On the spine-layer scenario for the very high-energy emission of NGC 1275

TL;DR

This paper models the gamma-ray emission of NGC 1275 using a spine-layer jet structure, exploring how different viewing angles affect the spectral fit and emission characteristics.

Contribution

It introduces three models of the spine-layer scenario for NGC 1275's gamma-ray emission, analyzing the impact of jet viewing angles on spectral fits and physical constraints.

Findings

Excellent spectral fit for a 6° viewing angle, but considered unlikely.

Large angles require high intrinsic luminosity, leading to gamma-ray absorption.

Intermediate angles produce consistent emission regions and correlations.

Abstract

We discuss the $\gamma$-ray emission of the radiogalaxy NGC 1275 (the central galaxy of the Perseus Cluster), detected by Fermi-LAT and MAGIC, in the framework of the "spine-layer" scenario, in which the jet is assumed to be characterized by a velocity structure, with a fast spine surrounded by a slower layer. The existence of such a structure in the parsec scale jet of NGC 1275 has been recently proved through VLBI observations. We discuss the constraints that the observed spectral energy distribution imposes to the parameters and we present three alternative models, corresponding to three different choices of the angles between the jet and the line of sight ($\theta_{\rm v}=6^{\circ}, 18^{\circ}$ and 25$^{\circ}$). While for the the case with $\theta_{\rm v}=6^{\circ}$ we obtain an excellent fit, we consider this solution unlikely, since such small angles seems to be excluded by radio observations of the large-scale jet. For $\theta_{\rm v}=25^{\circ}$ the required large intrinsic luminosity of the soft (IR--optical) component of the spine determines a large optical depth for $\gamma$-rays through the pair production scattering $\gamma \gamma\rightarrow e^+ e^-$, implying a narrow cut--off at $\sim50$~GeV. We conclude that intermediate angles are required. In this case the low frequency and the high--energy emissions are produced by two separate regions and, in principle, a full variety of correlations is expected. The correlation observed between the optical and the $\gamma$-ray flux, close to linearity, is likely linked to variations of the emissivity of the spine.