6533b833fe1ef96bd129c20e

RESEARCH PRODUCT

High--Resolution 3D Simulations of Relativistic Jets

M. A. AloyJ. M. IbanezJ. M. Marti J. L. GomezE. Muller

subject

Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical PhenomenaAstrophysics (astro-ph)FOS: Physical sciencesAstrophysics

description

We have performed high-resolution 3D simulations of relativistic jets with beam flow Lorentz factors up to 7, a spatial resolution of 8 cells per beam radius, and for up to 75 normalized time units to study the morphology and dynamics of 3D relativistic jets. Our simulations show that the coherent fast backflows found in axisymmetric models are not present in 3D models. We further find that when the jet is exposed to non-axisymmetric perturbations, (i) it does not display the strong perturbations found for 3D classical hydrodynamic and MHD jets (at least during the period of time covered by our simulations), and (ii) it does propagate according to the 1D estimate. Small 3D effects in the relativistic beam give rise to a lumpy distribution of apparent speeds like that observed in M87. The beam is surrounded by a boundary layer of high specific internal energy. The properties of this layer are briefly discussed.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
1999-06-26
10.1086/312266http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/9906428