Jets from radio galaxies can have dramatic effects on the medium through which they propagate. We review observational evidence for jet-induced star formation in low ('FR-I') and high ('FR-II') luminosity radio galaxies, at low and high redshifts respectively. We then discuss numerical simulations which are aimed to explain a jet-induced starburst ('Minkowski's Object') in the nearby FR-I type radio galaxy NGC 541. We conclude that jets can induce star formation in moderately dense (10 cm-3), warm (10,000 K) gas; that this may be more common in the dense environments of forming, active galaxies; and that this may provide a mechanism for 'positive' feedback from AGN in the galaxy formation process.
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0312282,
title = {Jet-Induced Star Formation},
author = {Wil van Breugel and Chris Fragile and Peter Anninos and Stephen Murray},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0312282},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
Invited Review IAU Symp 217 'Recycling Intergalactic and Interstellar Matter', 8 pages, 5 figures