Abstract
We have carried out some statistical tests of relativistic beaming and radio source orientation scenarios using the core dominance parameter Rand linear size D of a recent sample of double-lobed quasars and radio galaxies as orientation indicators. Our results show that the maximum Doppler boosting occurs within a cone angle of ∼ 13°corresponding to an optimum Lorentz factor of ∼ 5. On the average, quasar cores appear to be boosted by a factor of ∼ 10 relative to those of radio galaxies. In general, we found that quasars lie at closer angles to the line of sight than radio galaxies with median values of 28° and 51°respectively, implying a relative foreshortening factor of ∼ 2. These results are consistent with the simple relativistic beaming and orientation-based unification hypotheses in which quasars are the beamed counterparts of powerful radio galaxies which form the isotropic parent population. The results show a strong evidence that orientation of source axis with respect to the line of sight is a crucial parameter in the classification schemes for radio sources.
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Ubachukwu, A. Statistical Tests of the Unification Scheme for High Luminosity Double Radio Sources. Astrophysics and Space Science 279, 251–259 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015149502196
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015149502196