The M87 jet: internal shocks in a plasma beam?

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Abstract
If the M87 radio source is energized by plasma beams collimated in the nucleus, then the optical ‘knots’ in the jet can be interpreted as internal shocks which develop from velocity irregularities in the beam. The optical continuum in the ‘knots’ is synchrotron emission from short-lived electrons accelerated by such shocks; lower energy electrons, with longer lifetimes, escape sideways to provide an energy input into the radio components. The fact that the optical jet is asymmetric with respect to the nucleus, despite the symmetry of the overall radio structure, implies either some difference between the beams, or relativistic speeds. In the latter case, the central ‘nozzles’ would have to vary on a characteristic time-scale of a few hundred years.

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