Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 Jet
M87 is the best source in which to study a jet at high resolution in gravitational units because it has a very high mass black hole and is nearby. The angular size of the black hole is second only to Sgr A*, which does not have a strong jet. The jet structure is edge brightened with a wide opening a...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Galaxies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/4/4/46 |
| _version_ | 1818538475055480832 |
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| author | R. Craig Walker Philip E. Hardee Fred Davies Chun Ly William Junor Florent Mertens Andrei Lobanov |
| author_facet | R. Craig Walker Philip E. Hardee Fred Davies Chun Ly William Junor Florent Mertens Andrei Lobanov |
| author_sort | R. Craig Walker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | M87 is the best source in which to study a jet at high resolution in gravitational units because it has a very high mass black hole and is nearby. The angular size of the black hole is second only to Sgr A*, which does not have a strong jet. The jet structure is edge brightened with a wide opening angle base and a weak counterjet. We have roughly annual observations for 17 years plus intensive monitoring at three week intervals for a year and five day intervals for 2.5 months made with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 43 GHz. The inner jet shows very complex dynamics, with apparent motions both along and across the jet. Speeds from zero to over 2c are seen, with acceleration observed over the first 3 milli-arcseconds. The counterjet decreases in brightness much more rapidly than the main jet, as is expected from relativistic beaming in an accelerating jet oriented near the line-of-sight. Details of the structure and dynamics are discussed. The roughly annual observations show side-to-side motion of the whole jet with a characteristic time scale of about 9 years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T21:29:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8ca1817a6b0d461ab11d73b0cffa27ef |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4434 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T21:29:26Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Galaxies |
| spelling | doaj.art-8ca1817a6b0d461ab11d73b0cffa27ef2022-12-22T00:50:12ZengMDPI AGGalaxies2075-44342016-10-01444610.3390/galaxies4040046galaxies4040046Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 JetR. Craig Walker0Philip E. Hardee1Fred Davies2Chun Ly3William Junor4Florent Mertens5Andrei Lobanov6National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro, NM 87801, USADepartment of Physics & Astronomy, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USAMPIA, 69117 Heidelberg, GermanyGoddard Space Flight Center, Astrophysics Science Division, 8800 Greenbelt Road, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USAISR-2, MS-D436, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P.O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USAMax Plank Institute für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, 53121 Bonn, GermanyMax Plank Institute für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, 53121 Bonn, GermanyM87 is the best source in which to study a jet at high resolution in gravitational units because it has a very high mass black hole and is nearby. The angular size of the black hole is second only to Sgr A*, which does not have a strong jet. The jet structure is edge brightened with a wide opening angle base and a weak counterjet. We have roughly annual observations for 17 years plus intensive monitoring at three week intervals for a year and five day intervals for 2.5 months made with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 43 GHz. The inner jet shows very complex dynamics, with apparent motions both along and across the jet. Speeds from zero to over 2c are seen, with acceleration observed over the first 3 milli-arcseconds. The counterjet decreases in brightness much more rapidly than the main jet, as is expected from relativistic beaming in an accelerating jet oriented near the line-of-sight. Details of the structure and dynamics are discussed. The roughly annual observations show side-to-side motion of the whole jet with a characteristic time scale of about 9 years.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/4/4/46galaxies: individual (M87)galaxies: jetsgalaxies: activeradio continuum: galaxies |
| spellingShingle | R. Craig Walker Philip E. Hardee Fred Davies Chun Ly William Junor Florent Mertens Andrei Lobanov Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 Jet Galaxies galaxies: individual (M87) galaxies: jets galaxies: active radio continuum: galaxies |
| title | Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 Jet |
| title_full | Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 Jet |
| title_fullStr | Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 Jet |
| title_full_unstemmed | Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 Jet |
| title_short | Observations of the Structure and Dynamics of the Inner M87 Jet |
| title_sort | observations of the structure and dynamics of the inner m87 jet |
| topic | galaxies: individual (M87) galaxies: jets galaxies: active radio continuum: galaxies |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4434/4/4/46 |
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