- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/138/1874
- Title:
- MOJAVE. VI. Kinematic analysis of blazar jets
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/138/1874
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We discuss the jet kinematics of a complete flux-density-limited sample of 135 radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) resulting from a 13 year program to investigate the structure and evolution of parsec-scale jet phenomena. Our analysis is based on new 2cm Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) images obtained between 2002 and 2007, but includes our previously published observations made at the same wavelength, and is supplemented by VLBA archive data. In all, we have used 2424 images spanning the years 1994-2007 to study and determine the motions of 526 separate jet features in 127 jets.
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/798/134
- Title:
- MOJAVE. XII. Acceleration of blazar jets
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/798/134
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report on the acceleration properties of 329 features in 95 blazar jets from the MOJAVE Very Long Baseline Array program. Nearly half the features and three-quarters of the jets show significant changes in speed and/or direction. In general, apparent speed changes are distinctly larger than changes in direction, indicating that changes in the Lorentz factors of jet features dominate the observed speed changes rather than bends along the line of sight. Observed accelerations tend to increase the speed of features near the jet base, <~10-20pc projected, and decrease their speed at longer distances. The range of apparent speeds at a fixed distance in an individual jet can span a factor of a few, indicating that shock properties and geometry may influence the apparent motions; however, we suggest that the broad trend of jet features increasing their speed near the origin is due to an overall acceleration of the jet flow out to deprojected distances of the order of 10^2^pc, beyond which the flow begins to decelerate or remains nearly constant in speed. We estimate intrinsic rates of change of the Lorentz factors in the galaxy frame of the order of {sdot}{Gamma}/{Gamma}~=10^-3^ to 10^-2^/yr, which can lead to total Lorentz factor changes of a factor of a few on the length scales observed here. Finally, we also find evidence for jet collimation at projected distances of <~10pc in the form of the non-radial motion and bending accelerations that tend to better align features with the inner jet.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/152/12
- Title:
- MOJAVE. XIII. New 15GHz observations on 1994-2013
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/152/12
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present 1625 new 15GHz (2cm) VLBA images of 295 jets associated with active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the MOJAVE and 2cm VLBA surveys, spanning observations between 1994 August 31 and 2013 August 20. For 274 AGNs with at least 5 VLBA epochs, we have analyzed the kinematics of 961 individual bright features in their parsec-scale jets. A total of 122 of these jets have not been previously analyzed by the MOJAVE program. In the case of 451 jet features that had at least 10 epochs, we also examined their kinematics for possible accelerations. At least half of the well-sampled features have non-radial and/or accelerating trajectories, indicating that non-ballistic motion is common in AGN jets. Since it is impossible to extrapolate any accelerations that occurred before our monitoring period, we could only determine reliable ejection dates for ~24% of those features that had significant proper motions. The distribution of maximum apparent jet speeds in all 295 AGNs measured by our program to date is peaked below 5c , with very few jets with apparent speeds above 30c . The fastest speed in our survey is ~50c , measured in the jet of the quasar PKS0805-07, and is indicative of a maximum jet Lorentz factor of ~50 in the parent population. An envelope in the maximum jet speed versus redshift distribution of our sample provides additional evidence of this upper limit to the speeds of radio-emitting regions in parsec-scale AGN jets. The Fermi-LAT-detected gamma-ray AGNs in our sample have, on average, higher jet speeds than non-LAT-detected AGNs, indicating a strong correlation between parsec-scale jet speed and the gamma-ray Doppler boosting factor. We have identified 11 moderate-redshift (z<0.35) AGNs with fast apparent speeds (>10c) that are strong candidates for future TeV gamma-ray detection. Of the five gamma-ray loud narrow-lined Seyfert I AGNs in our sample, three show highly superluminal jet motions, while the others have sub-luminal speeds. This indicates that some narrow-lined Seyfert I AGNs possess powerful jets with Lorentz factors in excess of 10, and viewing angles less than 10{deg}, consistent with those of typical BL Lac objects and flat-spectrum radio quasars.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/146/120
- Title:
- MOJAVE. X. Parsec-scale kinematics of AGNs
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/146/120
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We describe the parsec-scale kinematics of 200 active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets based on 15GHz Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) data obtained between 1994 August 31 and 2011 May 1. We present new VLBA 15 GHz images of these and 59 additional AGNs from the MOJAVE and 2cm Survey programs. Nearly all of the 60 most heavily observed jets show significant changes in their innermost position angle over a 12-16yr interval, ranging from 10{deg} to 150{deg} on the sky, corresponding to intrinsic variations of ~0.5{deg} to ~2{deg}. The BL Lac jets show smaller variations than quasars. Roughly half of the heavily observed jets show systematic position angle trends with time, and 20 show indications of oscillatory behavior. The time spans of the data sets are too short compared to the fitted periods (5-12yr), however, to reliably establish periodicity. The rapid