Are jet speeds governed by accretion modes?

Abstract Relativistic jets are observed in both stellar-mass black hole X-ray binaries (BHXRBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGNs), yet their bulk Lorentz factors differ systematically—those in black hole X-ray binaries are typically below ~2, whereas AGN jets can reach ~50. The origin of this discrepancy remains unclear. Searching the literature, we compile a sample of 333 AGNs with well-measured jet component motions, consisting of 270 quasars, 47 BL Lac objects, 10 FR I, and 6 FR II galaxies. We find that quasars/FR IIs exhibit minimal bulk Lorentz factors ranging from ~1.0 to 41.5, with a mean of 11.5 (median 9.5). In contrast, BL Lac objects/FR Is show Γjet ~1.0–21.9, averaging 4.2 (median 1.5). These values, particularly the median, closely resemble those of BHXRBs, implying a strong correlation between jet speed and accretion mode. The Lorentz factor of a magnetically driven jet is mainly determined by the ratio of the magnetic pressure to rest mass energy density at the jet base. In BL Lacs/FRIs/BHXRBs, the field is maintained by the advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF), and the gas at the ADAF surface is magnetically driven into the jets. In quasars/FRIIs, the field is maintained by the disc, while the jet base is connected to the corona. Our model calculations show that the disc field is always much stronger than that of the ADAF, and therefore leads to a larger Γjet, which can explain the systematic difference in Γjet between these two types of sources.