than 0.5 arcsecond, the Chandra observatory is uniquely capable of resolving and studying the spatial structure of extragalactic X-ray jets on scales of a few to a few hundred kilo-parsec. Our analyses of four recent Chandra images of quasar jets interpret the X-ray emission as inverse Compton scattering of high energy electrons on the cosmic microwave background. We infer that these jets are in bulk relativistic motion, carrying kinetic powers upwards of 10^46 ergs/s to distances of hundreds of kpc, with very high efficiency.
We present new Chandra and HST data for four gamma-ray blazars selected on the basis of radio morphology with the aim of revealing X-ray and optical emission from their jets at large scales. All the sources have been detected. Spectral Energy Distributions of the large scale jets are obtained as well as new X-ray spectra for the blazar cores. Modeling for each object the core (sub-pc scale) and large-scale (>100 kpc) jet SEDs, we derive the properties of the same jet at the two scales. The comparison of speeds and powers at different scales supports a simple scenario for the dynamics and propa…
Most symbiotic stars consist of a white dwarf accreting material from the wind of a red giant. An increasing number of these objects have been found to produce jets. Analysis of archival Chandra data of the symbiotic system CH Cygni reveals faint extended emission to the south, aligned with the optical and radio jets seen in earlier HST and VLA observations. CH Cygni thus contains only the second known white dwarf with an X-ray jet, after R Aquarii. The X-rays from symbiotic-star jets appear to be produced when jet material is shock-heated following collision with surrounding gas, as with the …
Until very recently, few constraints existed on the physics of jets, even though they represent the first known evidence of mass outflow in AGN. This has begun to change with HST and Chandra observations, which allow us to observe short-lived, dynamic features, and compare their spectra and morphology to those of longer-lived particles seen in the radio. We examine HST and Chandra observations of M87 and 3C273 which reveal that these two prototype objects seem radically different.
(Abridged) We discuss multiple VLBI continuum and spectral line observations and WSRT spectroscopy of NGC 1052. Sub-parsec scale features move outward at approximately 0.26c in bi-symmetric jets, most likely oriented near the plane of the sky. Absorption and emission signatures reveal ionised, atomic, and molecular components of the surrounding medium. Seven-frequency (1.4 to 43 GHz) VLBA observations show free-free absorption in the inner parsec, probably together with synchrotron self-absorption. There is apparently a geometrically thick but patchy structure oriented roughly orthogonal to th…
A preview study of using observational data of proper motions and Doppler shifted velocities of twin-jets to determine the distance of sources inside and outside our galaxy is made. We investigate the feasibility of this method by studying the uncertainty of the distance caused by the uncertainties of the measured quantities. It shows that, when the motion of components of the jet is relativistic, then the uncertainty of the distance is within the same order of the uncertainties of the measured values of proper motions and Doppler shifted velocities. In particular, when assuming the pattern sp…
We are conducting an X-ray survey of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) with extended radio structures. We summarize our results from the first stage of our survey, then we present findings from its continuation. We have discovered jet X-ray emission from 12 of our first 20 Chandra targets, establishing that strong 0.5-7.0 keV emission is a common feature of FSRQ jets. The X-ray morphology is varied, but in general closely matches the radio structure until the first sharp radio bend. In the sources with optical data as well as X-ray detections we rule out simple synchrotron models for X-ray e…
The bright radio structure of the LINER elliptical galaxy NGC1052 is dominated by bi-symmetric jets on parsec scales. Features move outward on both sides of the core at v_{app}~0.26c. We have established the occurrence of free-free absorption, and suggest the presence of a patchy, geometrically region oriented roughly orthogonal to the jets; components have a wide range of spectral shapes and brightness temperatures. We distinguish three velocity systems in HI absorption. The ``high velocity'' system is the most prominent of these; it is redshifted from systemic by about 150 km/s. In HI VLBI i…
This paper presents high resolution X-ray observations with Chandra of NGC 4258 and infers the nature of the so called ``anomalous arms'' in this galaxy. The anomalous arms dominate the X-ray image; diffuse X-ray emission from the ``plateaux'' regions, seen in radio and H$α$ imaging, is also found. X-ray spectra have been obtained at various locations along the anomalous arms and are well described by thermal (mekal) models with kT in the range 0.37 - 0.6 keV. The previously known kpc-scale radio jets are surrounded by cocoons of hot X-ray emitting gas for the first 350 pc of their length. The…
Jet physics is again flourishing as a result of Chandra's ability to resolve high-energy emission from the radio-emitting structures of active galaxies and separate it from the X-ray-emitting thermal environments of the jets. These enhanced capabilities have coincided with an increasing interest in the link between the growth of super-massive black holes and galaxies, and an appreciation of the likely importance of jets in feedback processes. I review the progress that has been made using Chandra and XMM-Newton observations of jets and the medium in which they propagate, addressing several imp…
We introduce a million-second observation of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The bipolar structure of the Si-rich ejecta (NE jet and SW counterpart) is clearly evident in the new images, and their chemical similarity is confirmed by their spectra. These are most likely due to jets of ejecta as opposed to cavities in the circumstellar medium, since we can reject simple models for the latter. The properties of these jets and the Fe-rich ejecta will provide clues to the explosion of Cas A.
