A model for the image structure and spectral energy distribution of relativistic jets
Abstract
Upcoming advances in high-frequency VLBI promise to enable spatially resolved studies of astrophysical jets across an increasingly large source population. We present here a Python implementation of the semi-analytic model from Tsunetoe et al. (2025) for self-consistently interpreting the spatial and spectral structure of the synchrotron emission from such jets. The model is based on an axisymmetric force-free jet solution supplemented with a prescription for nonthermal electron heating, synchrotron cooling, pitch-angle anisotropy in the electron distribution, and radiative transfer along straight rays. We use this model to explore how the predicted spectral energy distribution depends on the model parameters, identifying approximately self-similar scalings with black hole mass, accretion rate, and electron heating efficiency. We also compare the model predictions against observations of M87 and Sgr A*. For M87, a single fiducial parameter set qualitatively reproduces VLBI images across multiple frequencies and matches the observed longitudinal intensity profile, while also yielding a broadband SED that is quantitatively consistent with the observed radio through X-ray measurements. For Sgr A*, a fit to the quiescent-state SED demonstrates that emission from a collimated jet with comparable nonthermal heating efficiency to M87's is quantitatively consistent with the observed radio through X-ray measurements, predicting a compact jet whose radio size decreases inversely with frequency, consistent with VLBI constraints.
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BibTeX
@misc{pesce2026model,
title = {{A model for the image structure and spectral energy distribution of relativistic jets}},
author = {Dominic W. Pesce and Ramesh Narayan and Yuh Tsunetoe},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.20961},
eprint = {2610.20961},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.20961},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A model for the image structure and spectral energy distribution of relativistic jets
AU - Dominic W. Pesce
AU - Ramesh Narayan
AU - Yuh Tsunetoe
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.20961
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.20961
AB - Upcoming advances in high-frequency VLBI promise to enable spatially resolved studies of astrophysical jets across an increasingly large source population. We present here a Python implementation of the semi-analytic model from Tsunetoe et al. (2025) for self-consistently interpreting the spatial and spectral structure of the synchrotron emission from such jets. The model is based on an axisymmetric force-free jet solution supplemented with a prescription for nonthermal electron heating, synchrotron cooling, pitch-angle anisotropy in the electron distribution, and radiative transfer along straight rays. We use this model to explore how the predicted spectral energy distribution depends on the model parameters, identifying approximately self-similar scalings with black hole mass, accretion rate, and electron heating efficiency. We also compare the model predictions against observations of M87 and Sgr A*. For M87, a single fiducial parameter set qualitatively reproduces VLBI images across multiple frequencies and matches the observed longitudinal intensity profile, while also yielding a broadband SED that is quantitatively consistent with the observed radio through X-ray measurements. For Sgr A*, a fit to the quiescent-state SED demonstrates that emission from a collimated jet with comparable nonthermal heating efficiency to M87's is quantitatively consistent with the observed radio through X-ray measurements, predicting a compact jet whose radio size decreases inversely with frequency, consistent with VLBI constraints.
ER -