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R.M. Sambruna (GMU), L. Maraschi (Oss. Brera), C.M. Urry (STScI), F. Tavecchio (Oss. Brera), R. Scarpa (ESO), T. Cheung (Brandeis University), G. Chartas (PSU), J.E. Pesce (GMU)
The Chandra discovery of an X-ray bright jet in the "first light" distant quasar PKS 0637-752 showed that the X-rays can be energetically dominant even at large distances from the core, and sparked renewed interest in jet physical properties. We recently suggested that the high X-ray luminosities of the jets of PKS 0637-752 and the well-known quasar 3C 273 may be produced by inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background by relativistic electrons in the jet, provided that the emitting plasma is in bulk relativistic motion on kpc scales. Are inverse Compton jets associated with higher redshifts sources? and what are the implications for jet's physical properties -- magnetic fields, beaming factors, radiative powers? To address these and other issues we are currently performing a systematic survey in the X-rays and optical of a well-designed sample of 17 radio jets, using Chandra and HST. The Chandra images of the first half a dozen sources encouragingly show a high detection rate (~ 67%) of the jet at X-rays, higher than at optical (38%). We will report the results of the Chandra and HST observations of the survey jets and discuss their implications.