Empirical model of the M 87 jet

The nature of the M87 jet is discussed. Recent observations of the M87 jet in radio, optical and X-ray regions, carried out with a sufficiently high resolving power, have revealed an identity of the brightness distribution at all frequencies. This points to a decisive role of the regular magnetic field variations along the jet for its overall structure. The bright knots of the jet are in the places where the field is enhanced. In the same places, a small fraction of relativistic electrons acquires large pitch-angles due to the interaction with plasma waves, leading to the synchrotron emission of the knots. The velocity of the plasma ejected from the nucleus of M87 should be 0.1 c. Thus, the M87 jet is one-sided