We present deep (70-80 ks) Chandra and multicolor HST ACS images of two jets hosted by the powerful quasars 1136-135 and 1150+497, together with new radio observations. The sources have an FRII morphology and were selected from our previous X-ray and optical jet survey for detailed follow up aimed at obtaining better constraints on the jet multiwavelength morphology and X-ray and optical spectra of individual knots, and to test emission models deriving physical parameters more accurately. All the X-ray and optical knots detected in our previous short exposures are confirmed, together with a fe…
We report on a spatially resolved analysis of Chandra X-ray data on a nearby typical cooling flow cluster of galaxies 2A 0335+096, together with A 2199 for a comparison. As recently found in the cores of other clusters, the temperature around the central part of 2A 0335+096 is 1.3--1.5 keV, which is higher than that inferred from the cooling flow picture. Furthermore, the absorption column density is almost constant against the radius in 2A 0335+096; there is no evidence of excess absorption up to 200--250 kpc. This indicates that no significant amount of cold material, which has cooled down, …
We present a detailed analysis of the XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of Abell 2626 focused on the X-ray and radio interactions. Within the region of the radio mini-halo (~70 kpc), there are substructures which are probably produced by the central radio source and the cooling core. We find that there is no obvious correlation between the radio bars and the X-ray image. The morphology of Abell 2626 is more complex than that of the standard X-ray radio bubbles seen in other cool core clusters. Thus, Abell 2626 provides a challenge to models for the cooling flow -- radio source interaction. W…
We present results of a VLBA multi-frequency study of the pc-scale twin jet in NGC1052. We observed this object at epoch 1998.99 with the VLBA at 5, 8.4, 22 and 43 GHz both in total and linearly polarized intensity. The spectral analysis confirms the necessity of a free-free absorbing medium, obscuring the innermost part of both jets. At 5 GHz we found a compact linearly polarized emission region at the base of the eastern jet with a degree of polarization of 1.5%. At higher frequencies there is no evidence for polarization in our data. A core shift analysis constrains the position of the cent…
The Chandra discovery of bright X-ray emission from kpc-scale jets allows insight into the physical parameters of the jet flow at large scale. At the opposite extreme, extensive studies of the inner relativistic jets in Blazars with multiwavelength observations, yield comparable information on sub-parsec scales. In the framework of simple radiation models for the emission regions we compare the physical parameters of jets on these two very different scales in the only two well studied Blazars for which large-scale emission has been resolved by Chandra. Notably, we find that the relativistic Do…
Over the last few years, high-quality X-ray imaging and spectroscopic data from Chandra and XMM-Newton have added greatly to the understanding of the physics of radio jets. Here we describe the current state of knowledge with an emphasis on the underlying physics used to interpret multiwavelength data in terms of physical parameters.
If X-rays observed from any extragalactic radio jets are due to inverse Compton scattering on the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, then such a source will be detectable with the same surface brightness anywhere in the more distant universe. Chandra observations imply that such systems do exist, and will therefore serve as Cosmic Beacons out to the redshift at which they form.
We consider the evolution of a spherically expanding plasma cloud, where there is continuous injection of non-thermal electrons. We compute the time dependent electron distribution and resultant photon spectra taking into account synchrotron, adiabatic and inverse Compton cooling. This model is different from previous works where, instead of a continuous injection of particles, a short injection period was assumed. We apply this model to the radio/optical knots in the large scale jets of AGN, detected in X-rays by {\it Chandra} and find that the overall broadband spectral features can be repro…
I propose a new mechanism for explanation of nonthernal X-ray emission of large-scale AGN jets. Namely, I assume that this radiation has synchrotron origin emitted by extremely high energy protons, and discuss implications of this model for several prominent hot spots and knots resolved by Chandra in Pictor A, 3C 120, PKS 0637-752, 3C 273.
