paper

The spectral energy distribution of compact jets powered by internal shocks

arXiv:1406.2208 · doi:10.1093/mnras/stu1144

Abstract

Internal shocks caused by fluctuations of the outflow velocity are likely to power the radio to IR emission of the compact jets of X-ray binaries. The dynamics of internal shocks and the resulting spectral energy distribution (SED) of the jet are very sensitive to the time-scales and amplitudes of the velocity fluctuations injected at the base of the jet. I present a new code designed to simulate the synchrotron emission of a compact jet powered by internal shocks. I also develop a semi-analytical formalism allowing one to estimate the observed SED of the jet as a function of the Power Spectral Density (PSD) of the assumed fluctuations of the Lorentz factor. I discuss the cases of a sine modulation of the Lorentz factor and Lorentz factor fluctuations with a power-law PSD shape. Independently of the details of the model, the observed nearly flat SEDs are obtained for PSDs of Lorentz factor fluctuations that are close to a flicker noise spectrum (i.e. P(f)~1/f). The model also presents a strong wavelength dependent variability that is similar to that observed in these sources.

19 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

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