Effect of Multi-Species Plasma on Fanaroff-Riley Radio Jets
arXiv:2607.26796
The paper uses 3D magnetohydrodynamic simulations to study how different plasma compositions affect the stability and morphology of low‑power Fanaroff‑Riley I radio jets.
Abstract
The Fanaroff-Riley (FR) dichotomy observed in extragalactic radio jets has been attributed to a range of possible mechanisms, including intrinsic jet properties such as the presence of different species in the plasma. Jet material may span from a pure electron-positron pair plasma to mixed plasmas containing electrons, positrons, and protons, or even to hadronic jets made up of electrons and protons only. To investigate this aspect, we present results from three-dimensional simulations of low-power, supersonic, magnetized jets at kiloparsec scales in a magnetohydrodynamic framework. By varying the plasma composition, we show its impact on jet stability and on the development of diffuse structures typical of core-brightened FR type I sources. Our results indicate that the growth of non-axisymmetric instabilities plays a key role in disrupting the jet head.
11 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in the Bulletin of the Liège Royal Society of Sciences as a part of 4th BINA workshop, November 2025