Chandra Observations of the X-ray Jet in Centaurus A

Abstract

We present high angular resolution X-ray images and spectra from two {\em Chandra} ACIS-I observations of the X-ray jet in the nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A. We find that the X-ray emission from the jet is composed of a low surface brightness diffuse component extending continuously from within at least 60 pc of the active nucleus into the NE radio lobe 4 kpc from the nucleus, along with 31 discrete compact knots, most of which are extended at the resolution of our observation. We find that there are small but significant differences between the X-ray and radio morphologies of the inner jet at the arcsecond level, making it unlikely that a single, spatially coincident population of ultrarelativistic electrons is responsible for the emission in both energy regimes. We suggest that the X-ray knots of the inner jet are indeed the sites of particle acceleration and shocks, and the X-ray and radio knot offsets are caused by a combination of particle diffusion and energy loss. These offsets may be a common feature of all jets in radio galaxies, or at least jets in FR I type galaxies, and may be fundamental to the physics of such jets. The X-ray spectra of several regions of the jet are well fit by absorbed power-law models with photon indices $\sim$2.2-2.5, although the spectrum of one bright knot located $\sim$1 kpc from the nucleus (knot B) is harder (photon index = 2.0).

40 pages, 15 figures, 5 tables - Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

References in corpus (16)

• Unified Schemes for Radio-Loud Active Galactic Nuclei
• A Unifying View of the Spectral Energy Distributions of Blazars
• Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO):Overview
• Centaurus A - NGC 5128
• Large scale jets in AGN: multiwavelength mapping
• A High Resolution X-ray Image of the Jet in M 87
• Optical and Radio Polarimetry of the M87 Jet at 0.2" Resolution
• The Chandra X-ray Observatory Resolves the X-ray Morphology and Spectra of a Jet in PKS 0637-752
• Structure of the X-ray Emission from the Jet of 3C 273
• Chandra observations of the X-ray jet in 3C66B
• Chandra Observations of the X-Ray Jet of 3C273
• Chandra finds X-ray jets are common in low-power radio galaxies
• Soft X-ray Scattering and Halos from Dust
• Discovery of a Sub-Parsec Radio Counterjet in the Nucleus of Centaurus A
• Unveiling the Active Nucleus of Centaurus A
• ROSAT HRI observations of Centaurus A

Cited by in corpus (88)