I review the operational capabilities of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, including some of the spectacular results obtained by the general observer community. A natural theme of this talk is that Chandra is revealing outflows of great quantities of energy that were not previously observable. I highlight the Chandra studies of powerful X-ray jets. This subject is only possible due to the sub-arcsecond resolution of the X-ray telescope.
We report the discovery, by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, of X-ray emission from the bipolar planetary nebula Menzel 3. In Chandra CCD imaging, Mz 3 displays hot (3-6x10^6 K) gas within its twin, coaxial bubbles of optical nebulosity, as well as a compact X-ray source at the position of its central star(s). The brightest diffuse X-ray emission lies along the polar axis of the optical nebula, suggesting a jet-like configuration. The observed combination of an X-ray-emitting point source and possible X-ray jet(s) is consistent with models in which accretion disks and, potentially, magnetic fiel…
We present the X-ray images of all the available Chandra observations of the galactic jet source SS 433. We have studied the morphology of the X-ray images and inspected the evolution of the arcsec X-ray jets, recently found to be manifestations of in situ reheating of the relativistic gas downstream in the jets. The Chandra images reveal that the arcsec X-ray jets are not steady long term structures; the structure varies, indicating that the reheating processes have no preference for a particular precession phase or distance from the binary core. Three observations made within about five days…
I discuss recent developments in the field of relativistic jets in AGNs. After a brief review of our current knowledge of emission from Blazars, I discuss some consequences of the recent detection made by {\it Chandra} of X-ray emission from extended jets. Finally I report some recent results on the problem of the connection between accretion and jets, study that in principle could shed light on the important issue of jet formation.
We describe our efforts to understand large-scale (10's-100's kpc) relativistic jet systems through observations of the highest-redshift quasars. Results from a VLA survey search for radio jets in ~30 z>3.4 quasars are described along with new Chandra observations of 4 selected targets.
I review the current knowledge of high-energy emission from extragalctic jets. First I discuss gamma-ray emission from blazars, which provides us numerous precious information on the innermost portions of the relativistic jets. I describe the constraints on the dynamics of the jet from the subpc to the pc scale provided by recent VLBI studies of TeV sources, together with the modelling of the emission from the blazar jet. Finally I discuss high energy emission from large scale jets as seen by Chandra and I report on the expected gamma-ray emission from large-scale regions of jets.
We propose a method for estimating the matter content of quasar jets which exhibit Chandra - detected knots in their kpc scale jets. The method relies on measuring the component of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation that is bulk-Comptonized (BC) by the cold electrons in the relativistically flowing jet. We apply our method to PKS 0637 - 752, a superluminal quasar with an one -- sided Chandra - detected large scale jet. What makes this source particularly suited for such a procedure is the absence of significant non-thermal jet emission in the 'bridge', the region between the core …
We present high angular resolution X-ray images and spectra from two {\em Chandra} ACIS-I observations of the X-ray jet in the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A. We find that the X-ray emission from the jet is composed of a low surface brightness diffuse component extending continuously from within at least 60 pc of the active nucleus into the NE radio lobe 4 kpc from the nucleus, along with 31 discrete compact knots, most of which are extended at the resolution of our observation. We find that there are small but significant differences between the X-ray and radio morphologies of the inner jet …
2MASS J11011926-7732383 AB (hereafter 2M1101AB), located in the Cha I star forming region, is a rare wide-separation brown dwarf binary. XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of 2M1101AB have allowed us to examine the influence of physical parameters (mass, bolometric luminosity and effective temperature) on X-ray emission from a coeval pair of substellar objects. The spatial resolution of XMM-Newton is not sufficient to separate contributions from the two components in the binary. The X-ray source detected with XMM-Newton has a column density compatible with the infrared extinction of component…
We describe our program to search for and study the kilo-parsec scale radio jets in a sample of high-redshift (greater than 3.4), flat spectrum quasars using new and archival VLA data. Two of these radio jets have been imaged with Chandra, and have X-ray counterparts and are briefly discussed. These high-redshift sources are important targets for testing current X-ray jet emission models for kpc-scale jets and follow-up multi-wavelength observations will shed light on this problem.
