Pressure imbalance of FRII radio source lobes: a role of energetic proton population

Abstract

Recently Hardcastle & Worrall (MNRAS, 319, 562) analyzed 63 FRII radio galaxies imbedded in the X-ray radiating gas in galaxy clusters and concluded, that pressures inside its lobes seem to be a factor of a few lower than in the surrounding gas. One of explanations of the existing `blown up' radio lobes is the existence of invisible internal pressure component due to energetic cosmic ray nuclei (protons). Here we discuss a possible mechanism providing these particles in the acceleration processes acting at side boundaries of relativistic jets. The process can accelerate particles to ultra high energies with possibly a very hard spectrum. Its action provides also an additional viscous jet breaking mechanism. The work is still in progress.

LaTeX uses aipproc.cls, 3 pages, 1 figure, to be published in Proc. Texas Symp. on Relativistic Astrophysics, Austin 2000