论文标题
将加速度分解为沿Centaurus a喷气机的极高能量
Resolving acceleration to very high energies along the Jet of Centaurus A
论文作者
论文摘要
附近的射电星系半人马座A属于一类活跃星系,它们在无线电波长处非常发光。这些星系中的大多数显示了一种名为喷气机的相对论流出的流出,它们扩展了成千上万的parsecs,以提供最强大的来源。据信,物质上的物质会为这些喷气机加油并为其发射供电,无线电发射与磁场中相对论电子的同步辐射有关。尽管CEN A的X射线发射发射起源于电子同步器过程,但在这些来源的Kiloparsec尺度喷气机中看到的扩展X射线发射的起源仍然是一个争论的问题。另一个可能的解释是用CMB软光子逆康普顿(IC)散射。同步加速器辐射需要超流行电子($ \ sim50 $ tev),并且给定其短冷却时间,需要某种连续的重新加速机制才能保持活跃。另一方面,IC散射不需要非常有活力的电子,而需要在大尺度上保持高度相对论的喷射($ \ geq $ 1 MPC),并且与视线保持一致。尽管其他证据似乎与它们兼容,但最近有一些证据不利的Compton-CMB模型逆向。原则上,检测扩展的伽玛射线发射,直接探测超浮动电子的存在,可以区分这些选项,但迄今无法解析相关结构。在GEV Energies,CEN A中还存在异常的光谱硬化,其解释尚不清楚。在这里,我们报告了解决大规模喷射的TEV Energies中CEN A的观察结果。我们将数据解释为射流中超浮动电子的加速度的证据,并有利于X射线的同步加速器解释。
The nearby radio galaxy Centaurus A belongs to a class of Active Galaxies that are very luminous at radio wavelengths. The majority of these galaxies show collimated relativistic outflows known as jets, that extend over hundreds of thousands of parsecs for the most powerful sources. Accretion of matter onto the central super-massive black hole is believed to fuel these jets and power their emission, with the radio emission being related to the synchrotron radiation of relativistic electrons in magnetic fields. The origin of the extended X-ray emission seen in the kiloparsec-scale jets from these sources is still a matter of debate, although Cen A's X-ray emission has been suggested to originate in electron synchrotron processes. The other possible explanation is Inverse Compton (IC) scattering with CMB soft photons. Synchrotron radiation needs ultra-relativistic electrons ($\sim50$ TeV), and given their short cooling times, requires some continuous re-acceleration mechanism to be active. IC scattering, on the other hand, does not require very energetic electrons, but requires jets that stay highly relativistic on large scales ($\geq$1 Mpc) and that remain well-aligned with the line of sight. Some recent evidence disfavours inverse Compton-CMB models, although other evidence seems to be compatible with them. In principle, the detection of extended gamma-ray emission, directly probing the presence of ultra-relativistic electrons, could distinguish between these options, but instruments have hitherto been unable to resolve the relevant structures. At GeV energies there is also an unusual spectral hardening in Cen A, whose explanation is unclear. Here we report observations of Cen A at TeV energies that resolve its large-scale jet. We interpret the data as evidence for the acceleration of ultra-relativistic electrons in the jet, and favour the synchrotron explanation for the X-rays.