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Jet–Environment Interactions as Diagnostics of Jet Physics

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Abstract

In this chapter, we will explore the interaction of jets with their environments. Jets can transport a sizable fraction of accretion energy away from black holes and neutron stars. Because they are collimated, they can travel to distances far beyond the gravitational sphere of influence of the black hole. Yet, their interaction with the interstellar and intergalactic medium must eventually halt their advance and dissipate the energy they carry. The termination of the jet, and the inflation of large scale cavities of relativistic plasma offers one of the most powerful ways to constrain the physics of jets. In this chapter, we will review the inflation of radio lobes, the propagation of hot spots, the creation of shells and cavities, and the bending of jet by proper motion through their environment, both in the context of AGN jets and microquasars.

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Correspondence to Sebastian Heinz.

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This work was supported by NSF grant AST1109347.

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Heinz, S. Jet–Environment Interactions as Diagnostics of Jet Physics. Space Sci Rev 183, 405–425 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-013-0016-4

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