We investigate apparent internal structure of kiloparsec scale jets of AGNs arising from the energy dependent cooling of accelerated electrons and light travel time effect for relativistically moving sources. Using a simple cylindrical shell model, we find that the offsets between the peaks of X-ray, optical and radio brightness distributions observed for many cases are basically explained with this model. Assuming that electrons in the moving shell are instantaneously accelerated, X-rays are emitted for a shorter time scale and observed at the side nearer to the nucleus, while radio emission continues to the far side of the nucleus because of longer cooling time. The resultant offset turns out to be order of the jet diameter owing to the light travel time effect.
Dual supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with kiloparsec scale separations in merger-remnant galaxies are informative tracers of galaxy evolution, but the avenue for identifying them in large numbers for such studies is not yet clear. One promising approach is to target spectroscopic signatures of systems where both SMBHs are fueled as dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs), or where one SMBH is fueled as an offset AGN. Dual AGNs may produce double-peaked narrow AGN emission lines, while offset AGNs may produce single-peaked narrow AGN emission lines with line-of-sight velocity offsets relative to th…
While 2% of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) exhibit narrow emission lines with line-of-sight velocities that are significantly offset from the velocity of the host galaxy's stars, the nature of these velocity offsets is unknown. We investigate this question with Chandra/ACIS and Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 observations of seven velocity-offset AGNs at z<0.12, and all seven galaxies have a central AGN but a peak in emission that is spatially offset by < kpc from the host galaxy's stellar centroid. These spatial offsets are responsible for the observed velocity offsets and are due t…
It is widely accepted that feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) plays a key role in the evolution of gas in groups and clusters of galaxies. Unequivocal evidence comes from quasi-spherical X-ray cavities observed near cluster centers having sizes ranging from a few to tens of kpc, some containing radio emission. Cavities apparently evolve from the interaction of AGN jets with the intracluster medium (ICM). However, in numerical simulations it has been difficult to create such fat cavities from narrow jets. Ultra-hot thermal jets dominated by kinetic energy typically penetrate deep into t…
We present a sample of 18 optically-selected and X-ray detected spatially offset active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In 9 systems, the X-ray AGN is spatially offset from the galactic stellar core that is located within the 3'' diameter SDSS spectroscopic fiber. In 11 systems, the X-ray AGN is spatially offset from a stellar core that is located outside the fiber, with an overlap of 2. To build the sample, we cross-matched Type II AGN selected from the SDSS galaxy catalogue with archival Chandra imaging and employed our custom astrometric and registration proc…
A new paradigm for active galactic jet kinematics has emerged through detailed investigations of BL Lac objects using very long baseline radio interferometry. In this new scheme, most, if not all, jet components appear to remain stationary with respect to the core but show significant non-radial motions. This paper presents results from our kinematic investigation of the jets of a statistically complete sample of radio-loud flat-spectrum active galaxies, focusing on the comparison between the jet kinematic properties of BL Lacs and flat-spectrum radio-quasars. It is shown that there is a stati…
We report Chandra observations of a double X-ray source in the z=0.1569 galaxy SDSS J171544.05+600835.7. The galaxy was initially identified as a dual AGN candidate based on the double-peaked [O III] emission lines, with a line-of-sight velocity separation of 350 km/s, in its Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectrum. We used the Kast Spectrograph at Lick Observatory to obtain two longslit spectra of the galaxy at two different position angles, which reveal that the two AGN emission components have not only a velocity offset, but also a projected spatial offset of 1.9 kpc/h70 on the sky. Chandra/ACIS …
We study the displacements between the centres of galaxies and their supermassive black holes (BHs) in the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation Horizon-AGN, and in a variety of observations from the literature. The BHs in Horizon-AGN feel a sub-grid dynamical friction force, sourced by the surrounding gas, which prevents recoiling BHs being ejected from the galaxy. We find that i) the fraction of spatially offset BHs increases with cosmic time, ii) BHs live on prograde orbits in the plane of the galaxy with an orbital radius that decays with time but stalls near $z=0$, and iii) the magnitude…
In the last years, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) have become more popular than ever. The possibility of using them to produce feedback effects that would help solving some of the still open questions connected to the hierarchical scenario of galaxy formation and evolution, has made them particularly popular among theorists. AGN-driven outflows can have different origin. Here, I will concentrate on the role that the radio-loud phase of nuclear activity (and the presence of radio plasma jets) can play in the evolution of a galaxy. I will focus on two aspects in which radio activity could be impor…
