A Probe of the Matter Content of Quasar Jets

We propose a method for estimating the matter content of quasar jets which exhibit Chandra detected knots in their kpc scale jets. The method relies on measuring the component of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation that is bulk-Comptonized (BC) by the cold electrons in the relativistically flowing jet. We apply our method to PKS 0637 – 752, a superluminal quasar with an one – sided Chandra – detected large scale jet. What makes this source particularly suited for such a procedure is the absence of significant non-thermal jet emission in the bridge, the region between the core and the first bright knot, guaranteeing that most of the electrons in the bridge are cold, and leaving the BC scattered CMB radiation as the only significant source of photons in this region. At λ = 3.6 − 8.0 μm, the most likely band for the BC scattered emission to appear, the angular resolution of Spitzer (∼ 1′′ − 3′′) is considerably smaller than the bridge of PKS 0637 – 752 (∼ 8′′), making it possible to both measure and resolve this emission.