Bridging simulations of kink instability in relativistic magnetized jets with radio emission and polarisation

Abstract

Relativistic outflows emanating from active galactic nuclei can extend up to kiloparsec scales in length, displaying a variety of complex morphologies. This study explores the intricate morphologies of such relativistic jets, mainly focusing on creating a bridge between magnetic instabilities in jets with observational signatures from complex radio galaxies. In particular, we aim to study the role of dynamical instabilities in forming distinctive morphological features by employing 3D relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) simulations of rotating jets. Our simulations have further used the hybrid Eulerian-Lagrangian framework of the PLUTO code and generated the synthetic synchrotron emission and polarisation maps to compare with the observed signatures. Our analysis based on simulations of a continuously injected jet suggests that current-driven instabilities, notably the |m|=1 mode, generate ribs-like structures that are seen in some of the recent radio galaxies using MeerKat, e.g. MysTail. In our contrasting simulations of the restarted jet, the kink-instability driven ribs-like structures were formed relatively near the nozzle. In both cases, the jet dissipates its pre-existing magnetic energy through these instabilities, transitioning to a more kinetic energy dominant state. The turbulent structures resulting from this dissipation phase are filamentary and resemble the tethers as observed for the case of MysTail. This pilot study essentially provides a plausible qualitative explanation by bridging simulations of kink instability to produce synthetic radio features resembling the observed complex radio morphology of MysTail. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.