PRAiSE: resolved spectral evolution in simulated radio sources

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present a method for applying spatially resolved adiabatic and radiative loss processes to synthetic radio emission from hydrodynamic simulations of radio sources from active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Lagrangian tracer particles, each representing an ensemble of electrons, are injected into simulations and the position, grid pressure, and time since the last strong shock are recorded. These quantities are used to track the losses of the electron packet through the radio source in a manner similar to the Radio AGN in Semi-analytic Environments formalism, which uses global source properties to calculate the emissivity of each particle ex situ. Freedom in the choice of observing parameters, including redshift, is provided through the post-processing nature of this approach. We apply this framework to simulations of jets in different environments, including asymmetric ones. We find a strong dependence of radio source properties on frequency and redshift, in good agreement with observations and previous modelling work. There is a strong evolution of radio spectra with redshift due to the more prominent inverse-Compton losses at high redshift. Radio sources in denser environments have flatter spectral indices, suggesting that spectral index asymmetry may be a useful environment tracer. We simulate intermediate Mach number jets that disrupt before reaching the tip of the lobe, and find that these retain an edge-brightened Fanaroff–Riley Type II morphology, with the most prominent emission remaining near the tip of the lobes for all environments and redshifts we study.