Model for the X-ray Emission in the Jets and Hot Spots of Radio Galaxies

Charles D. Dermer (NRL), Hui Li (LANL), Armen Atoyan (Universite de Montreal), Markus Böttcher (Rice University)

Abstract

If radio galaxies are misaligned blazars, then they are sources of collimated high-energy gamma radiation from the inner jet. Gamma rays with energies $\gtrsim 100$ TeV will be attenuated by the microwave background and surrounding radiation fields, causing high-energy pairs to be injected far from the central engine. Photomeson production in the inner jet will also produce a highly collimated beam of energetic neutrons that will transport energy far from the central source. High-energy pairs are formed through $\gamma\gamma$attenuation, and beam instabilities of neutron-decay protons will generate plasma waves that will accelerate electrons. The energetic leptons will produce X-ray synchrotron radiation that could account for the emission detected from sources such as Pictor A and Cygnus A with the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

CATEGORY: ACTIVE GALAXIES AND QUASARS