Spitzer Studies of X-ray Detected Radio Hotspots

Details Spitzer Studies of X-ray Detected Radio Hotspots Spitzer Studies of X-ray Detected Radio Hotspots

Apr 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009sptz.prop60175w&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #60175

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Scientific paper

We propose new observations at 3.6um of 27 hotspots in the extended lobes of radio galaxies which have also been detected in x-rays, which will be combined with archival Spitzer data on 14 additional hotspots. The hotspots arise at the interface where a jet accelerated by a black hole at the center of the galaxy plows into the local intergalactic medium. Shocks created at this interface accelerate electrons to relativistic energies, and synchrotron radiation from the electrons produces both the radio hotspot and, as the electrons diffuse away from the hotspot, the extended emission from the lobe. These hotspots play a critical role in the transport of energy from the nuclei of galaxies back into the intergalactic medium. However, our understanding of the complex and highly non-linear interactions between relativistic jets and the IGM occurring in hotspots is limited by the paucity of data in the critical region where the interplay between the ageing of electron energy distributions and the beginning of inverse Compton photons occurs. Spitzer's 3.6um band is right in the middle of this critical region, with the required sensitivity. The new observations are planned to distinguish between several models put forward for hotspots based on radio and x-ray data alone. Spitzer observations are essential for understanding these cosmic train wrecks where relativistic jets hit the IGM. No other existing facility can come close to achieving the sub-uJy sensitivity needed to detect the hotspots at 3.6um. Although our observing time request is modest, our intention to produce a catalog of multispectral data on upwards of 40 hotspots is consistent with Warm Spitzer's thrust towards comprehensive studies of important astrophysical questions.

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