A Chandra Survey of Quasar Jets: First Results
Abstract
We present results from Chandra X-ray imaging and spectroscopy of a flux-limited sample of flat spectrum radio-emitting quasars with jet-like extended structure. Twelve of twenty quasar jets are detected in 5 ks ACIS-S exposures. The quasars without X-ray jets are not significantly different from those in the sample with detected jets except that the extended radio emission is generally fainter. New radio maps are combined with the X-ray images in order to elucidate the relation between radio and X-ray emission in spatially resolved structures. We find a variety of morphologies, including long straight jets and bends up to 90 degrees. All X-ray jets are one-sided although the radio images used for source selection often show lobes opposite the X-ray jets. The FR II X-ray jets can all be interpreted as inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons by electrons in large-scale relativistic jets although deeper observations are required to test this interpretation in detail. Applying this interpretation to the jets as a population, we find that the jets would be aligned to within 30 degrees of the line of sight generally, assuming that the bulk Lorentz factor of the jets is 10.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0409566,
title = {A Chandra Survey of Quasar Jets: First Results},
author = {H. L. Marshall and D. A. Schwartz and J. E. J. Lovell and D. W. Murphy and D. M. Worrall and M. Birkinshaw and J. M. Gelbord and E. S. Perlman and D. L. Jauncey},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0409566},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
25 pages with 5 pages of color figures; accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements; higher resolution jpeg images are available at http://space.mit.edu/home/jonathan/jets/