Abstract
In this work I review the observational constraints imposed on the energetics and magnetisation of quasar jets, in the context of theoretical expectations. The discussion is focused on issues regarding the jet production efficiency, matter content, and particle acceleration. I show that if the ratio of electron-positron-pairs to protons is of order 15, as is required to achieve agreement between jet powers computed using blazar spectral fits and those computed using radio-lobe calorimetry, the magnetization of blazar jets in flat-spectrum-radio-quasars (FSRQ) must be significant. This result favors the reconnection mechanism for particle acceleration and explains the large Compton-dominance of blazar spectra that is often observed, without the need to postulate very low jet magnetization.
Highlights
One of the biggest unresolved puzzles in the theory of active galactic nuclei (AGN) regards their ability to launch very powerful, relativistic jets
It will be shown that ∼15 pairs per proton is enough to reconcile the difference between the jet power calculated by the two methods and that with such a pair content the magnetic reconnection mechanism is strongly favored as the energy source of blazar activity
Noting that the power calculated by Ghisellini et al includes the blazar radiation, whilst the power calculated using the radio lobe energetics does not, the difference is reduced to a factor ∼8
Summary
One of the biggest unresolved puzzles in the theory of active galactic nuclei (AGN) regards their ability to launch very powerful, relativistic jets. A significant fraction of blazars may be hosted by young or short lived compact double radio sources In this case, the methods of spectral decomposition and core subtraction adopted to use radio-lobe calorimetry in blazars may lead to underestimation of the lobe radio luminosities, and underestimation of the jet power. The methods of spectral decomposition and core subtraction adopted to use radio-lobe calorimetry in blazars may lead to underestimation of the lobe radio luminosities, and underestimation of the jet power In this presentation I will assume that the main reason for the discrepancy between jet power estimates in blazars is overestimation of the jet power by the blazar models by assuming zero pair content. It will be shown that ∼15 pairs per proton is enough to reconcile the difference between the jet power calculated by the two methods and that with such a pair content the magnetic reconnection mechanism is strongly favored as the energy source of blazar activity
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