ABSTRACT. During the course of an investigation of the interaction of the radio galaxy M84 and its ambient cluster gas, we found excess X-ray emission aligned with the northern radio jet. The emission extends from the X-ray core of the host galaxy as a weak bridge and then brightens to a local peak coincident with the first detectable radio knot at 25 from the core. The second radio knot at 33 is brighter in both radio and X-ray. The X-ray jet terminates 39 from the core. Although all the evidence suggests that Doppler favoritism augments the emission of the northern jet, it is unlikely that the excess X-ray emission is produced by inverse Compton emission. We find many similarities between the M84 X-ray jet and recent jet detections from Chandra data of low-luminosity radio galaxies. For most of these current detections, synchrotron emission is the favored explanation for the observed X-rays.

Subject headings: galaxies: active; galaxies: individual (M84); galaxies: jets; radiation mechanisms: non-thermal; radio continuum: galaxies; X-rays: galaxies

Print publication: Issue 1 (2002 November 20)
Received 2002 April 19, accepted for publication 2002 July 24