The baryon loading effect on relativistic astrophysical jet transport in the interstellar medium

TL;DR

This study uses kinetic particle-in-cell simulations to demonstrate how baryon loading significantly influences the transport, energy transfer, and morphology of relativistic astrophysical jets in the interstellar medium.

Contribution

It reveals the impact of baryon loading on jet dynamics, energy transfer mechanisms, and observable morphology, which was previously uncertain.

Findings

Baryon loading extends jet transport distance.

Electrons gain energy from baryons via electrostatic waves and shocks.

Jet morphology changes with increased baryon loading.

Abstract

The composition of the astrophysical relativistic jets remains uncertain. By kinetic particle-in-cell simulations, we show that the baryon component in the jet, or the so-called baryon loading effect (BLE), heavily affects relativistic jets transport dynamics in the interstellar medium. On the one hand, with the BLE, relativistic jets can transport in a much longer distance, because jet electrons draw a significant amount of energy from jet baryons via the Buneman-induced electrostatic waves and the Weibel-mediated collisionless shock; on the other hand, the jet electron phase space distribution may transform from a bottom-wide-single-peak structure to a center-wide-multiple-peak one by increasing the BLE, which largely influences the observed jet morphology. Implications for related astrophysical studies are also discussed.