Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vfjqv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T11:35:13.216Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relativistic Alfvén Waves on the jet of BL Lacertae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2015

Marshall H. Cohen  and
David L. Meier
Marshall H. Cohen
Affiliation:
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA 91125, USA email: mhc@astro.caltech.edu
David L. Meier
Affiliation:
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA 91125, USA email: mhc@astro.caltech.edu Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA 91109, USA email:dmeier@caltech.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The jet of BL Lac displays transverse patterns that propagate downstream superluminally. We suggest that they are transverse Alfvén waves propagating on the longitudinal component of a helical magnetic field. The speed of the wave adds relativistically to the speed of the beam, and the apparent speed of the pattern is greater than the beam speed. Models for the jet and the MHD waves give values for the Lorentz factor of the beam of 3–4.4 and pitch angle of the helical magnetic field of 43° - 65°. These are consistent with other estimates, if the beam and pattern speeds are allowed to differ.

Keywords

BL Lacertae objects: individual (BL Lacertae)galaxies: activegalaxies: jetsmagnetohydrodynamics (MHD)polarizationwaves
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 10 , Issue S313: Extragalactic jets from every angle , September 2014 , pp. 147 - 152
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2015 

References

Caproni, A., Abraham, Z., & Monteiro, H. 2013, MNRAS, 428, 280Google Scholar
Cohen, M. H., Meier, D. L., Arshakian, T. G., et al. 2014a, ApJ, 787, 151Google Scholar
Cohen, M. H., Meier, D. L., Arshakian, T. G., et al. 2014b, ApJ submitted arXiv:1409.3599Google Scholar
Hovatta, T., Valtaoja, E., Tornikoski, M., & Lahteenmaki, A. 2009, A&A, 494, 527Google Scholar
Jorstad, S. G., Marscher, A. P., Lister, M. L., et al. 2005, AJ, 130, 1418CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lister, M. L., Aller, M. F., Aller, H. D., et al. 2013, AJ, 146, 120Google Scholar
Mutel, R. L. & Denn, G. R. 2005, ApJ, 623, 79Google Scholar
O'Sullivan, S. P. & Gabuzda, D. C. 2009, MNRAS, 393, 429CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stirling, A. M., Cawthorne, T. V., Stevens, J. A., et al. 2003, MNRAS, 341, 405Google Scholar