The Particle Content of Extragalactic Jets

Abstract

Recent x-ray and radio data from radio sources in galaxy clusters are used to show that the pdV work required to inflate the radio lobes exceeds all other energy estimates deduced from the radio emission. If the required jet energy density has an isotropic pressure, then in almost all cases the jet cannot be confined by an external medium. This problem can be resolved with jets dominated by cold protons, but even here the accompanying energy density in relativistic electons can cause decollimation. Electron-positron jets cannot solve this problem unless they are highly beamed with unusual energy distributions. Poynting flux jets may be a viable alternative.