Magnetic field and plasma number density from radio and millimeter core measurements in AGN jets

Abstract Understanding the mechanism for launching relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei relies upon measuring the magnetic field strength and emitting plasma number density, tracing their evolution along the jet, and determining the relation between their rest frame energy densities. This can be achieved using measurements of the size and brightness temperature of the compact region at the jet base (the ‘core’) obtained with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) across frequencies from 2 to 230 GHz. We develop a framework for independently estimating the magnetic field B* and the emitting plasma number density N* as functions of the jet width d, using multifrequency VLBI observations of the core size and brightness temperature. We apply the standard model of self-absorbed synchrotron emission, assuming power-law dependencies of the jet Doppler factor, Lorentz factor, magnetic field strength, and plasma density on the jet width. For an arbitrary jet boundary shape, we derive the dependencies B*(d) and N*(d), and explore a possible relation between the rest frame energy densities of the magnetic field and the emitting plasma. Analysis of core widths and brightness temperatures measured at multiple frequencies points to the possible presence of a magnetic flux decay and effective plasma acceleration within the observed cores at least in some sources of the sample.