Effect of Expansion and Magnetic Field Configuration on Mass Entrainment of Jets

We investigate the growth of jet plus entrained mass in simulations of supermagnetosonic cylindrical and expanding jets. The entrained mass spatially grows in three stages: from an initially slow spatial rate to a faster rate and finally at a flatter rate. These stages roughly coincide with the similar rates of expansion in simulated radio intensity maps, and also appear related to the growth of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability through linear, nonlinear, and saturated regimes. In the supermagnetosonic cylindrical jets, we found that a jet with an embedded primarily toroidal magnetic field is more stable than a jet with a primarily axial magnetic field. Also, pressure-matched expanding jets are more stable and entrain less mass than cylindrical jets with equivalent inlet conditions.

On the structure and stability of magnetic tower jets

Modern theoretical models of astrophysical jets combine accretion, rotation, and magnetic fields to launch and collimate supersonic flows from a central source. Near the source, magnetic field strengths must be large enough to collimate the jet requiring that the Poynting flux exceeds the kinetic-energy flux. The extent to which the Poynting flux dominates kinetic energy flux at large distances from the engine distinguishes two classes of models. In magneto-centrifugal launch (MCL) models, magnetic fields dominate only at scales $lesssim 100$ engine radii, after which the jets become hydrodynamically dominated (HD). By contrast, in Poynting flux dominated (PFD) magnetic tower models, the field dominates even out to much larger scales. To compare the large distance propagation differences of these two paradigms, we perform 3-D ideal MHD AMR simulations of both HD and PFD stellar jets formed via the same energy flux. We also compare how thermal energy losses and rotation of the jet base affects the stability in these jets. For the conditions described, we show that PFD and HD exhibit observationally distinguishable features: PFD jets are lighter, slower, and less stable than HD jets. Unlike HD jets, PFD jets develop current-driven instabilities that are exacerbated as cooling and rotation increase, resulting in jets that are clumpier than those in the HD limit. Our PFD jet simulations also resemble the magnetic towers that have been recently created in laboratory astrophysical jet experiments.

The Reduction of Magnetic Reconnection Outflow Jets to Sub-Alfvenic Speeds

The outflow velocity of jets produced by collisionless magnetic reconnection is shown to be reduced by the ion exhaust temperature in simulations and observations. We derive a scaling relationship for the outflow velocity based on the upstream Alfven speed and the parallel ion exhaust temperature, which is verified in kinetic simulations and observations. The outflow speed reduction is shown to be due to the firehose instability criterion, and so for large enough guide fields this effect is suppressed and the outflow speed reaches the upstream Alfven speed based on the reconnecting component of the magnetic field.

Propagation and stability of relativistic jets

A simple look at the steady high-energy Universe reveals a clear correlation with outflows generated around compact objects (winds and jets). In the case of relativistic jets, they are thought to be produced as a consequence of the extraction of rotational energy from a Kerr black hole (Blandford-Znajek), or from the disc (Blandford-Payne). A fraction of the large energy budget provided by accretion and/or black hole rotational energy is invested into jet formation. After formation, the acceleration and collimation of these outflows allow them to propagate to large distances away from the compact object. The synchrotron cooling times demand that re-acceleration of particles takes place along the jets to explain high-energy and very-high-energy emission from kiloparsec scales. At these scales, jets in radio galaxies are divided in two main morphological/luminosity types, namely, Fanaroff-Riley type I and II (FRI, FRII), the latter being more luminous, collimated and edge-brightened than the former, which show clear hints of decollimation and deceleration. In this contribution, I summarise a set of mechanisms that may contribute to dissipate magnetic and kinetic energy: Magnetohydrodynamic instabilities or jet-obstacle interactions trigger shocks, shearing and mixing, which are plausible scenarios for particle acceleration. I also derive an expression for the expected distance in which the entrainment by stellar winds starts to be relevant, which is applicable to FRI jets. Finally, I discuss the differences in the evolutionary scenarios and the main dissipative mechanisms that take place in extragalactic and microquasar jets.