X-Ray Emission from Extragalactic Jets

Abstract

This review focuses on the X-ray emission processes of extragalactic jets on scales resolvable by the subarcsec resolution of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. It is divided into four parts. The introductory section reviews the classical problems for jets, as well as those associated directly with the X-ray emission. Throughout this section, we deal with the dualisms of low-powered radio sources versus high-powered radio galaxies and quasars and of synchrotron models versus inverse Compton models; and the distinction between the relativistic plasma responsible for the received radiation and the medium responsible for the transport of energy down the jet. The second section collects the observational and inferred parameters for the currently detected X-ray jets and attempts to put their relative sizes and luminosities in perspective. In the third section we first give the relevant radio and optical jet characteristics, and then examine the details of the X-ray data and how they can be related to various jet attributes. The last section is devoted to a critique of the two nonthermal emission processes and to prospects for progress in our understanding of jets.