Proton loading of jets and other consequences of the injection of neutrons in accretion flows

Abstract

Relativistic neutrons are injected in the corona surrounding an accreting black hole through hadronic interactions of locally accelerated protons. If the source is a microquasar, a fraction of these neutrons may escape and penetrate the base of the jet. The neutrons will decay into protons inside the outflow, this being then a possible mechanism for loading Poynting-dominated jets with baryons. We study the characteristics of the proton distribution injected in this way and the consequences on the high-energy radiative spectrum of the jet. We also investigate the fate of those neutrons that escape the corona into the external medium.