changes and large jumps in position angle seen in many cases suggest that the superluminal AGN jet features occupy only a portion of the entire jet cross section and may be energized portions of thin instability structures within the jet. We have derived vector proper motions for 887 moving features in 200 jets having at least five VLBA epochs. For 557 well-sampled features, there are sufficient data to additionally study possible accelerations. We find that the moving features are generally non-ballistic, with 70% of the well-sampled features showing either significant accelerations or non-radial motions. Inward motions are rare (2% of all features), are slow (<0.1mas/yr), are more prevalent in BL Lac jets, and are typically found within 1mas of the unresolved core feature. There is a general trend of increasing apparent speed with distance down the jet for both radio galaxies and BL Lac objects. In most jets, the speeds of the features cluster around a characteristic value, yet there is a considerable dispersion in the distribution. Orientation variations within the jet cannot fully account for the dispersion, implying that the features have a range of Lorentz factor and/or pattern speed. Very slow pattern speed features are rare, comprising only 4% of the sample, and are more prevalent in radio galaxy and BL Lac jets. We confirm a previously reported upper envelope to the distribution of speed versus beamed luminosity for moving jet features. Below 10^26^W/Hz there is a fall-off in maximum speed with decreasing 15GHz radio luminosity. The general shape of the envelope implies that the most intrinsically powerful AGN jets have a wide range of Lorentz factors up to ~40, while intrinsically weak jets are only mildly relativistic.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/874/43
- Title:
- MOJAVE. XVII. Parsec-scale jet kinematics of AGNs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/874/43
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present results from a parsec-scale jet kinematics study of 409 bright radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on 15GHz Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) data obtained between 1994 August 31 and 2016 December 26 as part of the 2cm VLBA survey and Monitoring Of Jets in Active galactic nuclei with VLBA Experiments (MOJAVE) programs. We tracked 1744 individual bright features in 382 jets over at least 5 epochs. A majority (59%) of the best-sampled jet features showed evidence of accelerated motion at the >3{sigma} level. Although most features within a jet typically have speeds within ~40% of a characteristic median value, we identified 55 features in 42 jets that had unusually slow pattern speeds, nearly all of which lie within 4pc (100pc deprojected) of the core feature. Our results, combined with other speeds from the literature, indicate a strong correlation between apparent jet speed and synchrotron peak frequency, with the highest jet speeds being found only in low-peaked AGNs. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we find best-fit parent population parameters for a complete sample of 174 quasars above 1.5Jy at 15GHz. Acceptable fits are found with a jet population that has a simple unbeamed power-law luminosity function incorporating pure luminosity evolution and a power-law Lorentz factor distribution ranging from 1.25 to 50 with slope -1.4+/-0.2. The parent jets of the brightest radio quasars have a space density of 261+/-19Gpc^-3^ and unbeamed 15GHz luminosities above ~10^24.5^W/Hz, consistent with FRII class radio galaxies.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/862/151
- Title:
- MOJAVE. XVI: parsec-scale AGN jet cores at 15GHz
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/862/151
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an analysis of the core linear polarization properties of 387 parsec-scale active galactic nuclei (AGNs) jets. Using 15GHz VLBA data, we revisit the conclusions of the first paper in this series with multiepoch measurements and more detailed analysis of a larger AGN sample that spans a broader range of synchrotron peak frequencies. Each AGN has been observed for at least five epochs between 1996 and 2017. We find that BL Lac objects have core electric vector position angles (EVPAs) that tend toward alignment with the local jet direction; compared to flat spectrum radio quasars, their EVPAs are also less variable over time. The AGN cores that are most fractionally polarized and least variable in polarization have EVPAs that are closely aligned with the local jet direction; they also have low variability in EVPA. These results support the popular model of a standing transverse shock at the base of the jet that collimates the jet magnetic field perpendicular to the jet direction, increasing the fractional polarization and leading to greater polarization stability over time. High-synchrotron-peaked BL Lac objects form a low luminosity, low fractional polarization population. The five narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies in our sample have low fractional polarization and large EVPA-jet misalignments. Although AGNs detected at {gamma}-rays are thought to be more Doppler boosted than nondetected AGNs, we find no significant differences in fractional polarization based on detection by Fermi-LAT; the {gamma}-loud AGNs are, however, more variable in core EVPAs.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/234/12
- Title:
- MOJAVE XV. VLBA 15GHz obs. of AGN jets 1996-2016
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/234/12
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present 5321 mas-resolution total intensity and linear polarization maps of 437 active galactic nuclei (AGNs) obtained with the VLBA at 15GHz as part of the MOJAVE survey, and also from the NRAO data archive. The former is a long-term program to study the structure and evolution of powerful parsec-scale outflows associated with AGNs. The targeted AGNs are drawn from several flux-limited radio and {gamma}-ray samples, and all have correlated VLBA flux densities greater than ~50mJy at 15GHz. Approximately 80% of these AGNs are associated with {gamma}-ray sources detected by the Fermi LAT instrument. The vast majority were observed with the VLBA on 5-15 occasions between 1996 January 19 and 2016 December 26, at intervals ranging from a month to several years, with the most typical sampling interval being six months. A detailed analysis of the linear and circular polarization evolutions of these AGN jets is presented in the other papers in this series.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/140/533