Recently X-ray emission from protostellar jets has been detected with both XMM-Newton and Chandra satellites, but the physical mechanism which can give rise to this emission is still unclear. We performed an extensive exploration of a wide space of the main parameters influencing the jet/ambient interaction. Aims include: 1) to constrain the jet/ambient interaction regimes leading to the X-ray emission observed in Herbig-Haro objects in terms of the emission by a shock forming at the interaction front between a continuous supersonic jet and the surrounding medium; 2) to derive detailed predict…
We discuss a role of the boundary shear layer of large scale jets for their observed multiwavelength emission. We consider a simple mechanism of a turbulent particle acceleration acting within such regions as an alternative mechanism with respect to the standard approaches involving internal shocks in the jet. We show, that under simple assumptions the boundary layer acceleration can provide very high energy electrons possibly generating the X-ray emission observed by Chandra from some large scale jets in powerful radiogalaxies.
The Chandra discovery of bright X-ray emission from kpc-scale jets provides us unprecedented insights into the physical state of the plasma in the flow. In particular it is possible to get good constraints on the power and pressure in bright knots. For a group of selected sources with blazar-type cores it is also possible to constrain the physical quantities of the jet at sub-pc scale. We discuss how these results can help us to connect the properties of the jet at different scales.
We report on Chandra ACIS imaging of the pulsar wind nebula (PWN) of the young Vela-like PSR B1706-44, which shows the now common pattern of an equatorial wind and polar jets. The structure is particularly rich, showing a relativistically boosted termination shock, jets with strong confinement, a surrounding radio/X-ray PWN and evidence for a quasi-static `bubble nebula'. The structures trace the pulsar spin geometry and illuminate its possible relation to SNR G343.1-2.3. We also obtain improved estimates of the pulsar flux and nebular spectrum, constraining the system age and energetics.
The connection between the accretion process that powers AGN and the formation of jets is still poorly understood. Here we tackle this issue using new, deep \chandra and \xmm observations of the cores of three powerful radio loud quasars: 1136--135, 1150+497 (\chandra), and 0723+679 (\xmm), in the redshift range $z$=0.3--0.8. These sources are known from our previous \chandra snapshot survey to have kpc-scale X-ray jets. In 1136--135 and 1150+497, evidence is found for the presence of diffuse thermal X-ray emission around the cores, on scales of 40--50 kpc and with luminosity L$_{0.3-2 keV} \s…
Powerful relativistic jets are among the most ubiquitous and energetic observational consequences of accretion around supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei and neutron stars and stellar-mass black holes in x-ray binary (XRB) systems. But despite more than three decades of study, the structure and composition of these jets remain unknown. Here we present spatially resolved x-ray spectroscopy of arc second-scale x-ray jets from the XRB SS 433 analized with the Chandra advanced charge-coupled device imaging spectrometer. These observations reveal evidence for a hot continuum and Dopp…
The relatively intense X-ray emission from large scale (tens to hundreds kpc) jets discovered with Chandra likely implies that jets (at least in powerful quasars) are still relativistic at that distances from the active nucleus. In this case the emission is due to Compton scattering off seed photons provided by the Cosmic Microwave Background, and this on one hand permits to have magnetic fields close to equipartition with the emitting particles, and on the other hand minimizes the requirements about the total power carried by the jet. The emission comes from compact (kpc scale) knots, and we …
We discuss the physical properties of four quasar jets imaged with the Chandra X-ray Observatory in the course of a survey for X-ray emission from radio jets. These objects have sufficient counts to study their spatially resolved properties, even in the 5 ks survey observations. We have acquired Australia Telescope Compact Array data with resolution matching Chandra. We have searched for optical emission with Magellan, with sub-arcsecond resolution. The radio to X-ray spectral energy distribution for most of the individual regions indicates against synchrotron radiation from a single-component…
We present a Chandra ACIS-S observation of the nuclear region of the nearby spiral galaxy M51 (NGC 5194), which has a low-luminosity Seyfert 2 nucleus. The X-ray image shows the nucleus, southern extranuclear cloud, and northern loop, the morphology of the extended emission being very similar to those seen in radio continuum and optical emission line images. The X-ray spectrum of the nucleus is well represented by a model consisting of soft thermal plasma with kT ~0.5 keV, a very hard continuum, and an Fe Kalpha emission line at 6.45 keV with an equivalent width of >2 keV. The very strong Fe l…
