The different flavors of extragalactic jets: the role of relativistic flow deceleration

TL;DR

This study uses 3D simulations to explore how relativistic jets in galaxies decelerate due to entrainment, revealing that jet density influences their classification as FR I or FR II radio sources.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how jet density affects deceleration and the resulting radio source classification, based on detailed numerical simulations.

Findings

Low density jets are efficiently decelerated to sub-relativistic speeds.

Denser jets maintain relativistic velocities over large distances.

Jet density correlates with FR I and FR II radio source types.

Abstract

We perform three-dimensional numerical simulations of relativistic (with a Lorentz factor of 10), non magnetized jets propagating in a uniform density environment, in order to study the effect of the entrainment and the consequent deceleration. Our simulations investigate the jet propagation inside the galaxy core, where, most likely, the deceleration occurs more efficiently. We compare cases with different density and pressure ratios with respect to the ambient medium finding that low density jets are efficiently decelerated and reach a quasi steady state in which, over a length of 600 jet radii, slow down from highly to sub-relativistic velocities. At the opposite, denser jets keep highly relativistic velocity over the same length. We discuss these results in relation to the Faranoff Riley (FR) radio-sources classification. We infer that lower density jets can give rise to FR 0 and FR I radio-sources, while higher density jets may be connected to FR II radio-sources.