- Title:
- Morphologies of selected AGN
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/140/533
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We investigate the optical morphologies of candidate active galaxies identified at radio, X-ray, and mid-infrared wavelengths. We use the Advanced Camera for Surveys General Catalog (ACS-GC) to identify 372, 1360, and 1238 active galactic nucleus (AGN) host galaxies from Very Large Array, XMM-Newton, and Spitzer Space Telescope observations of the COSMOS field, respectively. We investigate both quantitative (GALFIT) and qualitative (visual) morphologies of these AGN host galaxies, split by brightness in their selection band.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/655/A89
- Title:
- Mrk421 multi-instrument observations in 2017
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/655/A89
- Date:
- 21 Mar 2022 08:46:33
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a detailed characterisation and theoretical interpretation of the broadband emission of the paradigmatic TeV blazar Mrk 421, with a special focus on the multi-band flux correlations. The dataset has been collected through an extensive multi-wavelength campaign organised between 2016 December and 2017 June. The instruments involved are MAGIC, FACT, Fermi-LAT, Swift, GASP-WEBT, OVRO, Medicina, and Metsahovi. Additionally, four deep exposures (several hours long) with simultaneous MAGIC and NuSTAR observations allowed a precise measurement of the falling segments of the two spectral components. The very-high-energy (VHE; E>100GeV) gamma rays and X-rays are positively correlated at zero time lag, but the strength and characteristics of the correlation change substantially across the various energy bands probed. The VHE versus X-ray fluxes follow different patterns, partly due to substantial changes in the Compton dominance for a few days without a simultaneous increase in the X-ray flux (i.e. orphan gamma-ray activity). Studying the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) during the days including NuSTAR observations, we show that these changes can be explained within a one-zone leptonic model with a blob that increases its size over time. The peak frequency of the synchrotron bump varies by two orders of magnitude throughout the campaign. Our multi-band correlation study also hints at an anti-correlation between UV-optical and X-ray at a significance higher than 3{sigma}. A VHE flare observed on MJD~57788 (2017 February 4) shows gamma-ray variability on multi-hour timescales, with a factor ten increase in the TeV flux but only a moderate increase in the keV flux. The related broadband SED is better described by a two-zone leptonic scenario rather than by a one-zone scenario. We find that the flare can be produced by the appearance of a compact second blob populated by high energetic electrons spanning a narrow range of Lorentz factors, from {gamma}'_min_=2x10^4^ to {gamma}'_max_=6x10^5^.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/484/119
- Title:
- Multi-epoch VLBI survey of CJF sources
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/484/119
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- This is the second in a series of papers presenting VLBI observations of the 293 Caltech-Jodrell Bank Flat-spectrum (hereafter CJF) sources and their analysis. We obtain a consistent motion dataset large enough to allow the systematic properties of the population to be studied. We present detailed kinematic analysis of the complete flux-density limited CJF survey. We computed 2-D kinematic models based on the optimal model-fitting parameters of multi-epoch VLBA observations. This allows us to calculate not only radial, but also orthogonal motions, and thus to study curvature and acceleration. Statistical tests of the motions measured and their reliability were performed. A correlation analysis between the derived apparent motions, luminosities, spectral indices, and core dominance and the resulting consequences is described. With at least one velocity in each of the 237 sources, this sample is much larger than any available before, so it allows a meaning ful statistical investigation of apparent motions and any possible correlations with other parameters in AGN jets. The main results to emerge are as follows: * In general motions are not consistent with a single uniform velocity applicable to all components along a jet. * We find a slight trend towards a positive outward acceleration and also adduce some evidence for greater acceleration in the innermost regions. * We find a lack of fast components at physical distances less than a few pc from the reference feature. * Only ~4% of the components from galaxies and <2% of those from quasars undergo large bends i.e. within 15{deg} of +/-90{deg}. * The distribution of radial velocities shows a broad distribution of velocities (apparent velocities up to 30c). Fifteen percent of the best-sampled jet components exhibit low velocities that may need to be explained in a different manner to the fast motions. * Some negative superluminal motions are seen, and in 15 cases (6%) these are definitely significant. * We find a strong correlation between the 5 GHz luminosity and the apparent velocity. * The CJF galaxies, on average, show slower apparent jet-component velocities than the quasars. * The mean velocity in the VLBA 2cm survey (Kellermann et al. 2004) is substantially higher than in the CJF survey, the ratio could be roughly a factor of 1.5-2. This supports the observed trend toward increasing apparent velocity with in creasing observing frequency. This AGN survey provides the basis for any statistical analysis of jet and jet-component properties.