We report on multi-frequency polarimetry Very Long Baseline Interferometry observations of active galactic nuclei using the VLBA. These observations are used to construct images of the Faraday Rotation Measure (RM) in J1613+342, Mrk 501, 3C 371, and BL Lac. Despite having resolved the jets in total intensity and polarization for three of these sources no RM gradients are found. This is in contrast to the large fraction of sources with RM gradients now claimed in the literature, and invoked as evidence in support of helical magnetic fields. We propose objective criteria for establishing what co…
Merger-remnant galaxies with kpc-scale separation dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) should be widespread as a consequence of galaxy mergers and triggered gas accretion onto supermassive black holes, yet very few dual AGNs have been observed. Galaxies with double-peaked narrow AGN emission lines in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey are plausible dual AGN candidates, but their double-peaked profiles could also be the result of gas kinematics or AGN-driven outflows and jets on small or large scales. To help distinguish between these scenarios, we have obtained spatial profiles of the AGN emission via…
I propose a feedback model to explain the correlation between the supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass and the host galaxy bulge mass. The feedback is based on narrow jets that are launched by the central SMBH, and expel large amounts of mass to large distances. The condition is that the jets do not penetrate through the inflowing gas, such that they can deposit their energy in the inner region where the bulge is formed. For that to occur, the SMBH must move relative to the inflowing gas, such that the jets continuously encounter fresh gas. Taking into account the relative motion of the SMBH an…
The origin of the high-energy emission of blazars is still a matter of debate. To investigate the emission mechanism of extragalactic outflows and to pin down the location of the emission, we have constructed a broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) database covering from the radio to the gamma-ray band for the complete MOJAVE sample, which consists of 135 relativistically beamed AGN with well-studied parsec-scale jets. Typically, the broadband SEDs of blazars shows a double-humped profile. It is believed that the lower-energy hump is due to synchrotron emission from the radio jet, and t…
Galaxy clusters are the largest structures for which there is observational evidence of a magnetised medium. Central cores seem to host strong magnetic fields ranging from a few 0.1 microG up to several 10 microG in cooling flow clusters. Numerous clusters harbor central powerful AGN which are thought to prevent cooling flows in some clusters. The influence of such feedback on the magnetic field remains unclear: does the AGN-induced turbulence compensate the loss of magnetic amplification within a cool core? And how is this turbulence sustained over several Gyr? Using high resolution magneto-h…
The observed shift of the core of the relativistic AGN jets as a function of frequency allows us to evaluate the number density of outflowing plasma and, hence, the magnetization parameter. New analysis of more than 20 sources shows that for most of jets the magnetization parameter ~ 10 - 100. Since the magnetization parameter is the maximum possible bulk Lorentz-factor of the relativistic flow, this estimate is consistent with the observed superluminal motion.
The cosmic ray source spectrum produced by AGN (Active Galactic Nucleus) jets is calculated. A distinctive feature of these calculations is the account for the jet distribution on kinetic energy. The expected cosmic ray spectrum at the Earth is determined with the use of a simple numerical code which takes into account interactions of ultra-high energy protons and nuclei with the background radiation in an expanding universe.
Several active galactic nuclei (AGN) with multiple sets of emission lines separated by over 2000 km/s have been observed recently. These have been interpreted as being due to massive black hole (MBH) recoil following a black hole merger, MBH binaries, or chance superpositions of AGN in galaxy clusters. Moreover, a number of double-peaked AGN with velocity offsets of ~ a few 100 km/s have also been detected and interpreted as being due to the internal kinematics of the narrow line regions or MBH binary systems. Here we reexamine the superposition model. Using the Millennium Run we estimate the …
We obtained Keck/OSIRIS near-IR adaptive optics-assisted integral-field spectroscopy to probe the morphology and kinematics of the ionized gas in four velocity-offset active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. These objects possess optical emission lines that are offset in velocity from systemic as measured from stellar absorption features. At a resolution of ~0.18", OSIRIS allows us to distinguish which velocity offset emission lines are produced by the motion of an AGN in a dual supermassive black hole system, and which are produced by outflows or other kinematic struct…
Supermassive black hole (BH) mergers produce powerful gravitational wave (GW) emission. Asymmetry in this emission imparts a recoil kick to the merged BH, which can eject the BH from its host galaxy altogether. Recoiling BHs could be observed as offset active galactic nuclei (AGN). Several candidates have been identified, but systematic searches have been hampered by large uncertainties regarding their observability. By extracting merging BHs and host galaxy properties from the Illustris cosmological simulations, we have developed a comprehensive model for recoiling AGN. Here, for the first ti…
