Messier 87 (M 87) is one of the nearest radio galaxies with a prominent jet extending from sub-pc to kpc scales. Because of its proximity and the large mass of its central black hole (BH), it is one ...of the best radio sources for the study of jet formation. We study the physical conditions near the jet base at projected separations from the BH of ~7–100 Schwarzschild radii (Rsch). Global mm-VLBI Array (GMVA) observations at 86 GHz (λ = 3.5 mm) provide an angular resolution of ~50 μas, which corresponds to a spatial resolution of only 7 Rsch and reach the small spatial scale. We use five GMVA data sets of M 87 obtained from 2004 to 2015 and present new high angular resolution VLBI maps at 86 GHz. In particular, we focus on the analysis of the brightness temperature, the jet ridge lines, and the ratio of jet to counter-jet. The imaging reveals a parabolically expanding limb-brightened jet which emanates from a resolved VLBI core of ~(8–13) Rsch in size. The observed brightness temperature of the core at any epoch is ~(1–3) × 1010 K, which is below the equipartition brightness temperature and suggests magnetic energy dominance at the jet base. We estimate the diameter of the jet at its base to be ~5 Rsch assuming a self-similar jet structure. This suggests that the sheath of the jet may be anchored in the very inner portion of the accretion disk. The image stacking reveals faint emission at the center of the edge-brightened jet on sub-pc scales. We discuss its physical implication within the context of the spine-sheath structure of the jet.
Supermassive black holes (SMBH) are essential for the production of jets in radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN). Theoretical models based on (Blandford & Znajek 1977, MNRAS, 179, 433) extract the ...rotational energy from a Kerr black hole, which could be the case for NGC 1052, to launch these jets. This requires magnetic fields on the order of 103G to 104G. We imaged the vicinity of the SMBH of the AGN NGC 1052 with the Global Millimetre VLBI Array and found a bright and compact central feature that is smaller than 1.9 light days (100 Schwarzschild radii) in radius. Interpreting this as a blend of the unresolved jet bases, we derive the magnetic field at 1 Schwarzschild radius to lie between 200 G and ~ 8.3 × 104 G consistent with Blandford & Znajek models.
We report results from a deep polarization imaging of the nearby radio galaxy 3C 84 (NGC 1275). The source was observed with the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA) at 86 GHz at an ultrahigh angular ...resolution of 50 μas (corresponding to ∼200Rs). We also add complementary multiwavelength data from the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA; 15 and 43 GHz) and from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA; 97.5, 233.0 and 343.5 GHz). At 86 GHz, we measured a fractional linear polarization of ∼2% in the VLBI core region. The polarization morphology suggests that the emission is associated with an underlying limb-brightened jet. The fractional linear polarization is lower at 43 and 15 GHz (∼0.3−0.7% and <0.1%, respectively). This suggests an increasing linear polarization degree toward shorter wavelengths on VLBI scales. We also obtain a large rotation measure (RM) of ∼105–6 rad m2 in the core at ≳43 GHz. Moreover, the VLBA 43 GHz observations show a variable RM in the VLBI core region during a small flare in 2015. Faraday depolarization and Faraday conversion in an inhomogeneous and mildly relativistic plasma could explain the observed linear polarization characteristics and the previously measured frequency dependence of the circular polarization. Our Faraday depolarization modeling suggests that the RM most likely originates from an external screen with a highly uniform RM distribution. To explain the large RM value, the uniform RM distribution and the RM variability, we suggest that the Faraday rotation is caused by a boundary layer in a transversely stratified jet. Based on the RM and the synchrotron spectrum of the core, we provide an estimate for the magnetic field strength and the electron density of the jet plasma.
Aims.
The collimation of relativistic jets in galaxies is a poorly understood process. Detailed radio studies of the jet collimation region have been performed so far in a few individual objects, ...providing important constraints for jet formation models. However, the extent of the collimation zone as well as the nature of the external medium possibly confining the jet are still debated.
Methods.
In this article, we present a multifrequency and multiscale analysis of the radio galaxy NGC 315, including the use of mm-VLBI data up to 86 GHz, aimed at revealing the evolution of the jet collimation profile. We then consider results from the literature to compare the jet expansion profile in a sample of 27 low-redshift sources, mainly comprising radio galaxies and BL Lacs, which were classified based on the accretion properties as low-excitation (LEG) and high-excitation (HEG) galaxies.
Results.
