AGN Jets - their impact, orientation & emission mechanisms
Embedded Files
In nearly every large galaxy, there's a supermassive black hole whose size perfectly matches the galaxy's central region. As these black holes feed, they create powerful jets- narrow, focused beams of particles shooting out at nearly the speed of light from the poles of the black hole. These jets are nature's most powerful particle accelerators, stretching thousands of light-years and profoundly influencing their galactic environments. They heat surrounding gas, regulate star formation, and even help determine the fate of entire galaxy clusters. Fig. 2 shows that small-scale bipolar jets align and drive large-scale hot gas outflows impacting their host galaxy.
Yet many fundamental questions remain: What triggers the launching of jets in active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and how is this process connected to the central black hole? How do these jets produce X-ray radiation? How much energy do these jets carry?
Fig 2. Optical Image of NGC 613 from VLT with radio contours from 1.4 GHz NVSS observation on the left and Wide Field Spectrograph Image of the inner 38'' x 25'' region on the right. In Davies et al. 2018 [co-authored], we show that linear radio jet (black contours) of NGC 613 aligned with double-lobed [OIII] emission (blue) form- ing the extended narrow-line region. The Hα+NII emission (gold) ring aligns with the galaxy’s bar and the radio emission from the star forming regions.
Part of my dissertation work and current research uncovers jet orientation, explains the X-ray emission mechanism, and provides constraints on relativistic beaming parameters and magnetic fields, providing insights into the enthalpy flux of quasar jets.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse