A Radio through X‐Ray Study of the Hot Spots, Active Nucleus, and Environment of the Nearby FR II Radio Galaxy 3C 33

Abstract

We present results from {\em Chandra}/ACIS-S, {\em Spitzer}, {\em XMM-Newton}, {\em HST}, and VLA observations of the radio hot spots, extended environment, and nucleus of the nearby ($z$=0.0597) FR II radio galaxy 3C 33. This is a relatively low-power FR II radio galaxy, and so we expect, {\it a priori}, to detect a significant X-ray synchrotron component to the emission from the hot spots. We detect X-ray emission coincident with the two knots of polarized optical emission from the southern hot spot (SHS), as well as along the northwest arm of this hot spot. We also detect X-ray emission from two compact regions of the northern hot spot (NHS), as well as diffuse emission behind the radio peak. The X-ray flux density of the region at the tip of the southern hot spot, the most compact radio feature of the southern lobe, is consistent with the synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) process. The X-ray flux densities of the other three regions of the SHS and the two compact regions of the NHS are an order of magnitude or more above the predictions from either the SSC and inverse-Compton scattering of the CMB (IC/CMB) mechanisms, thus strongly disfavoring these scenarios unless they are far from equipartition ($B$ $\sim$4-14 times smaller than the equipartition values). The X-ray flux from the diffuse region behind the NHS is consistent with the IC/CMB prediction assuming a small departure from equipartition. We conclude that the X-ray emission is synchrotron emission from multiple populations of ultrarelativistic electrons unless these regions are far from equipartition. There must therefore be unresolved substructure within each knot, similar to that which is found in Chandra observations of nearby FR I jets such as Centaurus A and 3C 66B.