Related papers: Relativistic Outflows in Active Galactic Nuclei
There is growing evidence that relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei undergo extended (parsec-scale) acceleration. We argue that, contrary to some suggestions in the literature, this acceleration cannot be purely hydrodynamic. Using…
The current popular model for launching, accelerating and collimating astrophysical jets is based on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). AGN jets are most probably powered by energy extracted from either an accretion disk or a rapidly rotating…
AGN activity is known to drive fast outflows of gas. We report the discovery of fast outflows of neutral gas with velocities over 1000 km/s in a number of radio galaxies. In the best studied object, 3C~293, the kinematical properties of the…
We probe the role that the directional asymmetry, between relativistic outflows and kilo-parsec scale jets, play in the acceleration of cosmic rays. For this reason we use two powerful, nearby Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs). These radio…
In order to identify the dominant nuclear outflow mechanisms in Active Galactic Nuclei, we have undertaken deep, high resolution observations of two compact radio sources (PKS 1549-79 and PKS 1345+12) with the Advanced Camera for Surveys…
Massive outflows driven by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are widely recognised to play a key role in the evolution of galaxies, heating the ambient gas, expelling it from the nuclear regions, and thereby affecting the star formation…
We report the detection of fast (~ 1000 km/s), massive outflows of neutral gas observed -- using the WSRT -- as 21-cm HI absorption against the strong radio continuum of seven radio sources. The neutral outflows occur, in at least somes…
It is still a mystery why only a small fraction of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) contain relativistic jets. Strong magnetic field is a necessary ingredient for jet formation, however, the advection of the external field in a geometrically…
It is shown that the two-sided jet proper motions observed from the galactic microquasars GRS 1915+105 and GRO J1655-40 in practice only allow us to place lower limits on the Lorentz factors of the outflows. As a consequence, it is not…
In the last years, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) have become more popular than ever. The possibility of using them to produce feedback effects that would help solving some of the still open questions connected to the hierarchical scenario of…
We consider the centrifugal acceleration of charged test particles by rotating magnetospheres which are widely believed to be responsible for the relativistic jet phenomenon in active galactic nuclei (AGN). Based on an analysis of forces…
Collimated relativistic outflows, or jets, are amongst the most energetic and relativistic phenomena in the Universe. They are associated with supermassive black holes in distant active galactic nuclei (AGN), accreting black holes and…
Powerful radio sources and quasars emit relativistic jets of plasma and magnetic fields that travel hundreds of kilo-parsecs, ultimately depositing energy into the intra- or inter-cluster medium. In the rest frame of the jet, the energy…
Large-scale outflows driven by AGNs are an important element of galaxy evolution. Detailed analysis of their properties allows us to probe the activity history of the galactic nucleus and, potentially, other properties of the host galaxy. A…
Relativistic outflows represent one of the best-suited tools to probe the physics of AGN. Numerical modelling of internal structure of the relativistic outflows on parsec scales provides important clues about the conditions and dynamics of…
We explore the properties of ionized gas in the nuclear and circumnuclear environment of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051 using spectroscopic and imaging observations from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Apache Point…
It is suggested that the outflowing plasma in the jets of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is inhomogeneous and consists of separate clouds. These clouds are strongly magnetized and move away from the central engine at relativistic speeds. The…
AGN feedback is a well known mechanism in the evolution of galaxies. One open question is the driving mechanism of galaxy-scale outflows. At low redshift, radio jets often interact with the ISM, generating turbulence and driving ionized…
Galaxy-scale outflows, which are thought to provide the link connecting the central black hole to its host galaxy, are now starting to be observed. However, the physical origin of the mechanism driving the observed outflows, whether due to…
Radio activity in AGN (Active Galactic Nuclei) produce feedback on the host galaxy via the impact of the relativistic jets on the circumnuclear gas. Although radio jets can reach up to several times the optical radius of the host galaxy, in…