An X-ray view of Pictor A radio lobes: a spatially resolved study

TL;DR

This study provides a detailed spatial analysis of Pictor A's radio lobes using X-ray data, revealing variations in magnetic fields and uniform particle distribution, advancing understanding of radio galaxy lobes.

Contribution

First spatially resolved measurement of magnetic fields and particle densities in Pictor A's lobes using XMM-Newton data, highlighting magnetic field variations.

Findings

Magnetic field B_{IC} varies across the lobes.

Particle distribution remains uniform.

Equipartition magnetic field exceeds B_{IC} in both lobes.

Abstract

A spatially resolved analysis of the lobes of the radio galaxy Pictor A has been performed for the first time starting from a 50 ksec XMM-Newton observation. Magnetic field, B_{IC}, particle density, particle to magnetic field energy density ratios have been measured. Our study shows that B_{IC} varies through the lobes. On the contrary, a rather uniform distribution of the particles is observed. In both the lobes, the equipartition magnetic field, B_{eq}, is bigger than the Inverse Compton value, B_{IC}, calculated from the radio to X-ray flux ratio.