Sahayanathan, S. ; Misra, R. ; Kembhavi, A. K. ; Kaul, C. L. (2003) A continuous injection plasma model for the x-ray/radio knots in kiloparsec-scale jets of active galactic nuclei Astrophysical Journal Letters, 588 (2). L77-L80. ISSN 0004-637X
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Official URL: http://iopscience.iop.org/1538-4357/588/2/L77
Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/375574
Abstract
We consider the evolution of a spherically expanding plasma cloud, where there is a continuous injection of nonthermal 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 active galactic nuclei, detected in X-rays by Chandra, and find that the overall broadband spectral features can be reproduced. It is shown that for some sources, constraints on the X-ray spectral index (by a longer Chandra observation) will be able to differentiate between the different models. This in turn will put a strong constraint on the acceleration mechanism active in these sources.
Item Type: | Article |
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Source: | Copyright of this article belongs to American Astronomical Society. |
ID Code: | 25479 |
Deposited On: | 06 Dec 2010 13:20 |
Last Modified: | 17 May 2016 08:57 |
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