Coaxial Jets and Sheaths in Wide-Angle-Tail Radio Galaxies

Abstract

We add 20, 6 and 3.6 cm wavelength VLA observations of two WATs, 1231+674 and 1433+553, to existing VLA data at 6 and 20 cm, in order to study the variations of spectral index as a function of position. We apply the spectral tomography process that we introduced in our analysis of 3C67, 3C190 and 3C449. Both spectral tomography and polarization maps indicate that there are two distinct extended components in each source. As in the case of 3C449, we find that each source has a flat spectrum jet surrounded by a steeper spectrum sheath. The steep components tend to be more highly polarized than the flat components. We discuss a number of possibilities for the dynamics of the jet/sheath systems, and the evolution of their relativistic electron populations. While the exact nature of these two coaxial components is still uncertain, their existence requires new models of jets in FR I sources and may also have implications for the dichotomy between FR Is and FR IIs.