Jet Acceleration Research Articles

Magnetized and collimated millimeter scale plasma jets with astrophysical relevance

Magnetized collimated plasma jets are created in the laboratory to extend our understanding of plasma jet acceleration and collimation mechanisms with particular connection to astrophysical jets. In this study, plasma collimated jets are formed from supersonic unmagnetized flows, mimicking a stellar wind, subject to currents and magnetohydrodynamic forces. It is found that an external poloidal magnetic field, like the ones found anchored to accretion disks, is essential to stabilize the jets against current-driven instabilities. The maximum jet length before instabilities develop is proportional to the field strength and the length threshold agrees well with Kruskal-Shafranov theory. The plasma evolution is modeled qualitatively using MHD theory of current-carrying flux tubes showing that jet acceleration and collimation arise as a result of electromagnetic forces.

VERITAS OBSERVATIONS OF RELATIVISTIC JETS

VERITAS is an array of four imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes located in southern Arizona, and is now starting its fifth year of observations of the northern Sky at energies > 100 GeV. Observations of astrophysical objects in the TeV band are sensitive probes of highly energetic processes occurring in these sources. The majority of the active galaxies detected at TeV energies are blazars, sources where we view the jet nearly along its axis. TeV and multiwavelength observations of blazars help us to better understand the mechanisms of ultrarelativistic jet production by supermassive black holes, and constrain models of particle acceleration in blazar jets. Galactic sources at TeV energies include supernova remnants, pulsar wind nebulae, and binary systems, and TeV emission is a key diagnostic of highly energetic particles in these objects. This report presents recent results from VERITAS on Galactic and extragalactic sources.

HELICAL MAGNETIC FIELDS IN RELATIVISTIC JETS THROUGH FARADAY ROTATION AND JET STRATIFICATION STUDIES

Helical magnetic fields may play an important role in the formation, collimation, and acceleration of relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei. These may be searched for by looking for Faraday rotation measure (RM) gradients and emission stratification across the jet width. Multi-epoch polarimetric Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the radio galaxy 3C 120 have revealed the existence of such a RM gradient across the jet, but the presence of a localized region of enhanced RM and uncorrelated changes in the polarization of the underlying jet emission and the Faraday rotation screen suggest that a significant fraction of the RM found in 3C 120 originates in foreground clouds. Thanks to the combination of 48 images spanning 14 years of 15 GHz VLBA observations of 3C 273 we have found a stratification in total intensity across the jet that flips sides with distance along the jet, supporting a model in which the jet of 3C 273 accelerates and is threaded by a helical magnetic field.

Role of Downward Momentum Transport in the Formation of Severe Surface Winds

The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used to investigate the role of downward momentum transport in the formation of severe surface winds for a squall line on 3–4 June 2009 across regions of the Henan and Shandong Provinces of China. The results show that there was a strong westerly jet belt with a wind speed greater than 30 m s-1 and a thickness of 5 km at an altitude of 11–16 km. The jet belt was accelerated, and it descended while the squall line convective system occurred. It was found that the appearance of strong negative perturbation pressure accompanied by the squall line caused the acceleration of the upper-level westerly jet and increased the horizontal wind speed by a maximum of 18%. Meanwhile, the negative buoyancy due to the loading, melting, and evaporation of cloud hydrometeors induced the downward momentum transport from the upper levels. The downward momentum transport contributed approximately 70% and the surface cold pool 30% to the formation of severe surface winds.

POLARIZATION IN VERY EARLY GAMMA-RAY BURST AFTERGLOW

Polarization offers the capacity to diagnose the structure of the magnetic fields in the GRB ejecta which could provide a clue to pin down the jet acceleration process. The recent early-time polarization detection at about 10% level opens the exciting possibility of measuring the time-resolved evolution of polarization degree and angle of early optical afterglow.

