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M. Herman, M. Lister (Purdue University)
The effects of different decelerations on the observed morphologies of young, parsec-scale relativistic jets are studied using a helical ridgeline model. A conical helix based on a fixed opening angle, initial phase angle, viewing angle, wavelength and handedness is assumed. The parameters of the model are derived from a fit to the radio jet of PKS 1345+125, a nearby peaked-spectrum active galaxy. Using relativistic Doppler corrections, the apparent intensities are calculated along the jet, assuming an initial Lorentz factor of 15.8. The effects on the optically thin radio synchrotron jet morphology are calculated using three different deceleration models; no deceleration, exponential deceleration and constant deceleration. For jets aligned fairly close to the plane of the sky, it is shown that the three models produce distinctively different intensities along the jet path. When no deceleration is present, the intensity varies greatly at several locations along the jet where the path is directed toward the viewer. Exponential deceleration yields relatively constant intensities along the entire jet. The constant deceleration shows larger intensities at the end of the jet compared to the beginning and middle. The implications of these results on the apparent morphologies of young AGN radio jets are discussed. This work is supported in part by NSF grant AST-0406923.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 5
© 2004. The American Astronomical Society.