Extragalactic jets on subpc and large scales

TL;DR

This paper reviews observational evidence of extragalactic jets at both subparsec and large kiloparsec scales, discussing how comparing physical parameters across scales enhances understanding of jet dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of jet properties at different scales, offering insights into the global jet dynamics from inner regions to large distances.

Findings

Inner jet regions show relativistic boosting effects.

Large-scale jets exhibit bright X-ray emission indicating high-energy processes.

Comparison of parameters across scales informs jet evolution models.

Abstract

Jets can be probed in their innermost regions (d~0.1 pc) through the study of the relativistically-boosted emission of blazars. On the other extreme of spatial scales, the study of structure and dynamics of extragalactic relativistic jets received renewed impulse after the discovery, made by Chandra, of bright X-ray emission from regions at distances larger than hundreds of kpc from the central engine. At both scales it is thus possible to infer some of the basic parameters of the flow (speed, density, magnetic field intensity, power). After a brief review of the available observational evidence, I discuss how the comparison between the physical quantities independently derived at the two scales can be used to shed light on the global dynamics of the jet, from the innermost regions to the hundreds of kpc scale.