Satellite observations of plasma physics near the magnetic field reconnection X line

[1] Satellite observations near the X line are required to understand electromagnetic energy conversion and particle acceleration resulting from magnetic field reconnection. More than 900 orbits of Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft across the low-latitude dayside magnetopause, involving more than 4000 magnetopause crossings and 5000 h of data, were searched for examples of magnetic field reconnection within a few electron skin depths of the X line. Evidence that the X line was crossed in the best of these events comes from observations of DC electric and magnetic fields, electrostatic and electromagnetic lower hybrid waves, magnetosheath electrons flowing along the separatricies, and a super-Alfvenic electron jet flowing perpendicular to the magnetic field. A dispersion analysis identifies properties of the wave that are in agreement with the experiment. Neither these waves nor the DC electric field were sufficient to account for acceleration of the electron jet. The anomalous drag was not an important source of the observed DC electric field. The observed pressure gradient is a possible candidate for maintaining the electric field.

Two-fluid electromagnetic simulations of plasma-jet acceleration with detailed equation-of-state

We describe a new particle-based two-fluid fully electromagnetic algorithm suitable for modeling high density (ni ∼ 1017 cm−3) and high Mach number laboratory plasma jets. In this parameter regime, traditional particle-in-cell (PIC) techniques are challenging due to electron timescale and lengthscale constraints. In this new approach, an implicit field solve allows the use of large timesteps while an Eulerian particle remap procedure allows simulations to be run with very few particles per cell. Hall physics and charge separation effects are included self-consistently. A detailed equation of state (EOS) model is used to evolve the ion charge state and introduce non-ideal gas behavior. Electron cooling due to radiation emission is included in the model as well. We demonstrate the use of these new algorithms in 1D and 2D Cartesian simulations of railgun (parallel plate) jet accelerators using He and Ar gases. The inclusion of EOS and radiation physics reduces the electron temperature, resulting in higher calculated jet Mach numbers in the simulations. We also introduce a surface physics model for jet accelerators in which a frictional drag along the walls leads to axial spreading of the emerging jet. The simulations demonstrate that high Mach number jets can be produced by railgun accelerators for a variety of applications, including high energy density physics experiments.

Production of monodisperse submicron drops of dielectric liquids by charge-injection from highly conducting liquids

When ions or electrons are injected into an insulating liquid, they migrate towards its free surface, destabilize it, and form a charged jet. The jet then breaks into uniform drops charged at an approximately constant fraction of the Rayleigh limit, which relates the drop diameter DD to the flow rate of dielectric liquid QD and the injected current I as DD ∼ (QD/I)2/3. We have previously studied the analogous problem where the ions are substituted by nanodrops produced by a Taylor cone of a highly conducting ionic liquid (EMI-BF4) immersed in heptane or decane. This yielded hydrocarbon droplets with diameters as small as 4 μm [C. Larriba and J. Fernández de la Mora, Phys. Fluids 22, 1 (2010)], with only incidental barriers to reaching smaller sizes. Here, we overcome these barriers via silica capillaries with smaller bores. These achieve substantially smaller QD and QD/I values, resulting in drops well below the ∼1-2 μm measurable with a phase Doppler anemometer. Extrapolating the DD ∼ (QD/I)2/3 scaling to the smallest QD/I obtained yields calculated drop diameters of 280 nm. The current is studied as a function of QD and the ionic liquid flow rate QIL. The usual law I~QIL 1/2 applies here only at small QD and high QIL. An unusual I~QD -1/3 dependence appears at low QD, in contrast with the previously expected approximate independence of I on QD. This effect results from the acceleration of the dielectric jet at decreasing QD due to an increase in current given by the removal of the space charge and leading to an overall decrease in QD/I. An anomalous behavior is observed at low QD and high QIL in which the drop charge appears to exceed the Rayleigh limit. A plausible explanation is proposed based on the injection into the gas of anomalously small secondary drops and/or ions. We also investigate the injection of ionic liquid nanodrops into a quiescent liquid bath. The observed algebraic dependence of the current I ∼ V2ɛo/L on tip voltage V and tip to collector distance L is interpreted as resulting from two things: a current limited by space charge and an almost constant mobility Z of the nanodrops.

