Numerical Simulations of Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract

Numerical simulations have been playing a crucial role in the understanding of jets from active galactic nuclei (AGN) since the advent of the first theoretical models for the inflation of giant double radio galaxies by continuous injection in the late 1970s. In the almost four decades of numerical jet research, the complexity and physical detail of simulations, based mainly on a hydrodynamical/magneto-hydrodynamical description of the jet plasma, have been increasing with the pace of the advance in theoretical models, computational tools and numerical methods. The present review summarizes the status of the numerical simulations of jets from AGNs, from the formation region in the neighborhood of the supermassive central black hole up to the impact point well beyond the galactic scales. Special attention is paid to discuss the achievements of present simulations in interpreting the phenomenology of jets as well as their current limitations and challenges.