2003/02/14 by C. Zanni, G. Bodo, P. Rossi +3 · 37 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Isothermal process #Jet (fluid) #Kinetic energy #Rotational symmetry #Solar and Space Plasma Dynamics #Supersonic speed #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20030302
published in Astronomy and Astrophysics 402(3), 949-962 (EDP Sciences) · 15 pages, 12 figures, to appear on Astronomy and Astrophysics
arxiv created 2003/02/14 · openalex publication_date 2003/04/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
X-ray observations of extragalactic radiosources show strong evidences of interaction between the radio emitting plasma and the X-ray emitting ambient gas. In this paper we perform a detailed study of this interaction by numerical simulations. We study the propagation of an axisymmetric supersonic jet in an isothermal King atmosphere and we analyze the evolution of the resulting X-ray properties and their dependence on the jet physical parameters. We show the existence of two distinct and observationally subsequent different regimes of interaction, with strong and weak shocks. In the first case shells of enhanced X-ray emission are to be expected, while in the second case we expect deficit of X-ray emission coincident with the cocoon. By a comparison between analytical models and the results of our numerical simulations, we discuss the dependence of the transition between these two regimes on the jet parameters and we find that the mean controlling quantity results to be the jet kinetic power. We then discuss how the observed jets can be used to constrain the jet properties.