Workshop on Extreme Physics

SummaryNever before has there been such a wealth of versatile ground- and space-based facilities with which to detect variable emission across the electromagnetic spectrum and beyond, to non-EM signals such as neutrinos and gravitational waves, to probe the most extreme phenomena in the Universe. The variable sky is already providing a wealth of new and surprising observations of phenomena such as GRBs, SNe and AGN that are pushing current theories beyond the state of the art. Multi-messenger follow-up will soon become de rigeur, and upcoming radio and optical all-sky transient surveys will revolutionise the study of the transient Universe. In addition to the technical and data challenges presented by such surveys, a major new challenge will be the interpretation of the wealth of available data and the identification of the underlying physics of new classes of variable (and potentially exotic) objects. Theoretical predictions will be vital for interpreting these future transient discoveries.The goal of this workshop was to bring together theorists and observers in order to identify unexplored synergies across three main research areas of extreme physics: gamma-ray bursts, supernovæ and, more generically, relativistic jets. It aimed to discuss key outstanding questions in these rapidly moving fields, such as the composition and acceleration of GRB and AGN jets, GRB progenitors and central engines, the origin of the wide range of observed variability time-scales in GRB prompt and after-glow light curves and related cosmological applications, the physics of the newly-discovered ultra-luminous SN-like optical transients—as well as to speculate on what we might hope to discover with future technology.The workshop absorbed two 90-minute sessions, selecting 3 main science topics (Relativistic Jets, GRBs and SNe) which it organised as structured discussions driven by a series of short but provocative questions. The final session featured a panel-led debate but with full audience participation.

Constraints on cold magnetized shocks in gamma-ray bursts

We consider a model in which the ultra-relativistic jet in a gamma-ray burst (GRB) is cold and magnetically accelerated. We assume that the energy flux in the outflowing material is partially thermalized via internal shocks or a reverse shock, and we estimate the maximum amount of radiation that could be produced in such magnetized shocks. We compare this estimate with the available observational data on prompt gamma-ray emission in GRBs. We find that, even with highly optimistic assumptions, the magnetized jet model is radiatively too inefficient to be consistent with observations. One way out is to assume that much of the magnetic energy in the post-shock, or even pre-shock, jet material is converted to particle thermal energy by some unspecified process, and then radiated. This can increase the radiative efficiency sufficiently to fit observations. Alternatively, jet acceleration may be driven by thermal pressure rather than magnetic fields. In this case, which corresponds to the traditional fireball model, sufficient prompt GRB emission could be produced either from shocks at a large radius or from the jet photosphere closer to the center.

SYNCHROTRON RADIATION OF SELF-COLLIMATING RELATIVISTIC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC JETS

The goal of this paper is to derive signatures of synchrotron radiation from state-of-the-art simulation models of collimating relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) jets featuring a large-scale helical magnetic field. We perform axisymmetric special relativistic MHD simulations of the jet acceleration region using the PLUTO code. The computational domain extends from the slow magnetosonic launching surface of the disk up to 6000^2 Schwarzschild radii allowing to reach highly relativistic Lorentz factors. The Poynting dominated disk wind develops into a jet with Lorentz factors of 8 and is collimated to 1 degree. In addition to the disk jet, we evolve a thermally driven spine jet, emanating from a hypothetical black hole corona. Solving the linearly polarized synchrotron radiation transport within the jet, we derive VLBI radio and (sub-) mm diagnostics such as core shift, polarization structure, intensity maps, spectra and Faraday rotation measure (RM), directly from the Stokes parameters. We also investigate depolarization and the detectability of a lambda^2-law RM depending on beam resolution and observing frequency. We find non-monotonic intrinsic RM profiles which could be detected at a resolution of 100 Schwarzschild radii. In our collimating jet geometry, the strict bi-modality in polarization direction (as predicted by Pariev et al.) can be circumvented. Due to relativistic aberration, asymmetries in the polarization vectors across the jet can hint to the spin direction of the central engine.

