Statistical analysis of power-size-redshift distributions of extragalactic jets

This paper investigates whether a hot, sparse, yet cosmologically significant intergalactic medium is consistent with data collected from extragalactic radio sources. This is done by use of Monte Carlo simulations which employ previously run pseudohydrodynamical simulations to cover an observational parameter space. These observational parameters include the scale height, central density, and temperature of a (isothermal) galactic halo, and the power of the central engine which drives the jet. The Monte Carlo simulations generate distribution of sizes in bins of (received) power and redshift, which have been compared with observational data using Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Results of this analysis are consistent with the existence of an IGM with temperature and density mentioned above. In addition, this analysis suggests that the active lifetime of powerful extragalactic radio sources decreases with increasing power. 38 refs