Blowing bubbles: The impact of microquasar jets on the ISM

Heinz, Sebastian; Aloy, M. A.; Fender, R. P.; Russell, D. M.
Bibliographical reference

Proceedings of the VI Microquasar Workshop: Microquasars and Beyond. September 18-22, 2006, Como, Italy., p.57.1

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2006
Number of authors
4
IAC number of authors
0
Citations
0
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0
Description
Microquasars are in many ways similar to their massive counterparts, the radio loud population of AGNs. One aspect that is just beginning to receive the due amount of attention is their interaction with the interstellar medium. This interaction is similar on a qualitative level, but different quantitatively: The interstellar medium provides a much weaker barrier to microquasar jets than the intergalactic medium does to AGN jets. As is the case in AGN jets, the interaction of microquasar jets with the ISM should manifest itself through three observable channels, which we explore sequentially in this article: (a) the inflation of radio lobes, (b) the production of dense shells of swept up ISM around those lobes, and (c) the direct interaction of radio plasma with the ISM in the form of a working surface or hot spot. We present simple scaling relations that can be used as guides to design search campaigns and to analyze existing observations of lobes and shells around microquasars.