Fanaroff-Riley Class I Research Articles

Model Spectrum of Ultrahigh-energy Cosmic Rays Accelerated in FR-I Radio Galaxy Jets

Nearby radio galaxies (RGs) of Fanaroff–Riley Class I (FR-I) are considered possible sites for the production of observed ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). Among those, some exhibit blazar-like inner jets, while others display plume-like structures. We reproduce the flow dynamics of FR-I jets using relativistic hydrodynamic simulations. Subsequently, we track the transport and energization of cosmic ray (CR) particles within the simulated jet flows using Monte Carlo simulations. The key determinant of flow dynamics is the mean Lorentz factor of the jet-spine flow, 〈Γ〉spine. When 〈Γ〉spine ≳ 6, the jet spine remains almost unimpeded, but for 〈Γ〉spine ≲ 3, substantial jet deceleration occurs. CRs gain energy mainly through diffusive shock acceleration for E ≲ 1 EeV and shear acceleration for E ≳ 1 EeV. The time-asymptotic energy spectrum of CRs escaping from the jet can be modeled by a double power law, transitioning from ∼E −0.6 to ∼E −2.6 around a break energy, E break, with an exponential cutoff at Ebreak〈Γ〉spine2 . E break is limited either by the Hillas confinement condition or by particle escape from the cocoon via fast spatial diffusion. The spectral slopes primarily arise from multiple episodes of shock and relativistic shear acceleration, and the confinement–escape processes within the cocoon. The exponential cutoff is determined by nongradual shear acceleration that boosts the energy of high-energy CRs by a factor of ∼〈Γ〉spine2 . We suggest that the model spectrum derived in this work could be employed to investigate the contribution of RGs to the observed population of UHECRs.

Morphological classification of compact and extended radio galaxies using convolutional neural networks and data augmentation techniques

ABSTRACT Machine-learning techniques have been increasingly used in astronomical applications and have proven to successfully classify objects in image data with high accuracy. The current work uses archival data from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty Centimeters (FIRST) to classify radio galaxies into four classes: Fanaroff–Riley Class I (FRI), Fanaroff–Riley Class II (FRII), Bent-Tailed (BENT), and Compact (COMPT). The model presented in this work is based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). The proposed architecture comprises three parallel blocks of convolutional layers combined and processed for final classification by two feed-forward layers. Our model classified selected classes of radio galaxy sources on an independent testing subset with an average of 96 per cent for precision, recall, and F1 score. The best selected augmentation techniques were rotations, horizontal or vertical flips, and increase of brightness. Shifts, zoom, and decrease of brightness worsened the performance of the model. The current results show that model developed in this work is able to identify different morphological classes of radio galaxies with a high efficiency and performance.

Radio AGN in the local universe: unification, triggering and evolution

Associated with one of the most important forms of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, and showing a strong preference for giant elliptical host galaxies, radio AGN (L_1.4GHz > 10^24 W Hz^-1) are a key sub-class of the overall AGN population. Here I review our current state of understanding of the population of radio AGN at low and intermediate redshifts (z < 0.7), concentrating on their AGN and host galaxy properties, and covering three interlocking themes: the classification of radio AGN and its interpretation; the triggering and fuelling of the jet and AGN activity; and the evolution of the host galaxies. I show that much of the observed diversity in the AGN properties of radio AGN can be explained in terms of a combination of orientation/anisotropy, mass accretion rate, and variability effects. The detailed morphologies of the host galaxies are consistent with the triggering of strong-line radio galaxies (SLRG) in galaxy mergers. However, the star formation properties and cool ISM contents suggest that the triggering mergers are relatively minor in terms of their gas masses in most cases, and would not lead to major growth of the supermassive black holes and stellar bulges; therefore, apart from a minority (<20%) that show evidence for higher star formation rates and more massive cool ISM reservoirs, the SLRG represent late-time re-triggering of activity in mature giant elliptical galaxies. In contrast, the host and environmental properties of weak-line radio galaxies (WLRG) with Fanaroff-Riley class I (FRI) radio morphologies are consistent with more gradual fuelling of the activity via gas accretion at low rates onto the supermassive black holes.

