Feedback and synchrotron emission from AGN jets

Wednesday 03 Nov 2021 @ 12:00 p.m., Zoom
Associate Professor Stas Shabala, University of Tasmania; Email: stanislav.shabala[at]utas.edu.au

Abstract

Relativistic jets associated with supermassive black holes are remarkable beasts. They are the most luminous objects in the radio sky; they accelerate particles to the highest energies known; and – by transferring some fraction of their enormous kinetic energy to the surrounding gas (so-called “AGN feedback”) – they regulate the evolution of the most massive galaxies over at least the last seven billion years.\nSensitive, high-resolution radio continuum observations with Square Kilometre Array (SKA) pathfinders are uncovering details of the complex interaction between kpc-scale AGN jets and their environments. I will present theoretical work on modelling the dynamics and synchrotron emission of these interactions, using a combination of numerical and analytical techniques. In this approach, the jet dynamics is described by 3D relativistic hydrodynamic simulations, while synchrotron emissivity is calculated in post-processing using an analytical model which fully accounts for the
relevant loss processes. I will present some examples of insights into mechanisms responsible for jet production and AGN feedback, gained through combining such models with multi-wavelength observations.