An asymmetric relativistic model for classical double radio sources

An asymmetric relativistic model for FRII radio sources is described which takes account of both relativistic effects and intrinsic/environmental asymmetries to explain the observed structural asymmetry of their radio lobes. A key feature of the model is jet-sidedness, which can now be determined fo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 1999-05
Main Authors: Arshakian, Tigran G, Longair, Malcolm S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asymmetry
Critical angle
Lobes
Quasars
Radio galaxies
Relativism
Relativistic effects
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:An asymmetric relativistic model for FRII radio sources is described which takes account of both relativistic effects and intrinsic/environmental asymmetries to explain the observed structural asymmetry of their radio lobes. A key feature of the model is jet-sidedness, which can now be determined for about 80% of the FRII sources in the 3CRR complete sample. It is shown that a simple asymmetric relativistic model can account for a wide range of observational data, and that the relativistic and intrinsic asymmetry effects are of comparable importance. The mean translational speed of the lobes is 0.12c with a standard deviation 0.04c. The results are in agreement with an orientation-based unified scheme in which the critical angle separating the radio galaxies from the radio quasars is about 50 degrees.
ISSN:2331-8422