CHANDRA Observations of X-ray jet structure on kps to Mpc scales

With its exquisite spatial resolution of better than 0.5 arcsec, the Chandra observatory is uniquely capable of resolving and studying the spatial structure of extragalactic X-ray jets on scales of a few to a few hundred kilo-parsec. Our analyses of four recent Chandra images of quasar jets interpret the X-ray emission as inverse Compton scattering of high energy electrons on the cosmic microwave background. We infer that these jets are in bulk relativistic motion, carrying kinetic powers upwards of 1046 ergs s-1 to distances of hundreds of kpc, with very high efficiency. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.