Published in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review,
Vol. 17, p. 1-46, 2009.
astro-ph/0812.3401
For a PDF version of the article, click here.
THE X-RAY JETS OF ACTIVE GALAXIES
D.M. Worrall
Dept of
Physics,
University of
Bristol, Tyndall Ave, Bristol BS8 1TL, UK
d.worrall@bristol.ac.uk
Abstract.
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 important questions, including: Are the radio structures in a
state of minimum energy? Do powerful large-scale jets have fast spinal
speeds? What keeps jets collimated? Where and how does
particle acceleration occur? What is jet plasma made of?
What does X-ray emission tell us about the dynamics and energetics of
radio plasma/gas interactions? Is a jet's fate determined by the central
engine?
Table of Contents
THE STAGE IS SET
- Historical perspective
- Radiation processes
- Generic classes of jets
- Lifetimes and duty cycles
- ARE THE RADIO STRUCTURES IN A STATE OF
MINIMUM ENERGY?
- Calculation of the minimum-energy field
- Using X-rays to test minimum energy
- DO POWERFUL LARGE-SCALE JETS HAVE FAST SPINAL
SPEEDS?
- The impetus from PKS 0637-752
- The dependence of beamed iC-CMB on beaming
factors and redshift
- How is the beamed iC-CMB model faring under
scrutiny?
- Synchrotron emission as an alternative
- WHAT KEEPS JETS COLLIMATED?
- WHERE AND HOW DOES PARTICLE ACCELERATION OCCUR?
- The link with synchrotron X-ray emission
- Particle acceleration in knotty structures
- Incorporating polarization data
- WHAT IS JET PLASMA MADE OF?
- WHAT DOES X-RAY EMISSION TELL US ABOUT THE DYNAMICS
AND ENERGETICS OF RADIO PLASMA/GAS INTERACTIONS?
- Expectations for FRIIs
- Dynamics of FRIs in clusters
- Centaurus A
- The effect of galaxy mergers
- IS A JET'S FATE DETERMINED BY THE CENTRAL ENGINE?
- An evolutionary cycle?
- The rôle played by accretion processes
- The rôle of the environment
- Information from beamed sources
- SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS
- REFERENCES