THE FIRST X-SHOOTER OBSERVATIONS OF JETS FROM YOUNG STARS

We present the first pilot study of jets from young stars conducted with X-shooter, on ESO/VLT. As it offers simultaneous, high quality spectra in the range 300-2500 nm X-shooter is uniquely important for spectral diagnostics in jet studies. We chose to probe the accretion/ejection mechanisms at low stellar masses examining two targets with well resolved continuous jets lying on the plane of the sky, ESO-HA 574 in Chamaleon I, and Par-Lup3-4 in Lupus III. The mass of the latter is close to the sub-stellar boundary (Mstar=0.13 Msun). A large number of emission lines probing regions of different excitation are identified, position-velocity diagrams are presented and mass outflow/accretion rates are estimated. Comparison between the two objects is striking. ESO-HA 574 is a weakly accreting star for which we estimate a mass accretion rate of log(\dot{Macc}) = -10.8 \pm 0.5 (in Msun/yr), yet it drives a powerful jet with \dot{Mout} ~ 1.5-2.7 10^-9 Msun/yr. These values can be reconciled with a magneto-centrifugal jet acceleration mechanism only assuming that the presence of the edge-on disk severely depresses the luminosity of the accretion tracers. In comparison Par-Lup3-4 with stronger mass accretion (log(\dot{Macc}) = -9.1 \pm 0.4 Msun/yr), drives a low excitation jet with about \dot{Mout} ~ 3.2 10^-10 Msun/yr in both lobes. Despite the low stellar mass, \dot{Mout} / \dot{Macc} for Par-Lup3-4 is at the upper limit of the range usually measured for young objects, but still compatible with a steady magneto-centrifugal wind scenario if all uncertainties are considered.

Atmospheric circulation associated with extreme generalized frosts persistence in central-southern South America

Generalized frosts (GF) in central-southern South America have a strong impact due to their spatial extension, and they are especially important when they become persistent. This paper aims at identifying the atmospheric circulation features that determine the extreme GF persistence, i.e. very persistent and without persistence, and the differences between them, during the 1961–1990 winters. Since the GF without persistence group outnumbers the other one, two subgroups are composed with events selected from winters with maximum and minimum frequency of GF occurrence, respectively. Additionally, the individual event of July 1988 within the very persistent GF group is analyzed due to its exceptional persistence. GF persistence is mainly conditioned by two large-scale dynamic factors. One is the Rossby wave train propagation across the Pacific Ocean, and the other one is the location with respect to the continent and the magnitude of the confluence in the jet entrance region in subtropical latitudes. A predominantly meridional Rossby wave train propagation with a confluence region to the west of the continent prior to the event favors GF with intermediate (null) persistence depending on the greater (lesser) jet acceleration. This is conditioned by the magnitude of the confluence, which, in turn, depends on the disposition of the wave train propagation pattern. Instead, an essentially zonal propagation with a confluence region to the east of the continent favors the GF persistence for several days, yet if there is no confluence the event does not persist. The greatest persistence of an event combines the confluence/diffluence of the jet entrance/exit region, which depends on the disposition with respect to the continent of the zonally propagating Rossby wave trains.

Launching proton-dominated jets from accreting Kerr Black Holes: the case of M87

A general relativistic model for the formation and acceleration of low mass-loaded jets from systems containing accreting black holes is presented. The model is based on previous numerical results and theoretical studies in the Newtonian regime, but modified to include the effects of space-time curvature in the vicinity of the event horizon of a spinning black hole. It is argued that the boundary layer between the Keplerian accretion disk and the event horizon is best suited for the formation and acceleration of the accretion-powered jets in active galactic nuclei and micro-quasars. The model presented here is based on matching the solutions of three different regions: i- a weakly magnetized Keplerian accretion disk in the outer part, where the transport of angular momentum is mediated through the magentorotational instability, ii- a strongly magnetized, advection-dominated and turbulent-free boundary layer (BL) between the outer cold accretion disk and the event horizon and where the plasma rotates sub-Keplerian and iii- a transition zone (TZ) between the BL and the overlying corona, where the electrons and protons are thermally uncoupled, highly dissipative and rotate super-Keplerian. In the BL, the gravitation-driven dynamical collapse of the plasma increases the strength of the poloidal magnetic field (PMF) significantly, subsequently suppressing the generation and dissipation of turbulence and turning off the primary source of heating. In this case, the BL appears much fainter than standard disk models so as if the disk truncates at a certain radius. The action of the PMF in the BL is to initiate torsional Alf`ven waves that transport angular momentum from the embedded plasma vertically into the TZ, where a significant fraction of the shear-generated toroidal magnetic field reconnects, thereby heating the protons up to the virial-temperature. Also, the strong PMF forces the electrons to cool rapidly, giving rise therefore to the formation of a gravitationally unbound two-temperature proton-dominated outflow. Our model predicts the known correlation between the Lorentz-factor and the spin parameter of the BH. It also shows that the effective surface of the BL, through which the baryons flow into the TZ, shrinks with increasing the spin parameter, implying therefore that low mass-loaded jets most likely originate from around Kerr black holes. When applying our model to the jet in the elliptical galaxy M87, we find a spin parameter a ∈ [0.99, 0.998], a transition radius rtr ≈ 30 gravitational radii and a fraction of 0.05 − 0.1 of the mass accretion rate goes into the TZ, where the plasma speeds up its outward-oriented motion to reach a Lorentz factor Γ ∈ [2.5, 5.0] at rtr.

