New constraints on the structure and dynamics of black hole jets

Abstract

Accreting black holes produce powerful relativistic plasma jets which emit radiation across all observable wavelengths but the details of the initial acceleration and confinement of the jet are uncertain. We apply an innovative new model that allows us to determine key properties of the acceleration zone via multi-frequency observations. The central component of the model is a relativistic steady-state fluid flow, and the emission from physically distinct regions can be seen to contribute to different energy bands in the overall spectrum. By fitting with unprecedented accuracy to 42 simultaneous multiwavelength blazar spectra we are able to constrain the location of the brightest synchrotron emitting region, and show that there must be a linear relation between the jet power and the radius of the brightest region of the jet. We also find a correlation between the length of the accelerating region and the maximum bulk Lorentz factor of the jet and find evidence for a bimodal distribution of accretion rates in the blazar population. This allows us to put constraints on the basic dynamical and structural properties of blazar jets and to understand the underlying physical differences which result in the blazar sequence.

20 pages, 7 figures, MNRAS accepted. Comments welcome, figure 5 summarises the main results for busy readers

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• Evidence for two Lognormal States in Multi-wavelength Flux Variation of FSRQ PKS 1510-089
• A unified model for orphan and multi-wavelength blazar flares
• PKS 1424+240: yet another masquerading BL Lac object as a possible IceCube neutrino source
• Gamma-ray Cosmology and Tests of Fundamental Physics
• Relevance of jet magnetic field structure for blazar axionlike particle searches
• Constraints on axionlike particles from a combined analysis of three flaring $\text{Fermi}$ flat-spectrum radio quasars
• Revealing the Nature of Blazar Radio Cores through Multi-Frequency Polarization Observations with the Korean VLBI Network
• Modelling blazar flaring using a time-dependent fluid jet emission model - an explanation for orphan flares and radio lags
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• The jet collimation profile at high resolution in BL Lacertae
• On the relative importance of hadronic emission processes along the jet axis of Active Galactic Nuclei
• Dual-high-frequency VLBI study of blazar-jet brightness-temperature gradients and collimation profiles
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• Repeated patterns of gamma-ray flares suggest structured jets of blazars as likely neutrino sources
• The effect of adiabatic losses on spectra of stationary jets and the origin of soft radio spectra of accreting black-hole sources
• MOJAVE -- XXII. Brightness temperature distributions and geometric profiles along parsec-scale AGN jets
• Parabolic jet shape on parsec scales in high redshift AGN
• Using radiative energy losses to constrain the magnetisation and magnetic reconnection rate at the base of black hole jets
• Relevance of photon-photon dispersion within the jet for blazar axionlike particle searches
• On the Radio Image of Relativistic Jets -- I. Internal Structure, Doppler Boosting, and Polarization Maps
• On the M87 jet structure near the central engine
• The `blazar sequence' in TeV band
• Revisiting a Core-Jet Laboratory at High Redshift: Analysis of the Radio Jet in the Quasar PKS 2215+020 at z=3.572
• An explanation about the flat radio spectrum for Mrk 421
• Projected sensitivity of CTAO to axion-like particles from blazars with a machine learning approach
• Identifying changing jets through their radio variability