X-ray emission from large scale extragalactic jets is likely to be due to inverse Compton scattering of relativistic particles off seed photons of both the cosmic microwave background field and the blazar nucleus. The first process dominates the observed high energy emission of large scale jets if the plasma is moving at highly relativistic speeds and if the jet is aligned with the line of sight, i.e. in powerful flat radio spectrum quasars. The second process is relevant when the plasma is moving at mildly bulk relativistic speeds, and can dominate the high energy emission in misaligned sourc…
Here we report systematic comparison of the spectral properties of large-scale jets, hotspots and extended lobes in quasars and FR II radio galaxies recently observed with Chandra and ASCA. We argue that if the strong X-ray emission of the jet knots in these objects results from comptonisation of the CMB photons, as usually considered, the powerful large-scale jets are most likely far from the minimum-power condition in the sense that the magnetic field thereby is below equipartition. We also show that the X-ray emission of the hot-spots and lobes in the compiled dataset agrees with the minimu…
We have used a deep Chandra observation of the central regions of the twin-jet FRI radio galaxy 3C31 to resolve the thermal X-ray emission in the central few kiloparsecs of the host galaxy, NGC 383, where the jets are thought to be decelerating rapidly. This allows us to make high-precision measurements of the density, temperature and pressure distributions in this region, and to show that the X-ray emitting gas in the centre of the galaxy has a cooling time of only 5 times 10^7 years. In a companion paper these measurements are used to place constraints on models of the jet dynamics. A previo…
High-resolution X-ray spectra of SS 433 obtained after a binary egress with the Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) were studied. Many Doppler-shifted X-ray emission lines from highly ionized elements were detected. The initial temperature of the jets is estimated to be 20 keV. The lines are found to generally be broader than the instrumented resolution. The widths of the Fe XXV K-alpha and Si XIII K-alpha lines correspond to velocity dispersions of 2100 (+600/-340) km/s and 840 (+180/-150) km/s respectively, in terms of Gaussian sigma. Neither the measured line width…
We observed 17 nearby low luminosity FR I radio galaxies using the NRAO Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 1.67 GHz, as part of a multi-wavelength study of a complete sample of 21 sources selected by radio flux density from the Uppsala General Catalogue of Galaxies. We detected radio emission from all 17 galaxies. At a FWHM resolution of ~ 10x4 mas, five galaxies show only an unresolved radio core, ten galaxies show core-jet structures, and two galaxies show twin-jet structures. Comparing these VLBA images with images previously obtained with the NRAO VLA, we find that all detected VLBA jets a…
A Chandra observation of the radio-loud quasar 3C9 at redshift z=2.012 has revealed extended X-ray emission coincident with the radio jet. Of particular interest is the appearance of both jet and counterjet, which argues against the X-ray emission being highly beamed. We present the properties of the jets and discuss possible scenarios for the X-ray emission, contrasting them with the single sided jet found in PKS 0637-752, which has a similar X-ray luminosity. The jet X-ray emission in 3C9 is likely to be due to either nonthermal emission from a sheath with bulk Lorentz factor less than 1.5, …
Jets can be probed in their innermost regions (d~0.1 pc) through the study of the relativistically-boosted emission of blazars. On the other extreme of spatial scales, the study of structure and dynamics of extragalactic relativistic jets received renewed impulse after the discovery, made by Chandra, of bright X-ray emission from regions at distances larger than hundreds of kpc from the central engine. At both scales it is thus possible to infer some of the basic parameters of the flow (speed, density, magnetic field intensity, power). After a brief review of the available observational eviden…
We present five epochs of simultaneous radio (VLA) and X-ray (Chandra) observations of SS 433, to study the relation between the radio and X-ray emission in the arcsecond-scale jets of the source. We detected X-ray emission from the extended jets in only one of the five epochs of observation, indicating that the X-ray reheating mechanism is transient. The reheating does not correlate with the total flux in the core or in the extended radio jets. However, the radio emission in the X-ray reheating regions is enhanced when X-ray emission is present. Deep images of the jets in linear polarization …
Motivated by the large number of jets detected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and by the inverse Compton X-ray emission model (IC/CMB) for relativistic jets, we revisit two basic questions: ``If the medium that carries the jet's energy consists of hot electrons, can we use the physical length of the jet to constrain the maximum electron energy?'' and ``Why do jets have knots?'' Based on the two non-thermal emission processes for X-rays from jets, we consider constraints on the jet medium and other properties from these two simple questions. We argue that hot pairs cannot be the dominant con…