Launching proton-dominated jets from accreting Kerr Black Holes: the case of M87

A general relativistic model for the formation and acceleration of low mass-loaded jets from systems containing accreting black holes is presented. The model is based on previous numerical results and theoretical studies in the Newtonian regime, but modified to include the effects of space-time curvature in the vicinity of the event horizon of a spinning black hole. It is argued that the boundary layer between the Keplerian accretion disk and the event horizon is best suited for the formation and acceleration of the accretion-powered jets in active galactic nuclei and micro-quasars. The model presented here is based on matching the solutions of three different regions: i- a weakly magnetized Keplerian accretion disk in the outer part, where the transport of angular momentum is mediated through the magentorotational instability, ii- a strongly magnetized, advection-dominated and turbulent-free boundary layer (BL) between the outer cold accretion disk and the event horizon and where the plasma rotates sub-Keplerian and iii- a transition zone (TZ) between the BL and the overlying corona, where the electrons and protons are thermally uncoupled, highly dissipative and rotate super-Keplerian. In the BL, the gravitation-driven dynamical collapse of the plasma increases the strength of the poloidal magnetic field (PMF) significantly, subsequently suppressing the generation and dissipation of turbulence and turning off the primary source of heating. In this case, the BL appears much fainter than standard disk models so as if the disk truncates at a certain radius. The action of the PMF in the BL is to initiate torsional Alf`ven waves that transport angular momentum from the embedded plasma vertically into the TZ, where a significant fraction of the shear-generated toroidal magnetic field reconnects, thereby heating the protons up to the virial-temperature. Also, the strong PMF forces the electrons to cool rapidly, giving rise therefore to the formation of a gravitationally unbound two-temperature proton-dominated outflow. Our model predicts the known correlation between the Lorentz-factor and the spin parameter of the BH. It also shows that the effective surface of the BL, through which the baryons flow into the TZ, shrinks with increasing the spin parameter, implying therefore that low mass-loaded jets most likely originate from around Kerr black holes. When applying our model to the jet in the elliptical galaxy M87, we find a spin parameter a ∈ [0.99, 0.998], a transition radius rtr ≈ 30 gravitational radii and a fraction of 0.05 − 0.1 of the mass accretion rate goes into the TZ, where the plasma speeds up its outward-oriented motion to reach a Lorentz factor Γ ∈ [2.5, 5.0] at rtr.

