JET DEFLECTIONS IN RADIO GALAXIES

Convincing evidence for the interaction between jets and their environ ments has been found in many extragalactic radio sources. In some radi o galaxies these interactions appear to cause the jet to be deflected, not completely stopped or disrupted. This paper presents a simple mod el which accounts for jet deflections with oblique shocks in a relativ istic flow. Using the model in conjunction with measurements of jet de flection angles, it is possible to derive estimates of pre and post-sh ock jet speeds as well as the strength and obliquity of the shocks. Th e model is applied to two radio galaxies, PKS 1308-441 and 3C 277.3. A range in shock strength of 2 - 30 and jet Lorentz factors of 2 - 5 ar e required to explain the data for these two sources.