On the deceleration of Fanaroff–Riley Class I jets: mass loading by stellar winds

Jets in low-luminosity radio galaxies are known to decelerate from relativistic speeds on parsec scales to mildly or sub-relativistic speeds on kiloparsec scales. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this effect, including strong reconfinement shocks and the growth of instabilities (both leading to boundary-layer entrainment) and mass loading from stellar winds or molecular clouds. We have performed a series of axisymmetric simulations of the early evolution of jets in a realistic ambient medium to probe the effects of mass loading from stellar winds using the code Ratpenat. We study the evolution of Fanaroff-Riley Class I (FRI) jets, with kinetic powers L_j \sim 1.e41-1.e44 erg/s, within the first 2 kpc of their evolution, where deceleration by stellar mass loading should be most effective. Mass entrainment rates consistent with present models of stellar mass loss in elliptical galaxies produce deceleration and effective decollimation of weak FRI jets within the first kiloparsec. However, powerful FRI jets are not decelerated significantly. In those cases where the mass loading is important, the jets show larger opening angles and decollimate at smaller distances, but the overall structure and dynamics of the bow-shock are similar to those of unloaded jets with the same power and thrust. According to our results, the flaring observed on kpc scales is initiated by mass loading in the weaker FRI jets and by reconfinement shocks or the growth of instabilities in the more powerful jets. The final mechanism of decollimation and deceleration is always the development of disruptive pinching modes.

A multi-wavelength study of nuclear activity and environment of low-power radio galaxy CTD 86

We present an X-ray study of the nuclear and extended emission of a nearby Fanaroff & Riley class I (FR-I) radio galaxy CTD 86 based on the \xmm{} observations. Two different components observed are : diffuse thermal emission from hot gas ($kT\sim 0.79\kev$, $n_e\sim 10^{-3}{\rm cm^{-3}}$, $L_X \sim 5\times10^{42}{\rm erg s^{-1}}$ extended over $\sim 186{\rm kpc}$), and unresolved nuclear emission exhibiting mild activity. The hot gaseous environment of CTD 86 is similar to that found in groups of galaxies or in bright early-type galaxies. No clear signatures of radio-lobe interaction with the diffuse hot gas is evident in this case. X-ray emission from the nucleus is well constrained by an intrinsically absorbed ($N_H \sim 5.9\times10^{22}{\rm cm^{-2}}$) power law ($\Gamma \sim 1.5$) with $2-10\kev$ luminosity $L_X \sim 2.1\times10^{42}{\rm erg s^{-1}}$. We have measured the stellar velocity dispersion, $\sigma=182\pm8\kms$, for the CTD 86 and estimated a mass $M_{BH}\sim 9\times 10^7{\rm M_\odot}$ with $L_{bol}/L_{Edd} \sim 4\times10^{-3}$. The low $L_{bol}/L_{Edd}$ rate and high $L_X/L_{[O III]}$ ratio suggest that the central engine of CTD 86 consists of a truncated accretion disk lacking a strong ionizing UV radiation and an inner hot flow producing the X-ray emission. The truncated disk is likely to be inclined with ($i\sim40^\circ-50^\circ$) such that our line of sight passes through the outer regions of a putative torus and thus results in high X-ray absorption. We have also identified two bright X-ray sources, SDSS J142452.11+263715.1 and SDSS J142443.78+263616.2, near CTD 86. SDSS J142452.11+263715.1 is a type 1 active galactic nucleus at $z=0.3761$ and unabsorbed $0.3-10\kev$ X-ray luminosity $L_X\sim 8 \times 10^{43}{\rm erg s^{-1}}$, while SDSS J142443.78+263616.2 is probably a galaxy with an active nucleus.

