Quasar X-ray jets: Gamma-ray diagnostics of the synchrotron and inverse Compton hypotheses, the case of 3C 273

Abstract

The process responsible for the Chandra-detected X-ray emission from the large scale jets of powerful quasars is a matter of ongoing debate. The two main contenders are external Compton (EC) scattering off the cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons (EC/CMB) and synchrotron emission from a population of electrons separate from those producing the radio - IR emission. So far, no clear diagnostics have been presented to distinguish which of the two, if any, is the actual X-ray emission mechanism. Here we present such diagnostics based on a fundamental difference between these two models: the production of synchrotron X-rays requires multi - TeV electrons, while the EC/CMB model requires a cutoff in the electron energy distribution (EED) below TeV energies. This has significant implications for the gamma-ray emission predicted by these two models, that can be tested through GeV and TeV observations of the nearby bright quasar 3C 273. We show how existing and future GeV and TeV observations can confirm or refute one or both of the above hypotheses.

ApJ Letters, in press

References in corpus (4)

• New Chandra observations of the jet in 3C273. I. Softer X-ray than radio spectra and the X-ray emission mechanism
• Shedding New Light on the 3C 273 Jet with the Spitzer Space Telescope
• The radio-ultraviolet spectral energy distribution of the jet in 3C273
• Observations of Selected AGN with H.E.S.S

Cited by in corpus (21)

• A synchrotron self-Compton scenario for the very high energy gamma-ray emission of the radiogalaxy M87
• Ruling out IC/CMB X-rays in PKS 0637-752 and the Implications for TeV Emission from Large-Scale Quasar Jets
• Fermi non-detections of four X-ray jet sources and implications for the IC/CMB mechanism
• Jet Properties of Compact Steep-Spectrum Sources and an Eddington-Ratio-Driven Unification Scheme of Jet Radiation in Active Galactic Nuclei
• A Two Zone Synchrotron Model for the Knots in the M87 Jet
• New ALMA and Fermi/LAT Observations of the large-scale jet of PKS 0637-752 Strengthen the Case Against the IC/CMB Model
• Direct observation of an extended X-ray jet at $z$=6.1
• Offsets between X-ray and Radio Components in X-ray Jets: The AtlasX
• A Photo-Hadronic Model of the Large Scale Jet of PKS 0637-752
• A Multi-Wavelength Study of Multiple Spectral Component Jets in AGN: Testing the IC/CMB Model for the Large-Scale-Jet X-ray Emission
• The Impact of the CMB on the Evolution of high-z Blazars
• Circumnuclear Dust in AP Librae and the source of its VHE emission
• X-Ray-to-Radio Offset Inference from Low-Count X-Ray Jets
• The prototype X-ray binary GX 339-4: using TeV gamma-rays to assess LMXBs as Galactic cosmic ray accelerators
• Variability of extragalactic X-ray jets on kiloparsec scales
• Leptonic or Hadronic Emission: X-Ray Radiation Mechanism of Large-scale Jet Knots in 3C 273
• Advection of Accelerated Electrons in Radio/X-ray Knots of AGN Jets
• Inverse Compton Scattering of the Central Source Photons as an X-ray Emission Mechanism on Kiloparsec Scales in PKS 1127-145
• Probing IC/CMB Interpretation for the X-ray knots of AGN through VHE observations
• Investigating the origin of X-ray jets: A case study of four hybrid morphology MOJAVE blazars
• The resolved jet of 3C 273 at 150 MHz