[en] In this paper, we report the first stages of an investigation into the X-ray properties of extragalactic jets. Our approach is to subject all sources for which X-ray emission has been detected by Chandra to uniform reduction procedures. Using Chandra archival data for 106 such sources, we measure X-ray fluxes in three bands and compare these to radio fluxes. We discuss the sample, the reduction methods, and present first results for the ratio of X-ray to radio flux for jet knots and hotspots. In particular, we apply statistical tests to various distributions of key observational parameters to evaluate differences between the different classes of sources. Subsequent papers will deal with various ramifications such as considerations of how well the observational data fulfill expectations of the different radiation processes proposed for the knots of FRI radio galaxies and quasars.

[en] We present a detailed analysis of the best-quality multiwavelength data gathered for the large-scale jet in the core-dominated quasar 3C 273. We analyze all the archival observations of the target with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the far-ultraviolet observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, and the 8.4 GHz map obtained with the Very Large Array. In our study, we focus on investigating the morphology of the outflow at different frequencies, and therefore we apply various techniques for the image deconvolution, paying particular attention to a precise modeling of the Chandra and Hubble point-spread functions. We find that the prominent brightness enhancements in the X-ray and far-ultraviolet jet of 3C 273—the “knots”—are not point-like, and can be resolved transversely as extended features with sizes of about $\simeq <!--\; ???\; -->0.5\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}$. Also, the radio outflow is wider than the deconvolved X-ray/ultraviolet jet. We have also found circumstantial evidence that the intensity peaks of the X-ray knots are located systematically upstream of the corresponding radio intensity peaks, with the projected spatial offsets along the jet ranging from $\lesssim <!--\; ???\; -->0.2\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}$ up to $\simeq <!--\; ???\; -->1\mathrm{k}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{c}$. We discuss our findings in the wider context of multi-component models for the emission and structure of large-scale quasar jets, and speculate on the physical processes enabling an efficient acceleration of the emitting ultrarelativistic electrons along the entire jet length that exceeds 100 kpc.

[en] We report the discovery of a one-sided 3.''6 (24 kpc, projected) long jet in the high-redshift, z = 4.72, quasar GB 1428+4217 in new Chandra X-ray and Very Large Array (VLA) radio observations. This is the highest redshift kiloparsec-scale X-ray/radio jet known. Analysis of archival very long baseline interferometry 2.3 and 8.6 GHz data reveal a faint one-sided jet extending out to ∼200 pc and aligned to within ∼30° of the Chandra/VLA emission. The 3.''6 distant knot is not detected in an archival Hubble Space Telescope image, and its broadband spectral energy distribution is consistent with an origin from inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons for the X-rays. Assuming also equipartition between the radiating particles and magnetic field, the implied jet Lorentz factor is ≈5. This is similar to the other two known z ∼ 4 kpc scale X-ray jet cases and smaller than typically inferred in lower-redshift cases. Although there are still but a few such very high redshift quasar X-ray jets known, for an inverse Compton origin, the present data suggest that they are less relativistic on large scales than their lower-redshift counterparts.

[en] This paper contains an analysis of short Chandra observations of 19 3C sources with redshifts between 0.3 and 0.5 not previously observed in the X-rays. This sample is part of a project to obtain Chandra data for all of the extragalactic sources in the 3C catalog. Nuclear X-ray intensities as well as any X-ray emission associated with radio jet knots, hotspots, or lobes have been measured in three energy bands: soft, medium, and hard. Standard X-ray spectral analysis for the four brightest nuclei has also been performed. X-ray emission was detected for all the nuclei of the radio sources in the current sample with the exception of 3C 435A. There is one compact steep spectrum source while all the others are FR II radio galaxies. X-ray emission from two galaxy clusters (3C 19 and 3C 320), from six hotspots in four radio galaxies (3C 16, 3C 19, 3C 268.2, 3C 313), and extended X-ray emission on kiloparsec scales in 3C 187 and 3C 313, has been detected.

[en] We investigate the variability timescales in the jet of M87 with two goals. The first is to use the rise times and decay times in the radio, ultraviolet, and X-ray light curves of HST-1 to constrain the source size and the energy loss mechanisms affecting the relativistic electron distributions. HST-1 is the first jet knot clearly resolved from the nuclear emission by Chandra and is the site of the huge flare of 2005. We find clear evidence for a frequency-dependent decrease in the synchrotron flux being consistent with E ² energy losses. Assuming that this behavior is predominantly caused by synchrotron cooling, we estimate a value of 0.6 mG for the average magnetic field strength of the HST-1 emission region, a value consistent with previous estimates of the equipartition field. In the process of analyzing the first derivative of the X-ray light curve of HST-1, we discovered a quasi-periodic oscillation which was most obvious in 2003 and 2004 prior to the major flare in 2005. The four cycles observed have a period of order six months. The second goal is to search for evidence of differences between the X-ray variability timescales of HST-1 and the unresolved nuclear region (diameter <0.''6). These features, separated by more than 60 pc, are the two chief contenders for the origin of the TeV variable emissions observed by H.E.S.S. in 2005 and by MAGIC and VERITAS in 2008. The X-ray variability of the nucleus appears to be at least twice as rapid as that of the HST-1 knot. However, the shortest nuclear variability timescale we can measure from the Chandra data (≤20 days) is still significantly longer than the shortest TeV variability of M87 reported by the H.E.S.S. and MAGIC telescopes (1-2 days).

