Morphology of TeV gamma-ray emission from the kpc scale jets in radio galaxies

Abstract

TeV gamma rays are observed from a few nearby radio galaxies whose jets are viewed at relatively large angles towards the observer. This emission can be produced in the kpc scale jets whose Lorentz factors are decelerated from values of the order of several at the parsec scale distances. We consider in detail the model in which TeV gamma-ray emission is produced by the relativistic electrons in the kpc scale jet which comptonize strongly beamed radiation from the inner (parsec scale) jet. As an example, we study morphology of the TeV gamma-ray emission from the decelerated kpc scale jet in the nearby radio galaxy Cen~A. It is shown that TeV gamma-ray emission can extend throughout the kpc scale distances, being relatively smoothly distributed along the jet for some parameters of the considered model. Investigation of the morphological structure of such specific gamma-ray emission by the future Cherenkov Telescope Array (e.g. CTA) should provide important constraints on the content and dynamics of the kpc scale jet in Cen~A.

20 pages, 14 figures, ApJ, accepted

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Cited by in corpus (1)

• Nuclear and electromagnetic cascades induced by ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays in radio galaxies: implications for Centaurus A