Launching proton-dominated jets from accreting Kerr Black Holes: the case of M87

A general relativistic model for the formation and acceleration of low mass-loaded jets from systems containing accreting black holes is presented. The model is based on previous numerical results and theoretical studies in the Newtonian regime, but modified to include the effects of space-time curvature in the vicinity of the event horizon of a spinning black hole. It is argued that the boundary layer between the Keplerian accretion disk and the event horizon is best suited for the formation and acceleration of the accretion-powered jets in active galactic nuclei and micro-quasars. The model presented here is based on matching the solutions of three different regions: i- a weakly magnetized Keplerian accretion disk in the outer part, where the transport of angular momentum is mediated through the magentorotational instability, ii- a strongly magnetized, advection-dominated and turbulent-free boundary layer (BL) between the outer cold accretion disk and the event horizon and where the plasma rotates sub-Keplerian and iii- a transition zone (TZ) between the BL and the overlying corona, where the electrons and protons are thermally uncoupled, highly dissipative and rotate super-Keplerian. In the BL, the gravitation-driven dynamical collapse of the plasma increases the strength of the poloidal magnetic field (PMF) significantly, subsequently suppressing the generation and dissipation of turbulence and turning off the primary source of heating. In this case, the BL appears much fainter than standard disk models so as if the disk truncates at a certain radius. The action of the PMF in the BL is to initiate torsional Alf`ven waves that transport angular momentum from the embedded plasma vertically into the TZ, where a significant fraction of the shear-generated toroidal magnetic field reconnects, thereby heating the protons up to the virial-temperature. Also, the strong PMF forces the electrons to cool rapidly, giving rise therefore to the formation of a gravitationally unbound two-temperature proton-dominated outflow. Our model predicts the known correlation between the Lorentz-factor and the spin parameter of the BH. It also shows that the effective surface of the BL, through which the baryons flow into the TZ, shrinks with increasing the spin parameter, implying therefore that low mass-loaded jets most likely originate from around Kerr black holes. When applying our model to the jet in the elliptical galaxy M87, we find a spin parameter <em>a ∈</em> [0.99, 0.998], a transition radius rtr ≈ 30 gravitational radii and a fraction of 0.05 − 0.1 of the mass accretion rate goes into the TZ, where the plasma speeds up its outward-oriented motion to reach a Lorentz factor Γ <em>∈</em> [2.5, 5.0] at rtr.

The formation of vortex rings in a strongly forced round jet

The periodic formation of vortex rings in the developing region of a round jet subjected to high-amplitude acoustic forcing is investigated with High-Speed Particle Image Velocimetry. Harmonic velocity oscillations ranging from 20 to 120% of the mean exit velocity of the jet was achieved at several forcing frequencies determined by the acoustic response of the system. The time-resolved history of the formation process and circulation of the vortex rings are evaluated as a function of the forcing conditions. Overall, high-amplitude forcing causes the shear layers of the jet to breakup into a train of large-scale vortex rings, which share many of the features of starting jets. Features of the jet breakup such as the roll-up location and vortex size were found to be both amplitude and frequency dependent. A limiting time-scale of t/T ≈ 0.33 based on the normalized forcing period was found to restrict the growth of a vortex ring in terms of its circulation for any given arrangement of jet forcing conditions. In sinusoidally forced jets, this time-scale corresponds to a kinematic constraint where the translational velocity of the vortex ring exceeds the shear layer velocity that imposes pinch-off. This kinematic constraint results from the change in sign in the jet acceleration between t = 0 and t = 0.33T. However, some vortex rings were observed to pinch-off before t = 0.33T suggesting that they had acquired their maximum circulation. By invoking the slug model approximations and defining the slug parameters based on the experimentally obtained time- and length-scales, an analytical model based on the slug and ring energies revealed that the formation number for a sinusoidally forced jet is L/D ≈ 4 in agreement with the results of Gharib et al. (J Fluid Mech 360:121–140, 1998).