[en] As part of our program to build a complete radio and X-ray database of all Third Cambridge catalog extragalactic radio sources, we present an analysis of 93 sources for which Chandra archival data are available. Most of these sources have already been published. Here we provide a uniform re-analysis and present nuclear X-ray fluxes and X-ray emission associated with radio jet knots and hotspots using both publicly available radio images and new radio images that have been constructed from data available in the Very Large Array archive. For about 1/3 of the sources in the selected sample, a comparison between the Chandra and radio observations was not reported in the literature: we find X-ray detections of 2 new radio jet knots and 17 hotspots. We also report the X-ray detection of extended emission from the intergalactic medium for 15 galaxy clusters

[en] Here we analyze radio, optical, and X-ray data for the peculiar cluster Abell 578. This cluster is not fully relaxed and consists of two merging sub-systems. The brightest cluster galaxy (BCG), CGPG 0719.8+6704, is a pair of interacting ellipticals with projected separation ∼10 kpc, the brighter of which hosts the radio source 4C+67.13. The Fanaroff–Riley type-II radio morphology of 4C+67.13 is unusual for central radio galaxies in local Abell clusters. Our new optical spectroscopy revealed that both nuclei of the CGPG 0719.8+6704 pair are active, albeit at low accretion rates corresponding to the Eddington ratio $\sim <!--\; ???\; -->{10}^{-<!--\; ???\; -->4}$ (for the estimated black hole masses of $\sim <!--\; ???\; -->3\times <!--\; ??\; -->{10}^8{M}_{\odot <!--\; ???\; -->}$ and $\sim <!--\; ???\; -->{10}^9{M}_{\odot <!--\; ???\; -->}$). The gathered X-ray (Chandra) data allowed us to confirm and to quantify robustly the previously noted elongation of the gaseous atmosphere in the dominant sub-cluster, as well as a large spatial offset (∼60 kpc projected) between the position of the BCG and the cluster center inferred from the modeling of the X-ray surface brightness distribution. Detailed analysis of the brightness profiles and temperature revealed also that the cluster gas in the vicinity of 4C+67.13 is compressed (by a factor of about ∼1.4) and heated (from $\simeq <!--\; ???\; -->2.0$ keV up to 2.7 keV), consistent with the presence of a weak shock (Mach number ∼1.3) driven by the expanding jet cocoon. This would then require the jet kinetic power of the order of $\sim <!--\; ???\; -->{10}^{45}$ erg s⁻¹, implying either a very high efficiency of the jet production for the current accretion rate, or a highly modulated jet/accretion activity in the system.

[en] We report on the X-ray emission from the radio jet of 3C 17 from Chandra observations and compare the X-ray emission with radio maps from the VLA archive and with the optical-IR archival images from the Hubble Space Telescope. X-ray detections of two knots in the 3C 17 jet are found and both of these features have optical counterparts. We derive the spectral energy distribution for the knots in the jet and give source parameters required for the various X-ray emission models, finding that both inverse Compton (IC)/cosmic microwave background (CMB) and synchrotron are viable to explain the high energy emission. A curious optical feature (with no radio or X-ray counterparts) possibly associated with the 3C 17 jet is described. We also discuss the use of curved jets for the problem of identifying IC X-ray emission via scattering on CMB photons.

[en] Here we present the analysis of multifrequency data gathered for the Fanaroff-Riley type-II (FR II) radio galaxy PKS B1358-113, hosted in the brightest cluster galaxy in the center of A1836. The galaxy harbors one of the most massive black holes known to date, and our analysis of the acquired optical data reveals that this black hole is only weakly active, with a mass accretion rate M-dot _acc∼2×10⁻⁴ M-dot _Edd∼0.02 M_⊙ yr^–1. Based on analysis of new Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray observations and archival radio data, and assuming the well-established model for the evolution of FR II radio galaxies, we derive the preferred range for the jet kinetic luminosity L _j ∼ (1-6) × 10^–3 L _Edd ∼ (0.5-3) × 10⁴⁵ erg s^–1. This is above the values implied by various scaling relations proposed for radio sources in galaxy clusters, being instead very close to the maximum jet power allowed for the given accretion rate. We also constrain the radio source lifetime as τ_j ∼ 40-70 Myr, meaning the total amount of deposited jet energy E _tot ∼ (2-8) × 10⁶⁰ erg. We argue that approximately half of this energy goes into shock heating of the surrounding thermal gas, and the remaining 50% is deposited into the internal energy of the jet cavity. The detailed analysis of the X-ray data provides indication for the presence of a bow shock driven by the expanding radio lobes into the A1836 cluster environment. We derive the corresponding shock Mach number in the range M_sh∼2--4, which is one of the highest claimed for clusters or groups of galaxies. This, together with the recently growing evidence that powerful FR II radio galaxies may not be uncommon in the centers of clusters at higher redshifts, supports the idea that jet-induced shock heating may indeed play an important role in shaping the properties of clusters, galaxy groups, and galaxies in formation. In this context, we speculate on a possible bias against detecting stronger jet-driven shocks in poorer environments, resulting from inefficient electron heating at the shock front, combined with a relatively long electron-ion temperature equilibration timescale.

[en] We present the analysis of nine radio sources belonging to the Third Cambridge Revised catalog (3CR) observed with Chandra during Cycle 20 in the redshift range between 1.5 and 2.5. This study completes the 3CR Chandra Snapshot Survey thus guaranteeing the X-ray coverage of all 3CR sources identified to date. This sample lists two compact steep spectrum sources, four radio galaxies, and three quasars. We detected X-ray emission from all nuclei, with the only exception of 3C 326.1 and 3C 454.1 and from radio lobes in six out of nine sources at a level of confidence larger than ∼5σ. We measured X-ray fluxes and luminosities for all nuclei and lobes in the soft (0.5–1 keV), medium (1–2 keV), and hard (2–7 keV) X-ray bands. Since the discovered X-ray extended emission is spatially coincident with the radio structure in all cases, its origin could be due to inverse Compton (IC) scattering of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) occurring in radio lobes.