On the interaction of jets with stellar winds in XRBs

Abstract

We present the first three-dimensional simulations of the evolution of a microquasar jet inside the binary-star system. The aim is to study the interaction of these jets with the stellar wind from a massive companion and the possible locations of high-energy emission sites. We have simulated two jets with different injection power in order to give a hint on the minimum power required for the jet to escape the system and become visible in larger scales. In the setup, we include a massive star wind filling the grid through which the jet evolves. We show that jets should have powers of the order of $10^{37}\rm{erg/s}$ or more in order not to be destroyed by the stellar wind. The jet-wind interaction results in regions in which high energy emission could be produced. These results imply the possible existence of a population of X-ray binaries not detected in the radio band due to jet disruption inside the region dominated by the stellar wind.Comment: Published in Proceedings of High Energy Phenomena in Relativistic Outflows II, held in Buenos Aires, 26-30 October 2009, ed. G. Romer