• X-ray Emission from Extragalactic Jets
• Radio and X-ray observations of the jet in Centaurus A
• Discovery of very high energy gamma-ray emission from Centaurus A with H.E.S.S
• X-ray Emission Properties of Large Scale Jets, Hotspots and Lobes in Active Galactic Nuclei
• Relativistic models and the jet velocity field in the radio galaxy 3C 31
• Fermi Large Area Telescope View of the Core of the Radio Galaxy Centaurus A
• X-ray Emission from the Hot ISM and SW Radio Lobe of the Nearby Radio Galaxy Centaurus A
• A Chandra observation of the X-ray environment and jet of 3C31
• A Chandra Survey of Quasar Jets: First Results
• Chandra Survey of Nearby Highly-Inclined Disk Galaxies I: X-ray Measurements of Galactic Coronae
• Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays from Black Hole Jets of Radio Galaxies
• Chandra and XMM-Newton Observations of the Nucleus of Centaurus A
• A Chandra Study of the Multi-Component X-ray Emission from the X-shaped Radio Galaxy 3C 403
• New results on particle acceleration in the Centaurus A jet and counterjet from a deep Chandra observation
• Particle acceleration in astrophysical jets
• TANAMI monitoring of Centaurus A: The complex dynamics in the inner parsec of an extragalactic jet
• High Energy gamma-rays From FR I Jets
• A lepto-hadronic model for high-energy emission from FR I radiogalaxies
• How old are the stars in the halo of NGC 5128 (Centaurus A)?
• The Suzaku Observation of the Nucleus of the Radio-Loud Active Galaxy Centaurus A: Constraints on Abundances of the Accreting Material
• Resolving acceleration to very high energies along the Jet of Centaurus A
• Internal entrainment and the origin of jet-related broad-band emission in Centaurus A
• Acceleration of Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays in the Colliding Shells of Blazars and GRBs: Constraints from the Fermi Gamma ray Space Telescope
• The X-ray Jet in Centaurus A: Clues on the Jet Structure and Particle Acceleration
• Particle Acceleration in Mildly Relativistic Shearing Flows: the Interplay of Systematic and Stochastic Effects, and the Origin of the Extended High-energy Emission in AGN Jets
• The X-ray jet and central structure of the active galaxy NGC 315
• Long Term Monitoring of the Dynamics and Particle Acceleration of Knots in the Jet of Centaurus A
• Evidence for a second component in the high-energy core emission from Centaurus A?
• The Luminosity Function of X-ray Point Sources in Centaurus A
• The $\gamma$-ray spectrum of the core of Centaurus A as observed with H.E.S.S. and Fermi-LAT
• The infrared jet in Centaurus A: multiwavelength constraints on emission mechanisms and particle acceleration
• NuSTAR and XMM-Newton Observations of the Hard X-Ray Spectrum of Centaurus A
• Cen A as TeV gamma-ray and possible UHE cosmic-ray source
• The Jet-Heated X-ray Filament in the Centaurus A Northern Middle Radio Lobe
• Luminosity functions of LMXBs in Centaurus A: globular clusters versus the field
• The Molonglo Southern 4 Jy sample (MS4). I. Definition
• Chandra Detection of Hotspot and Knots of 3C 303
• Propagation and Dynamics of Relativistic Jets
• Constraining the Outburst Properties of the SMBH in Fornax A through X-ray, Infrared, and Radio Observations
• The Spiral Host Galaxy of the Double Radio Source 0313-192
• The many faces of the gas in Centaurus A (NGC5128)
• Disentangling the Circumnuclear Environs of Centaurus A: III. An Inner Molecular Ring, Nuclear Shocks and the CO to warm H2 interface
• Radio/X-ray Offsets of Large Scale Jets Caused by Synchrotron Time Lags
• A Radio through X-ray Study of the Hot Spots, Active Nucleus, and Environment of the Nearby FR II Radio Galaxy 3C 33
• Variability and Proper Motion of X-ray Knots in the Jet of Centaurus A
• Clumps in large scale relativistic jets
• Where Centaurus A gets its X-ray knottiness
• Multiwavelength evidence of the physical processes in radio jets
• X-ray Arc Structures in Chandra Images of NGC5128 (Centaurus A)
• Kiloparsec-Scale Jets in FR I Radio Galaxies and the Gamma-Ray Background
• Multiwavelength study of Cygnus A II. X-ray inverse-Compton emission from a relic counterjet and implications for jet duty-cycles
• Disentangling the circumnuclear environs of Centaurus A: I. High resolution molecular gas imaging
• Ultra-High Energy Cosmic-Ray Acceleration in the Jet of Centaurus A
• BeppoSAX Observations of Centaurus A: the Hard Continuum and the Iron Line Feature
• Evidence for Non-Hydrostatic Gas Motions in the Hot ISM of Centaurus A
• Optical Counterparts of X-Ray Point Sources Observed by CHANDRA in NGC5128: 20 New Globular Cluster X-Ray Sources
• Particle acceleration in shearing flows: the case for large-scale jets
• The HST survey of the B2 sample of radio galaxies: detection of two optical jets
• A newly discovered double-double candidate microquasar in NGC 300
• Inverse Compton scattering of starlight in the kiloparsec-scale jet in Centaurus A: The origin of excess TeV $\gamma$-ray emission
• Globular Clusters and X-ray Point Sources in Centaurus A (NGC 5128)
• Blasting away a dwarf galaxy: The "tail" of ESO 324-G024
• UVIT view of Centaurus A; a detailed study on positive AGN feedback
• Magnetically Induced Anisotropies in the Arrival Directions of Ultra-high-energy Cosmic Rays from Nearby Radio Galaxies
• What determines the properties of the X-ray jets in FR-I radio galaxies?
• A 1D fluid model of the Centaurus A jet
• Jet-Feedback on kpc scales: a review
• Accretion and jets in a low luminosity AGN: the nucleus of NGC 1052
• Unveiling the 100 pc scale nuclear radio structure of NGC 6217 with e-MERLIN and the VLA
• Variability of extragalactic X-ray jets on kiloparsec scales
• The Infrared Jet in 3C31
• Physical conditions in nearby active galaxies correlated with ultra-high-energy cosmic rays detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory
• Dynamics of rising magnetized cavities and UHECR acceleration in clusters of galaxies
• X-ray triple rings around the M87 jets in the central Virgo cluster
• Interpreting correlated observations of cosmic rays and gamma-rays from Centaurus A with a proton blazar inspired model
• Deconvolution of Images Taken with the Suzaku X-ray Imaging Spectrometer
• Hard X-ray emission in Centaurus A
• Multifrequency Radiation of Extragalactic Large-Scale Jets
• Spatial variations of magnetic field along active galactic nuclei jets on sub-pc to Mpc scales
• Physical Conditions and Particle Acceleration in the Kiloparsec Jet of Centaurus A
• Morphology of TeV gamma-ray emission from the kpc scale jets in radio galaxies
• The Subparsec-scale Structure and Evolution of Centaurus A. III. A Multi-Epoch Spectral And Polarimetric VLBA Study
• Scalings of the synchrotron cut-off and turbulent correlation of active galactic nucleus jets
• Two Types of Magnetohydrodynamic Sheath Jets
• Neutrino production from photo-hadronic interactions of the gamma flux from Active Galactic Nuclei with their gas content
• The origin of the very-high-energy radiation along the jet of Centaurus A
• Hosts and environments: a (large-scale) radio history of AGN and star-forming galaxies
• Distributed accelerators in the jet of Centaurus A: the origin of the spectral hardening of very high energy gamma-rays