ar X iv : a st ro - p h / 02 07 60 3 v 1 2 7 Ju l 2 00 2 X - ray Detection of the Inner Jet in the Radio Galaxy M 84

During the course of an investigation of the interaction of the radio galaxy M84 and its ambient cluster gas, we found excess X-ray emission aligned with the northern radio jet. The emission extends from the X-ray core of the host galaxy as a weak bridge and then brightens to a local peak coincident with the first detectable radio knot at ≈ 2.5 from the core. The second radio knot at 3.3 is brighter in both radio and X-rays. The X-ray jet terminates 3.9 from the core. Although all the evidence suggests that Doppler favoritism augments the emission of the northern jet, it is unlikely that the excess X-ray emission is produced by inverse Compton emission. We find many similarities between the M84 X-ray jet and recent jet detections from Chandra data of low luminosity radio galaxies. For most of these current detections synchrotron emission is the favored explanation for the observed X-rays. Subject headings: galaxies: active, individual(M84), jets—radiation mechanisms: non-thermal—radio continuum: galaxies—X-rays: galaxies