FROM THE BLAZAR SEQUENCE TO THE BLAZAR ENVELOPE: REVISITING THE RELATIVISTIC JET DICHOTOMY IN RADIO-LOUD ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI

Journal Article · Thu Oct 20 04:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/740/2/98; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21587355

Meyer, Eileen T; Fossati, Giovanni ^[1]; Georganopoulos, Markos ^[2]

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1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005 (United States)
2. Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250 (United States)

We revisit the concept of a blazar sequence that relates the synchrotron peak frequency ({nu}{sub peak}) in blazars with synchrotron peak luminosity (L{sub peak}, in {nu}L{sub {nu}}) using a large sample of radio-loud active galactic nuclei. We present observational evidence that the blazar sequence is formed from two populations in the synchrotron {nu}{sub peak}-L{sub peak} plane, each forming an upper edge to an envelope of progressively misaligned blazars, and connecting to an adjacent group of radio galaxies having jets viewed at much larger angles to the line of sight. When binned by jet kinetic power (L{sub kin}; as measured through a scaling relationship with extended radio power), we find that radio core dominance decreases with decreasing synchrotron L{sub peak}, revealing that sources in the envelope are generally more misaligned. We find population-based evidence of velocity gradients in jets at low kinetic powers ({approx}10{sup 42}-10{sup 44.5} erg s{sup -1}), corresponding to Fanaroff-Riley (FR) I radio galaxies and most BL Lac objects. These low jet power 'weak-jet' sources, thought to exhibit radiatively inefficient accretion, are distinguished from the population of non-decelerating, low synchrotron-peaking (LSP) blazars and FR II radio galaxies ('strong' jets) which are thought to exhibit radiatively efficient accretion. The two-population interpretation explains the apparent contradiction of the existence of highly core-dominated, low-power blazars at both low and high synchrotron peak frequencies, and further implies that most intermediate synchrotron peak sources are not intermediate in intrinsic jet power between LSP and high synchrotron-peaking (HSP) sources, but are more misaligned versions of HSP sources with similar jet powers.

• OSTI ID: 21587355
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 740; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
JETS
RADIO GALAXIES
VELOCITY