Understanding the interplay between jets and ISM for winged radio galaxies

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the formation and early evolution phase of X-shaped radio galaxies using the Back-flow model. We show how the X-like winged morphology evolves over time in a tri-axial ambient medium, naturally. At this early stage of formation, we demonstrated that both the pair of jet lobes are actively pushing the ambient material out of their path of propagation, forming (X-ray) cavities that are surrounded by a shocked shell (X-ray bright rims) of swept materials. We also noticed how turbulent the wing is in comparison to the active lobe, generating sites of random shocks, indicating that the wings are not passively evolving structures. This study demonstrated that the ambiguous morphology observed in jets is also imprinted over the ambient medium, providing an alternative perspective in understanding the underlying physical process causing such ambiguities. Finally, we indicate that shearing instabilities cause mixing of ambient material at the shearing interface. © 2022 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.