The Chandra X-ray observatory has proven to be a vital tool for studying high-energy emission processes in jets associated with Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN).We have compiled a sample of 27 AGN selected from the radio flux-limited MOJAVE (Monitoring of Jets in AGN with VLBA Experiments) sample of highly relativistically beamed jets to look for correlations between X-ray and radio emission on kiloparsec scales. The sample consists of all MOJAVE quasars which have over 100 mJy of extended radio emission at 1.4 GHz and a radio structure of at least 3" in size. Previous Chandra observations have re…
Plasmas of geometrically thick, black hole (BH) accretion flows in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are generally collisionless for protons, and involve magnetic field turbulence. Under such conditions a fraction of protons can be accelerated stochastically and create relativistic neutrons via nuclear collisions. These neutrons can freely escape from the accretion flow and decay into protons in dilute polar region above the rotating BH to form relativistic jets. We calculate geometric efficiencies of the neutron energy and mass injections into the polar region, and show that this process can depo…
We present a pair of 3-d magnetohydrodynamical simulations of intermittent jets from a central active galactic nucleus (AGN) in a galaxy cluster extracted from a high resolution cosmological simulation. The selected cluster was chosen as an apparently relatively relaxed system, not having undergone a major merger in almost 7 Gyr. Despite this characterization and history, the intra-cluster medium (ICM) contains quite active "weather". We explore the effects of this ICM weather on the morphological evolution of the AGN jets and lobes. The orientation of the jets is different in the two simulati…
We present a multi-wavelength analysis of the galaxy cluster A1668, performed by means of new EVLA and Chandra observations and archival H$α$ data. The radio images exhibit a small central source ($\sim$14 kpc at 1.4 GHz) with L$_{\text{1.4 GHz}}$ $\sim$6 $\cdot$ 10$^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$. The mean spectral index between 1.4 GHz and 5 GHz is $\sim$ -1, consistent with the usual indices found in BCGs. The cooling region extends for 40 kpc, with bolometric X-ray luminosity L$_{\text{cool}} = 1.9\pm 0.1 \cdot$ 10$^{43}$ erg s$^{-1}$. We detect an offset of $\sim$ 6 kpc between the cluster BCG and the…
By conducting axisymmetrical hydrodynamical numerical simulations (2.5 dimensional code) we show that slow, massive, wide jets can reproduce the morphology of the huge X-ray deficient bubble pair in the cluster of galaxies MS0735+7421. The total energy of the jets, composed of the energy in the bubble pair and in the shock wave, is constraint by observations conducted by McNamara et al. (2009) to be ~10^{62}erg. We show that two opposite jets that are active for ~100Myr, each with a launching half opening angle of ~70 degrees, an initial velocity of ~0.1c, and a total mass loss rate of the two…
Cosmic reionization put an end to the dark ages that came after the recombination era. Observations seem to favor the scenario where massive stars generating photons in low-mass galaxies were responsible for the bulk of reionization. Even though a possible contribution from accretion disks of active galactic nuclei (AGN) has been widely considered, they are currently thought to have had a minor role in reionization. Our aim is to study the possibility that AGN contributed to reionization not only through their accretion disks, but also through ionizing photons coming from the AGN jets interact…
A number of works reported on the existence of a large scale alignment of the polarization plane of extragalactic sources as well as the alignment of radio-sources structural axes. However, both claims and their interpretation remain controversial. For the first time we explore the parsec-scale jets alignments. Additionally, we use archival polarimetric data at different wavelengths in order to compare relative orientations of the jets and the polarization planes of their emission. Using the flux density distribution in very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) radio maps from the Astrogeo data…
Observations of X-ray cavities formed by powerful jets from AGN in galaxy cluster cores are widely used to estimate the energy output of the AGN. Using methods commonly applied to observations of clusters, we conduct synthetic X-ray observations of 3D MHD simulated jet-ICM interactions to test the reliability of measuring X-ray cavity power. These measurements are derived from empirical estimates of the enthalpy content of the cavities and their implicit ages. We explore how such physical factors as jet intermittency and observational conditions such as orientation of the jets with respect to …
Black holes generate collimated, relativistic jets which have been observed in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), microquasars, and at the center of some galaxies (active galactic nuclei; AGN). How jet physics scales from stellar black holes in GRBs to the supermassive ones in AGNs is still unknown. Here we show that jets produced by AGNs and GRBs exhibit the same correlation between the kinetic power carried by accelerated particles and the gamma-ray luminosity, with AGNs and GRBs lying at the low and high-luminosity ends, respectively, of the correlation. This result implies that the efficiency of ene…
