A new model of emission from microquasar jets, and possible explanation to the outliers of the fundamental plane

Asaf Pe'Er, Piergiorgio Casella

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

We present a new model of emission from jets in microquasars, which implements elements from the study of jets in gamma-ray bursts to these objects. By assuming that electrons are accelerated once at the base of the jet to a power law distribution above a low energy Maxwellian, and are cooled by synchrotron emission and possible adiabatic energy losses along the jet, a wealth of spectra can be obtained. We show our theoretical results which can explain some of the key observations. In particular, we show that: (I) a flat radio spectrum, as is frequently seen, is a natural outcome of the model; (II) Strong magnetic field results in a flux decay in the optical/UV band as Fν ∼ ν -1/ 2 , irrespective of many of the uncertainties of the model. (III) An increase of the magnetic field above a critical value of ∼ 105 G leads to a sharp decrease in the flux at the radio band, while the flux at higher frequencies saturates to a constant value. We conclude that scatter in the values of the magnetic field may provide a natural explanation to the observed scatter in the radio/X ray luminosity correlation seen in these objects.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationJets at all Scales
PublisherCambridge University Press
Pages303-304
Number of pages2
EditionS275
ISBN (Print)9780521766074
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2010
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameProceedings of the International Astronomical Union
NumberS275
Volume6
ISSN (Print)1743-9213
ISSN (Electronic)1743-9221

Keywords

  • Outflows
  • Plasmas
  • Radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
  • Stars: winds
  • X-rays: binaries

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