Making Faranoff-Riley I radio sources

Radio sources of low power are the most common in the universe. Their jets typically move at nonrelativistic velocity and show plume-like morphologies that in many instances appear distorted and bent. We investigate the role of magnetic field on the propagation and evolution of low-power jets and the connection between the field intensity and the resulting morphology. The problem is addressed by means of three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations. We consider supersonic jets that propagate in a stratified medium. The ambient temperature increases with distance from the jet origin maintaining constant pressure. Jets with low magnetization show an enhanced collimation at small distances with respect to hydrodynamic (HD) cases studied in a previous paper. These jets eventually evolve in a way similar to the HD cases. Jets with higher magnetization are affected by strong nonaxisymmetric modes that lead to the sudden jet energy release. From there on, distorted plumes of jet material move at subsonic velocities. This transition is associated with the formation of structures reminiscent of the “warm spots” observed in wide-angle-tail (WAT) sources.

Weak-field general relativistic dynamics and the Newtonian limit

We show that the generally held view that the gravity of weak-field nonrelativistic-velocity sources being invariably almost equivalent to Newtonian gravity (NG) (the “Newtonian limit” approach) is in some instances misleading and in other cases incorrect. A particularly transparent example is provided by comparing the Newtonian and general relativistic analyses of a simple variant of van Stockum’s infinite rotating dust cylinder. We show that some very recent criticisms of our work that had been motivated by the Newtonian limit approach were incorrect and note that no specific errors in our work were found in the critique. In the process, we underline some problems that arise from inappropriate coordinate transformations. As further support for our methodology, we note that our weak-field general relativistic treatment of a model galaxy was vindicated recently by the observations of Xu et al. regarding our prediction that the Milky Way was 19–21 kpc in radius as opposed to the commonly held view that the radius was 15 kpc.