We propose that the jet collimation in NGC 315 is completed on sub-parsec scales. A transition from a parabolic to conical jet shape is detected at
z
t
= 0.58 ± 0.28 parsecs or ∼5 × 10
3
Schwarzschild radii (
R
S
) from the central engine, a distance which is much smaller than the Bondi radius,
r
B
∼ 92 pc, estimated based on X-ray data. The jet in this and in a few other LEG in our sample may be initially confined by a thick disk extending out to ∼10
3
− 10
4
R
S
. A comparison between the mass-scaled jet expansion profiles of all sources indicates that jets in HEG are surrounded by thicker disk-launched sheaths and collimate on larger scales with respect to jets in LEG. These results suggest that disk winds play an important role in the jet collimation mechanism, particularly in high-luminosity sources. The impact of winds on the origin of the FRI and FRII dichotomy in radio galaxies is also discussed.
Over the past few decades, our knowledge of jets produced by active galactic nuclei (AGN) has greatly progressed thanks to the development of very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI). Nevertheless, ...the crucial mechanisms involved in the formation of the plasma flow, as well as those driving its exceptional radiative output up to TeV energies, remain to be clarified. Most likely, these physical processes take place at short separations from the supermassive black hole, on scales which are inaccessible to VLBI observations at centimeter wavelengths. Due to their high synchrotron opacity, the dense and highly magnetized regions in the vicinity of the central engine can only be penetrated when observing at shorter wavelengths, in the millimeter and sub-millimeter regimes. While this was recognized already in the early days of VLBI, it was not until the very recent years that sensitive VLBI imaging at high frequencies has become possible. Ongoing technical development and wide band observing now provide adequate imaging fidelity to carry out more detailed analyses. In this article, we overview some open questions concerning the physics of AGN jets, and we discuss the impact of mm-VLBI studies. Among the rich set of results produced so far in this frequency regime, we particularly focus on studies performed at 43 GHz (7 mm) and at 86 GHz (3 mm). Some of the first findings at 230 GHz (1 mm) obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope are also presented.
Approximately 10% of active galactic nuclei exhibit relativistic jets, which are powered by the accretion of matter onto supermassive black holes. Although the measured width profiles of such jets on ...large scales agree with theories of magnetic collimation, the predicted structure on accretion disk scales at the jet launch point has not been detected. We report radio interferometry observations, at a wavelength of 1.3 millimeters, of the elliptical galaxy M87 that spatially resolve the base of the jet in this source. The derived size of 5.5 ± 0.4 Schwarzschild radii is significantly smaller than the innermost edge of a retrograde accretion disk, suggesting that the M87 jet is powered by an accretion disk in a prograde orbit around a spinning black hole.
Context.
With the increase in the sensitivity and resolution of radio interferometry within recent years, the study of the collimation and acceleration region of extragalactic jets in active galactic ...nuclei (AGN) has come into focus. Whereas a large fraction of AGN jets show a change from parabolic to conical collimation profile around the Bondi radius, there is a small number of sources that display a deviation from this standard picture, including the radio galaxy NGC 1052.
Aims.
We study the jet width profile, which provides valuable information about the interplay between the central engine and accretion disk system and the formation, acceleration, and collimation of the jets.
Methods.
We observed the double-sided, low-radio-power active galaxy NGC 1052 at six frequencies with the VLBA in 2017 and at 22 GHz with RadioAstron in 2016. These data are combined with archival 15, 22, and 43 GHz multi-epoch VLBA observations. From ridge-line fitting we obtained width measurements along the jet and counter-jet which were fitted with single and broken power laws.
Results.
We find a clear break point in the jet collimation profile at ∼10
4
R
S
(Schwarzschild radii). Downstream of the break, the collimation is conical with a power-law index of 1.0 − 1.2 (cylindrical 0; parabolic 0.5; conical 1) for both jets. On the other hand, the upstream power-law index of 0.36 for the approaching jet is neither cylindrical nor parabolic, and the value of 0.16 for the receding jet suggests this latter is close-to cylindrical. For both jets we find a large opening angle of ∼30° at a distance of ∼10
3
R
S
and well-collimated structures with an opening angle of < 10° downstream of the break.
Conclusions.
There are significant differences between the upstream collimation profiles of the approaching (eastern) and receding (western) jets. Absorption or scattering in the surrounding torus as well as an accretion wind may mimic a cylindrical profile. We need to increase the observing frequencies, which do not suffer from absorption, in order to find the true jet collimation profile upstream of 10
4
R
S
.
Context.