Dust tori in radio galaxies

<i>Aims. <i/>We investigate the quasar – radio galaxy unification scenario and detect dust tori within radio galaxies of various types.<i>Methods. <i/>Using VISIR on the VLT, we acquired sub-arcsecond (~) resolution <i>N<i/>-band images, at a wavelength of 11.85 <i>μ<i/>m, of the nuclei of a sample of 27 radio galaxies of four types in the redshift range . The sample consists of 8 edge-darkened, low-power Fanaroff-Riley class I (FR-I) radio galaxies, 6 edge-brightened, class II (FR-II) radio galaxies displaying low-excitation optical emission, 7 FR-IIs displaying high-excitation optical emission, and 6 FR-II broad emission line radio galaxies. Out of the sample of 27 objects, 10 nuclei are detected and several have constraining non-detections at sensitivities of 7 mJy, the limiting flux a point source has when detected with a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 in one hour of source integration.<i>Results. <i/>On the basis of the core spectral energy distributions of this sample we find clear indications that many FR-I and several low-excitation FR-II radio galaxies do not contain warm dust tori. At least percent of the high-excitation FR-IIs and almost all of the broad line radio galaxies exhibit excess infrared emission, which must be attributed to warm dust reradiating accretion activity. The FR-I and low-excitation FR-II galaxies are all of low efficiency, which is calculated as the ratio of bolometric to Eddington luminosity . This suggests that thick tori are absent at low accretion rates and/or low efficiencies. The high-excitation FR-II galaxies are a mixed population with three types of nuclei: 1) low efficiency with dust torus; 2) low efficiency with weakly emitting dust torus; and 3) high efficiency with weak dust torus. We argue that the unification viewing angle range 0–45 degrees of quasars should be increased to ~60 degrees, at least at lower luminosities.

A relativistic mixing-layer model for jets in low-luminosity radio galaxies

We present an analytical model for jets in Fanaroff & Riley Class I (FRI) radio galaxies, in which an initially laminar, relativistic flow is surrounded by a shear layer. We apply the appropriate conservation laws to constrain the jet parameters, starting the model where the radio emission is observed to brighten abruptly. We assume that the laminar flow fills the jet there and that pressure balance with the surroundings is maintained from that point outwards. Entrainment continuously injects new material into the jet and forms a shear layer, which contains material from both the environment and the laminar core. The shear layer expands rapidly with distance until finally the core disappears, and all of the material is mixed into the shear layer. Beyond this point, the shear layer expands in a cone and decelerates smoothly. We apply our model to the well-observed FRI source 3C31 and show that there is a self-consistent solution. We derive the jet power, together with the variations of mass flux and and entrainment rate with distance from the nucleus. The predicted variation of bulk velocity with distance in the outer parts of the jets is in good agreement with model fits to VLA observations. Our prediction for the shape of the laminar core can be tested with higher-resolution imaging.

ON THE ORIGIN OF FANAROFF-RILEY CLASSIFICATION OF RADIO GALAXIES: DECELERATION OF SUPERSONIC RADIO LOBES

We argue that the origin of "FRI/FRI{-.1em}I dichotomy" -- the division between Fanaroff-Riley class I (FRI) with subsonic lobes and class I{-.1em}I (FRI{-.1em}I) radio sources with supersonic lobes is sharp in the radio-optical luminosity plane (Owen-White diagram) -- can be explained by the deceleration of advancing radio lobes. The deceleration is caused by the growth of the effective cross-sectional area of radio lobes. We derive the condition in which an initially supersonic lobe turns into a subsonic lobe, combining the ram-pressure equilibrium between the hot spots and the ambient medium with the relation between "the hot spot radius" and "the linear size of radio sources" obtained from the radio observations. We find that the dividing line between the supersonic lobes and subsonic ones is determined by the ratio of the jet power $L_{\rm j}$ to the number density of the ambient matter at the core radius of the host galaxy $\bar{n}_{\rm a}$. It is also found that there exists the maximal ratio of $(L_{\rm j}/\bar{n}_{\rm a})$ and its value resides in $(L_{\rm j}/\bar{n}_{\rm a})_{\rm max}\approx 10^{44-47} {\rm erg} {\rm s}^{-1} {\rm cm}^{3}$, taking account of considerable uncertainties. This suggests that the maximal value $(L_{\rm j}/\bar{n}_{\rm a})_{\rm max}$ separates between FRIs and FRI{-.1em}Is.

