An Infrared Study of the Large-scale Jet in Quasar PKS 1136-135

Abstract

We present Spitzer IRAC imaging of the large-scale jet in the quasar PKS 1136-135 at wavelengths of 3.6 and 5.8 um, combined with previous VLA, HST, and Chandra observations. We clearly detect infrared emission from the jet, resulting in the most detailed multifrequency data among the jets in lobe-dominated quasars. The spectral energy distributions of the jet knots have significant variations along the jet, like the archetypal jet in 3C 273. The infrared measurements with IRAC are consistent with the previous idea that the jet has two spectral components, namely (1) the low-energy synchrotron spectrum extending from radio to infrared, and (2) the high-energy component responsible for the X-ray flux. The optical fluxes may be a mixture of the two components. We consider three radiation models for the high-energy component: inverse Compton scattering off CMB photons by radio-emitting electrons in a highly relativistic jet, synchrotron radiation by a second distinct electron population, and synchrotron radiation by ultra high energy protons. Each hypothesis leads to important insights into and constraints on particle acceleration in the jet, as well as the basic physical properties of the jet such as bulk velocity, transporting power, and particle contents.

9 pages, 5 figures (2 color figures), accepted for publication in ApJ; one typo in Table 1 is corrected

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Cited by in corpus (13)

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• The X-ray Jets of Active Galaxies
• The optical morphologies of the 2Jy sample of radio galaxies: evidence for galaxy interactions
• Polarimetry and the High-Energy Emission Mechanisms in Quasar Jets. The Case of PKS 1136-135
• Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet imaging of the jet in 3C273: a common emission component from optical to X-rays
• Constraining the shear acceleration model for the X-ray emission of large-scale extragalactic jets
• Chandra Observations of the Radio Galaxy 3C 445 and the Hotspot X-ray Emission Mechanism
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• Intranight variability of UV emission from powerful blazars
• Spatial variations of magnetic field along active galactic nuclei jets on sub-pc to Mpc scales
• Emission from Large-scale Jets in Quasars
• A Photo-Hadronic Model of the Large Scale Jets of 3C 273 and PKS 1136-135