Controversial studies on the jet collimation profile of BL Lacertae (BL Lac), the eponymous blazar of the BL Lac objects class, complicate the scenario in this already puzzling class of ...objects. Understanding the jet geometry in connection with the jet kinematics and the physical conditions in the surrounding medium is fundamental for better constraining the formation, acceleration, and collimation mechanisms in extragalactic jets.
Aims.
With the aim of investigating the jet geometry in the innermost regions of the BL Lac jet, and resolving the controversy, we explore the radio jet in this source using high-resolution millimeter-wave VLBI data.
Methods.
We collect 86 GHz GMVA and 43 GHz VLBA data to obtain stacked images that we use to infer the jet collimation profile by means of two comparable methods. We analyze the kinematics at 86 GHz, and we discuss it in the context of the jet expansion. Finally, we consider a possible implication of the Bondi sphere in shaping the jet of BL Lac.
Results.
The jet in BL Lac expands with an overall conical geometry. A higher expanding rate region is observed between ∼5 and 10 pc (de-projected) from the black hole. Such a region is associated with the decrease in brightness usually observed in high-frequency VLBI images of BL Lac. The jet retrieves the original jet expansion around 17 pc, where the presence of a recollimation shock is supported by both the jet profile and the 15 GHz kinematics (MOJAVE survey). The change in the jet expansion profile occurring at ∼5 pc could be associated with a change in the external pressure at the location of the Bondi radius (∼3.3 × 10
5
R
S
).
Abstract
Observations of the Galactic Center supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*) with very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) are affected by interstellar scattering along our line of ...sight. At long radio observing wavelengths (≲1 cm), the scattering heavily dominates image morphology. At 3.5 mm (86 GHz), the intrinsic source structure is no longer sub-dominant to scattering, and thus the intrinsic emission from Sgr A* is resolvable with the Global Millimeter VLBI Array (GMVA). Long-baseline detections to the phased Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in 2017 provided new constraints on the intrinsic and scattering properties of Sgr A*, but the stochastic nature of the scattering Requires multiple observing epochs to reliably estimate its statistical properties. We present new observations with the GMVA+ALMA, taken in 2018, which confirm non-Gaussian structure in the scattered image seen in 2017. In particular, the ALMA–GBT baseline shows more flux density than expected for an anistropic Gaussian model, providing a tight constraint on the source size and an upper limit on the dissipation scale of interstellar turbulence. We find an intrinsic source extent along the minor axis of ∼100
μ
as both via extrapolation of longer wavelength scattering constraints and direct modeling of the 3.5 mm observations. Simultaneously fitting for the scattering parameters, we find an at-most modestly asymmetrical (major-to-minor axis ratio of 1.5 ± 0.2) intrinsic source morphology for Sgr A*.
Context.
The kinematic behaviors of thirteen superluminal components observed at 43 GHz in blazar 3C454.3 are investigated and model-fitted in terms of the precessing jet-nozzle scenario previously ...proposed.
Aims.
In order to search for the possible precession of jet-nozzle and periodic ejection of superluminal components in 3C454.3, the thirteen components are divided into the following two groups: group-A and group-B. Group-A consists of six components (B4, B5, K2, K3, K09, and K14) and group-B consists of seven components (B1, B2, B3, B6, K1, K10, and K16).
Methods.
For each component of group-A and group-B, the observed kinematic features (trajectory, core separation, coordinates, and apparent velocity versus time) were model-fitted in terms of our precessing jet-nozzle scenario, and its kinematic parameters (bulk Lorentz factor, viewing angle, apparent velocity, and Doppler factor versus time) were derived and compared with the observations.
Results.
It is found that the superluminal components of group-A and group-B may be regarded to be produced by a double-jet system, consisting of jet-A and jet-B which ejects the components of group-A and group-B, respectively. Both jets are likely precessing with the same period of ∼10.5 yr (5.6 yr in the source frame) with modeled time coverages of ∼2 and ∼1.5 periods, respectively. The motion of these components in the inner-jet regions (core separation ≲0.3–0.5 mas) is explained to follow a precessing common trajectory respective for jet-A and jet-B. The recurrence of the curved trajectory for the pair of knots B6 and K10 exhibits a significant clue as to periodicity.
Conclusions.
The analysis and explanation of the entire kinematics of the thirteen superluminal components observed in 3C454.3 in terms of our precessing jet-nozzle scenario might possibly imply that blazar 3C454.3 hosts a supermassive binary black hole, which creates two precessing relativistic jets pointing closely toward us with small angles.
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