We have compared the parsec-scale jet linear polarization properties of the Fermi LAT-detected and non-detected sources in the complete flux-density-limited (MOJAVE-1) sample of highly beamed AGN. Of the 123 MOJAVE sources, 30 were detected by the LAT during its first three months of operation. We find that during the era since the launch of Fermi, the unresolved core components of the LAT-detected jets have significantly higher median fractional polarization at 15 GHz. This complements our previous findings that these LAT sources have higher apparent jet speeds, brightness temperatures and Do…
AGN jets carry more than sufficient energy to stave off catastrophic cooling of the intracluster medium (ICM) in the cores of cool-core clusters. However, in order to prevent catastrophic cooling, the ICM must be heated in a near-isotropic fashion and narrow bipolar jets with $P_{\rm jet}=10^{44-45}$ ergs/s, typical of radio AGNs at cluster centres, are inefficient at heating the gas in the transverse direction to the jets. We argue that due to existent conditions in cluster cores, the SMBHs will, in addition to accreting gas via radiatively inefficient flows, experience short stochastic episo…
Heating from active galactic nuclei (AGN) is thought to stabilize cool-core clusters, limiting star formation and cooling flows. We employ radiative magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) simulations to model light AGN jet feedback with different accretion modes (Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton and cold accretion) in an idealised Perseus-like cluster. Independent of the probed accretion model, accretion efficiency, jet density and resolution, the cluster self-regulates with central entropies and cooling times consistent with observed cool-core clusters in this non-cosmological setting. We find that increased jet ef…
We present a combined radio/X-ray analysis of the poorly studied galaxy cluster Abell 2495 (z=0.07923) based on new EVLA and Chandra data. We also analyze and discuss Halpha emission and optical continuum data retrieved from the literature. We find an offset of 6 kpc between the cluster BCG (MCG+02-58-021) and the peak of the X-ray emission, suggesting that the cooling process is not taking place on the central galaxy nucleus. We propose that sloshing of the ICM could be responsible for this separation. Furthermore, we detect a second, 4 kpc offset between the peak of the Halpha emission and t…
Multiwavelength data indicate that the X-ray emitting plasma in the cores of galaxy clusters is not cooling catastrophically. To large extent, cooling is offset by heating due to active galactic nuclei (AGN) via jets. The cool-core clusters, with cooler/denser plasmas, show multiphase gas and signs of some cooling in their cores. These observations suggest that the cool core is locally thermally unstable while maintaining global thermal equilibrium. Using high-resolution, three-dimensional simulations we study the formation of multiphase gas in cluster cores heated by highly-collimated bipolar…
Current observations have shown that astrophysical jets reveal strong signs of radial structure. They suggest that the inner region of the jet, the jet spine, consists of a low-density, fast-moving gas, while the outer region of the jet consists of a more dense and slower moving gas, called the jet sheath. Moreover, if jets carry angular momentum, the resultant centrifugal forces lead to a radial stratification. Current observations are not able to fully resolve the radial structure, so little is known about its actual profile. We present three AGN jet models in $2.5D$ of which two have been g…
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) host powerful jets containing high-energy electrons and protons. The astrophysical environment where AGNs and their jets are found is characterized by large concentrations of both dark matter (DM) and intra-cluster medium (ICM) gas. As the high-energy jet particles transverse the DM and the ICM, elastic and inelastic scattering processes generically lead to the production of final-state photons. As first envisioned by Bloom and Wells (1998), and as more recently pointed out by us and others, the scattering of electrons off of DM could lead to a potentially detectab…
Using radio and X-ray data of two powerful radiogalaxies we attempt to find out the role that radio jets (in terms of composition and power) as well as intracluster magnetic fields play in the formation, propagation and acceleration of cosmic rays. For this study we have selected the powerful radio galaxies Hercules A and 3C\,310 because of the presence of ring-like features in their kpc-scale radio emission instead of the usual hotspots. These two FR1.5 lie at the center of galaxy cooling flow clusters in a dense environment. We observed the unique jets of Hercules both in kpc- (multifrequenc…
Recent advances in general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic modeling of jets offer unprecedented insights into the inner workings of accreting black holes that power the jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) and other accretion systems. I will present the results of recent studies that determine spin-dependence of jet power and discuss the implications for the AGN radio loud/quiet dichotomy and recent observations of high jet power in a number of AGN.
The two types of Fanaroff-Riley radio loud galaxies, FRI and FRII, exhibit strong jets but with different properties. These differences may be associated to the central engine and/or the external medium. Aims: The AGN classification FRI and FRII can be linked to the rate of electromagnetic Poynting flux extraction from the inner corona of the central engine by the jet. The collimation results from the distribution of the total electromagnetic energy across the jet, as compared to the corresponding distribution of the thermal and gravitational energies. We use exact solutions of the fully relat…
