Superluminal non-ballistic jet swing in the quasar NRAO 150 revealed by mm-VLBI

Highlighted Paper (More)

Free access article

Issue		A&A Volume 476, Number 3, December IV 2007


Page(s)		L17 - L20
Section		Letters
DOI		http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20078448

A&A 476, L17-L20 (2007)
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361:20078448

Letter

Superluminal non-ballistic jet swing in the quasar NRAO 150 revealed by mm-VLBI

I. Agudo^{1, 2}, U. Bach², T. P. Krichbaum², A. P. Marscher³, I. Gonidakis⁴, P. J. Diamond⁵, M. Perucho², W. Alef², D. A. Graham², A. Witzel², J. A. Zensus², M. Bremer⁶, J. A. Acosta-Pulido⁷, and R. Barrena⁷

¹ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Apartado 3004, 18080 Granada, Spain
e-mail: iagudo@iaa.es
² Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel, 69, 53121, Bonn, Germany
³ Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA
⁴ National and Kapodestrian University of Athens, Dept. of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics, 157 83 Athens, Greece
⁵ University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank Observatory, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL, UK
⁶ Institut de RadioAstronomie Millimétrique, 300 rue de la Piscine, 38406 Saint Martin d'Hères, France
⁷ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, C/Vía Láctea s/n, 38200, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

(Received 8 August 2007 / Accepted 24 October 2007)

Abstract
Context. NRAO 150 , a compact and bright radio to mm source showing core/jet structure, has been recently identified as a quasar at redshift z = 1.52 through a near-IR spectral observation.
Aims.To study the jet kinematics on the smallest accessible scales and to compute the first estimates of its basic physical properties.
Methods.We have analysed the ultra-high-resolution images from a new monitoring program at 86 GHz and 43 GHz with the Global mm VLBI Array and the VLBA, respectively. An additional archival calibration VLBA data set, covering the period from 1997 to 2007, has been used.
Results.Our data show an extreme projected counter-clockwise jet position angle swing at an angular rate of up to $\approx$ 11° yr within the inner $\approx$ 3 pc of the jet, which is associated with a non-ballistic superluminal motion of the jet within this region.
Conclusions.The results suggest that the magnetic field could play an important role in the dynamics of the jet in NRAO 150 , which is supported by the large values of the magnetic field strength obtained from our first estimates. The extreme characteristics of the jet swing make NRAO 150 a prime source to study the jet wobbling phenomenon.

Key words: galaxies: active -- galaxies: jets -- galaxies: quasars: general -- galaxies: quasars: individual: NRAO 150 -- radio continuum: galaxies -- techniques: interferometric

What is OpenURL?

The OpenURL standard is a protocol for transmission of metadata describing the resource that you wish to access. An OpenURL link contains article metadata and directs it to the OpenURL server of your choice. The OpenURL server can provide access to the resource and also offer complementary services (specific search engine, export of references...). The OpenURL link can be generated by different means.

If your librarian has set up your subscription with an OpenURL resolver, OpenURL links appear automatically on the abstract pages.
You can define your own OpenURL resolver with your EDPS Account. In this case your choice will be given priority over that of your library.
You can use an add-on for your browser (Firefox or I.E.) to display OpenURL links on a page (see http://www.openly.com/openurlref/). You should disable this module if you wish to use the OpenURL server that you or your library have defined.