Abstract
Recent radio, optical and near-infrared observations of the dominant hotspot at the outer end of the quasar jet 3C273A have revealed a complex spectrum, significantly different from a simple power law, which provides a unique probe of the acceleration process supplying the synchrotron-emitting electrons. Here we present theoretical calculations of the electron spectrum produced by non-relativistic shock acceleration which, for the first time, include both synchrotron losses and a finite emission region. The resultant synchrotron spectrum fits the observations, providing a natural explanation for the steep spectrum at radio to infrared frequencies, the observed flattening at ν < νb = 1.5 GHz, and the cutoff above νc = 2 × 1014 Hz. Our model yields a new magnetic field estimate of 70 nT, remarkably similar to that derived from minimum-energy calculations, as well as an estimate for the electron mean free path. We predict that the optical emission region is only ∼1 pc thick, increasing with decreasing observation frequency as ν−1/2.
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Meisenheimer, K., Heavens, A. Particle acceleration in the hotspot of the jet of quasar 3C273. Nature 323, 419–422 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323419a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323419a0
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