Electron Population Aging Models for Wide-Angle Tails

Color-color diagrams have been useful in studying the spectral shapes in radio galaxies. At the workshop we presented color-color diagrams for two wide-angle tails, 1231+674 and 1433+553, and found that the standard aging models do not adequately represent the observed data. Although the JP and KP models can explain some of the observed points in the color-color diagram, they do not account for those found near the power-law line. This difficulty may be attributable to several causes. Spectral tomography has been previously used to discern two separate electron populations in these sources. The combination spectra from two such overlying components can easily resemble a range of power-laws. In addition, any non-uniformity in the magnetic field strength can also create a power-law-like spectrum. We will also discuss the effects that angular resolution has on the shape of the spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, proceedings from 1999 'Life Cycles of Radio Galaxies' workshop at STScI in Baltimore, M