On the origin of X-ray emission in 3CRR sources: hints from mid-infrared Spitzer observations

Shuang-Liang Li, Minfeng Gu

Published 2021-07-28Version 1

Whether X-ray emission in radio-loud (RL) AGNs is originated from disk-coronae or jets is still under debate. For example, the positive relationships in radio-quiet (RQ) AGNs (such as the optical to X-ray spectral index $\alpha_{\rm {OX}}$ and Eddington ration $\lambda_{\rm {O}}$, the X-ray photon index $\Gamma$ and $\lambda_{\rm {O}}$) are not detected in RLAGNs. We intend to further investigate this issue in this work. A sample of 27 luminous sources (including 16 quasars and 11 high-excitation radio galaxies) is selected from 3CRR catalog to reinvestigate the origin of X-ray emission in RLAGNs, where the X-ray and mid-infrared fluxes are observed by Chandra/XMM-Newton and Spitzer, respectively. It is found for the first time that there is a significant relationship between the mid-infrared to X-ray spectral index $\alpha_{\rm {IX}}$ and $\lambda_{\rm {IR}}$ for whole sample, while there is no relationship between $\alpha_{\rm {OX}}$ and $\lambda_{\rm {O}}$ in quasars. There are strong positive relationships in both $L_{\rm {R}}$-$L_{\rm {X}}$ and $L_{\rm {UV}}$-$L_{\rm {X}}$ panels, which can be well fitted by the disk-corona model. However, there is no significant relationship between $\Gamma$ and $\lambda_{\rm {IR}}$. The possible reason is related to the effects of large-scale magnetic field in RLAGNs. We suggest that the X-ray emission in high-excitation RLAGNs is originated from a disk-corona system.