AFTERGLOW OBSERVATIONS OFFERMILARGE AREA TELESCOPE GAMMA-RAY BURSTS AND THE EMERGING CLASS OF HYPER-ENERGETIC EVENTS

We present broadband (radio, optical, and X-ray) light curves and spectra of the afterglows of four long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs 090323, 090328, 090902B, and 090926A) detected by the Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor (GBM) and Large Area Telescope (LAT) instruments on the Fermi satellite. With its wide spectral bandpass, extending to GeV energies, Fermi is sensitive to GRBs with very large isotropic energy releases (10e54 erg). Although rare, these events are particularly important for testing GRB central-engine models. When combined with spectroscopic redshifts, our afterglow data for these four events are able to constrain jet collimation angles, the density structure of the circumburst medium, and both the true radiated energy release and the kinetic energy of the outflows. In agreement with our earlier work, we find that the relativistic energy budget of at least one of these events (GRB 090926A) exceeds the canonical value of 10e51 erg by an order of magnitude. Such energies pose a severe challenge for models in which the GRB is powered by a magnetar or neutrino-driven collapsar, but remain compatible with theoretical expectations for magneto-hydrodynamical (MHD) collapsar models. Our jet opening angles (theta) are similar to those found for pre-Fermi GRBs, but the large initial Lorentz factors (Gamma_0) inferred from the detection of GeV photons imply theta Gamma_0 ~ 70-90, values which are above those predicted in MHD models of jet acceleration. Finally, we find that these Fermi-LAT events preferentially occur in a low-density circumburst environment, and we speculate that this might result from the lower mass-loss rates of their lower-metallicity progenitor stars. Future studies of Fermi-LAT afterglows in the radio with the order-of-magnitude improvement in sensitivity offered by the EVLA should definitively establish the relativistic energy budgets of these events.

VLT integral field spectroscopy of embedded protostars: using near-infrared emission lines as tracers of accretion and outflow

Aims. We present near-infrared spectroscopy of the forbidden emission line (FEL) and molecular hydrogen emission line (MHEL) regions at the bases of Herbig-Haro (HH) jets from seven embedded protostars: SVS 13 (the HH 7-11 progenitor), HH 26-IRS, HH 34-IRS, HH 72-IRS, HH 83-IRS, HH 300-IRS (IRAS 04239+2436) and HH 999-IRS (IRAS 06047-1117) Methods. The integral field spectrograph, SINFONI, on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) was used to characterise jet parameters in these formative regions, where the jets are collimated and accelerated. Results. We find considerable differences in the spectra of HH 83-IRS when compared to the other six sources; CO bandhead and atomic permitted lines from Ca i ,N ai ,M gi and Al i are observed in emission in all but HH 83-IRS, where they are detected in absorption. It is likely that this source is more evolved than the others (or at the very least considerably less active). Strong CO bandhead emission is also detected in emission in the other six sources, while extended H2 ro-vibrational and [Fe ii] forbidden emission lines trace the outflows (only the HH jet from HH 83-IRS is undetected). CO bandhead and Brγ emission peaks are in most cases coincident with the jet source continuum position, consistent with excitation in an accretion disk or accretion flow. However, in the closest source, HH 300-IRS, we do find evidence for excitation in the outflow: here the emission peak is offset by 3.6(±0.7) AU along the flow axis. We also note a correlation between CO and Mg i ,N ai and Ca i intensities, which supports the idea that these atomic permitted lines are associated with accretion disks. From H2 and [Fe ii] images we measure jet widths and derive upper limits to flow component opening angles. Although we do not find that the ionised [Fe ii] component is consistently narrower than the H2 flow component, we do find that narrower H2 and/or [Fe ii] flow components are associated with higher radial velocities (as reported in the literature). Flow opening angles, over the first few hundred AU in each source, are measured to be in the range 21 ◦ –42 ◦ in both H2 and [Fe ii]. Finally, from our 3-D data we are also able to map the extinction and electron density at the base of the outflows from some of our targets: within a few hundred AU, both decrease sharply with distance from the source. Conclusions. It seems clear that collimated atomic and molecular jets, which may initially exhibit a wide opening angle, are a feature of outflows from Class I protostars, Class II T Tauri stars, and possibly even Class 0 sources, and that these jets can be traced to within a few hundred AU of the driving source. A common jet collimation and acceleration mechanism seems inescapable for all stages of low mass star formation.

Acceleration and emission of MHD driven, relativistic jets

Strong magnetic fields can efficiently extract rotational energy from compact objects launching the relativistic jets observed in active galactic nuclei (AGN), microquasars and gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) acceleration of jets in the ideal MHD limit is not an ultra-efficient process. This makes internal collisions an unlikely mechanism for the jet emission. I argue that non-ideal MHD effects may both boost the acceleration efficiency and power the jet emission. I show that much of the GRB and blazar phenomenology can be understood as result of magnetic dissipation and that the early afterglow phases from GRBs appear to support the picture of MHD driving.