On the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?

We evaluated the jet power and the density of ambient matter in 3C 84 by using the momentum balance along the jet axis and the transonic condition for the cocoons observed at two different scales (approximately 1 and 6 pc). For the inner cocoon, we precisely determined the ratio of jet power to ambi...

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Main Authors: Nozomu Kawakatu, Motoki Kino, Keiichi Wada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adea6d
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author Nozomu Kawakatu
Motoki Kino
Keiichi Wada
author_facet Nozomu Kawakatu
Motoki Kino
Keiichi Wada
author_sort Nozomu Kawakatu
collection DOAJ
description We evaluated the jet power and the density of ambient matter in 3C 84 by using the momentum balance along the jet axis and the transonic condition for the cocoons observed at two different scales (approximately 1 and 6 pc). For the inner cocoon, we precisely determined the ratio of jet power to ambient density L _j / n _a to be (0.3–0.7) × 10 ^43 erg s ^−1 cm ^3 . Similarly, for the outer cocoon, we found that this value is more than an order of magnitude larger at (0.9–3.7) × 10 ^44 erg s ^−1 cm ^3 . This indicates that the outer cocoon is formed by a powerful jet that propagates through an ambient density of 20–300 cm ^−3 with a jet power of 10 ^45−46.5 erg s ^−1 . On the other hand, the inner cocoon is formed by a weaker jet with a power of 10 ^43−44 erg s ^−1 , propagating through a relatively low-density environment of 6–20 cm ^−3 . These results suggest that (1) with respect to the difference in n _a , it appears to support the hypothesis that the inner cocoon, recently formed about 10 yr ago, is expanding in the low-density environment created by the jet emitted about 25–50 yr ago; (2) to achieve the short-lived and high L _j that generated the outer cocoon, a large mass-accretion rate is required over a short period to activate the jet. These may imply an extreme accretion event driven by the tidal disruption events of massive stars and/or the disk instability.
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spelling doaj-art-7b3694addd7544698892c899e36f3df22025-08-20T03:36:35ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01989219110.3847/1538-4357/adea6dOn the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?Nozomu Kawakatu0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2535-5513Motoki Kino1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2709-7338Keiichi Wada2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8779-8486Faculty of Natural Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Kure College , 2-2-11 Agaminami, Kure, Hiroshima, 737-8506, Japan ; kawakatsu@kure-nct.ac.jp; Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University , Kagoshima 890-0065, JapanKogakuin University of Technology & Engineering , Academic Support Center, 2665-1 Nakano, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0015, Japan; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JapanGraduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University , Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan; Research Center for Space and Cosmic Evolution, Ehime University , Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan; Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University , Sapporo 060-0810, JapanWe evaluated the jet power and the density of ambient matter in 3C 84 by using the momentum balance along the jet axis and the transonic condition for the cocoons observed at two different scales (approximately 1 and 6 pc). For the inner cocoon, we precisely determined the ratio of jet power to ambient density L _j / n _a to be (0.3–0.7) × 10 ^43 erg s ^−1 cm ^3 . Similarly, for the outer cocoon, we found that this value is more than an order of magnitude larger at (0.9–3.7) × 10 ^44 erg s ^−1 cm ^3 . This indicates that the outer cocoon is formed by a powerful jet that propagates through an ambient density of 20–300 cm ^−3 with a jet power of 10 ^45−46.5 erg s ^−1 . On the other hand, the inner cocoon is formed by a weaker jet with a power of 10 ^43−44 erg s ^−1 , propagating through a relatively low-density environment of 6–20 cm ^−3 . These results suggest that (1) with respect to the difference in n _a , it appears to support the hypothesis that the inner cocoon, recently formed about 10 yr ago, is expanding in the low-density environment created by the jet emitted about 25–50 yr ago; (2) to achieve the short-lived and high L _j that generated the outer cocoon, a large mass-accretion rate is required over a short period to activate the jet. These may imply an extreme accretion event driven by the tidal disruption events of massive stars and/or the disk instability.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adea6dActive galactic nucleiRadio galaxiesRelativistic jetsTidal disruption
spellingShingle Nozomu Kawakatu
Motoki Kino
Keiichi Wada
On the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?
The Astrophysical Journal
Active galactic nuclei
Radio galaxies
Relativistic jets
Tidal disruption
title On the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?
title_full On the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?
title_fullStr On the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?
title_full_unstemmed On the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?
title_short On the Origin of the Short-lived Cocoon in 3C 84: Powered by Tidal Disruption Events?
title_sort on the origin of the short lived cocoon in 3c 84 powered by tidal disruption events
topic Active galactic nuclei
Radio galaxies
Relativistic jets
Tidal disruption
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/adea6d
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