Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
Scientific paper
2010-08-16
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
8 pages, 9 figures. Submitted to MNRAS. For associated movies, see http://www.mpe.mpg.de/~vgaibler/jet-disk/
Scientific paper
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.17674.x
Observational and theoretical studies of extragalactic radio sources have suggested that an inhomogeneous environment may be responsible for observed arm length asymmetries of jets and the properties of extended emission line regions in high redshift radio galaxies. We perform 3D hydrodynamic simulations of the interaction of a powerful extragalactic bipolar jet with a disc-shaped clumpy interstellar medium of log-normal density distribution and analyze the asymmetry. Furthermore, we compute the relation between jet asymmetry and the ISM properties by means of Monte Carlo simulations based on a 1D propagation model for the jet through the dense medium. We find that the properties of the ISM can be related to a probability distribution of jet arm length asymmetries: Disc density and height are found to have the largest effect on the asymmetry for realistic parameter ranges, while the Fourier energy spectrum of the ISM and turbulent Mach number only have a smaller effect. The hydrodynamic simulations show that asymmetries generally may be even larger than expected from the 1D model due to the complex interaction of the jet and its bow shock with gaseous clumps, which goes much beyond simple energy disposal. From our results, observed asymmetries of medium-sized local radio galaxies may be explained by gas masses of 10^9 to 10^10 solar masses in massive elliptical galaxies. Furthermore, the simulations provide a theoretical basis for the observed correlation that emission line nebulae are generally found to be brighter on the side of the shorter lobe in high redshift radio galaxies (McCarthy et al. 1991). This interaction of jets with the cold gas phase suggests that star formation in evolving high redshift galaxies may be affected considerably by jet activity.
Gaibler Volker
Khochfar Sadegh
Krause Martin
No associations
LandOfFree
Asymmetries in Extragalactic Double Radio Sources: Clues from 3D Simulations of Jet - Disc Interaction does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Asymmetries in Extragalactic Double Radio Sources: Clues from 3D Simulations of Jet - Disc Interaction, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Asymmetries in Extragalactic Double Radio Sources: Clues from 3D Simulations of Jet - Disc Interaction will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-396912