Radiation fields of disk, BLR and torus in quasars and blazars: implications for γ-ray absorption

The radiation fields external to the jets and originating from within a few parsecs from the black hole, are discussed in this paper. They are the direct radiation from an accretion disk in symbiosis with jets, the radiation field from the broad line region (BLR) surrounding the accretion disk, and the infrared radiation from a dusty torus. The jet/disk symbiosis modifies the energetics in the central parsec of active galactic nuclei (AGN) such that for a given accretion rate, a powerful jet would occur at the expense of the disk luminosity, and consequently the disk would less efficiently ionize the BLR clouds or heat the dust in the torus, thereby affecting potentially important target photon fields for interactions of γ-rays, accelerated electrons and protons along the jet. Motivated by unification schemes of AGN, we briefly review the evidence for the existence of BLRs and small-scale dust tori in BL Lacs and Fanaroff-Riley Class I (FR-I) radio galaxies. We propose that an existing jet-accretion disk symbiosis can be extrapolated to provide a large-scale symbiosis between other important dusty constituents of the blazar/FR-I family. In the present paper, we discuss in the context of this symbiosis interactions of GeV and TeV γ-rays produced in the jet with the various radiation fields external to the jet in quasars and blazars, taking account the anisotropy of the radiation.

Obscuration, orientation, and the infrared properties of radio-loud active galaxies

We report on a study of the mid- and far-infrared (MFIR) properties of several different classes of radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) using the IRAS database. Our goal is to try to improve the understanding of the possible relationships between the diverse classes of AGNs. The MFIR and radio properties of radio-loud AGNs are especially useful in this regard, since (excluding the blazar class, which we do not study here) the radio emission is thought to be emitted isotropically, and the radio and MFIR radiation should be much less affected by dust obscuration than radiation at shorter wavelengths. We have first compared samples of 3CR broad-line radio galaxies (BLRGs) and narrow-line radio galaxies (NLRGs) matched in radio flux and mean redshift. We find that the BLRGs are stronger than the NLRGs by a factor of 4-5 in their mid-IR emission but are similar to the NLRGs in the far-IR. This is qualitatively consistent with recent 'unification' models for NLRGs and BLRGs which invoke thermal MFIR emission from dusty 'obscuring tori,' but there may be an additional source of far-IR emission present in the more luminous broad-line objects (the radio-loud quasars) studied previously by Heckman, Chambers & Postman (1992). We have also compared samples of Fanaroff-Riley class I (FRI) and Fanaroff-Riley class II (FRII) radio galaxies matched in radio flux and redshift. The FRII galaxies are stronger MFIR emitters than the FRI galaxies by a factor of about 4. This is consistent with suggestions that the central engine in FRI galaxies produces relatively little radiant energy per unit jet power (expecially since we find that the weak MFIR emission from the FRI galaxies may not be powered by the AGN). Comparing samples of gigahertz-peaked spectrum (GPS) and compact steep spectrum (CSS) sources versus non-GPS-CSS sources, we find that the GPS-CSS and non-GPS-CSS sources have similar MFIR strengths. This suggests that the efficiency of the conversion of jet kinetic energy into radio emission is not much higher in the GPS-CSS sources, contrary to some theoretical predictions. Overall, we find that the MFIR and radio powers of all the classes of radio-loud AGNs we have studied correlate well with one another over a range of about 10(exp 3) in power. This is most naturally understood if the MFIR is primarily powered by the AGN in most highly luminous radio-loud AGNs. However, other processes (starbursts or the intracluster medium) may contribute significantly in the less radio-luminous radio galaxies.

Turbulent jets and the energy budget in Fanaroff–Riley class-I radio sources

There are good reasons, based upon laboratory data and jet morphology, for believing that the jets in Fanaroff–Riley class-I radio sources are turbulently expanding and decelerating owing to the related entrainment. This provides a simple explanation for the usual slow decline of jet-surface brightness in class-I radio sources. A turbulent jet model in which the velocity variation is inferred from the spreading rate is presented and applied to the main jet in NGC 315. Besides providing a reasonable fit to the surface-brightness variation, the model provides the following simple explanation for the collimation behaviour of this jet. Initially, the jet is turbulent but becomes nonturbulent owing to the effect of an increasing Mach number and a favourable pressure gradient causing the jet to collimate. As the pressure flattens out to the background pressure, the jet becomes turbulent again and starts to re-expand. Various implications of the energy budget for the estimation of jet velocity and density are examined, and further implications of the model are discussed.