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Register a new userAn X-ray jet in the BL Lac S5 2007+777
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Authors
R. M. Sambruna
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The BL Lac S5 2007+777 was observed by us with Chandra, to find the X-ray counterpart to its 18 radio jet, and study its structure. Indeed, a bright X-ray jet was discovered in the 33 ks ACIS-S image of the source. We present its properties and briefly discuss the implications.
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X-ray jets in AGN are commonly observed in FRII and FRI radio-galaxies, but rarely in BL Lacs, most probably due to their orientation close to the line of sight and the ensuing foreshortening effects. Only three BL Lacs are known so far to contain a kpc-scale X-ray jet. In this paper, we present the evidence for the existence of a fourth extended X-ray jet in the classical radio-selected source S5 2007+777, which for its hybrid FRI/II radio morphology has been classified as a HYMOR (HYbrid MOrphology Radio source). Our Chandra ACIS-S observations of this source revealed an X-ray counterpart to the 19-long radio jet. Interestingly, the X-ray properties of the kpc-scale jet in S5 2007+777 are very similar to those observed in FRII jets. First, the X-ray morphology closely mirrors the radio one, with the X-rays being concentrated in the discrete radio knots. Second, the X-ray continuum of the jet/brightest knot is described by a very hard power law, with photon index Gamma_x~1, although the uncertainties are large. Third, the optical upper limit from archival HST data implies a concave radio-to-X-ray SED. If the X-ray emission is attributed to IC/CMB with equipartition, strong beaming (delta=13) is required, implying a very large scale (Mpc) jet. The beaming requirement can be somewhat relaxed assuming a magnetic field lower than equipartition. Alternatively, synchrotron emission from a second population of very high-energy electrons is viable. Comparison to other HYMOR jets detected with Chandra is discussed, as well as general implications for the origin of the FRI/II division.
We have observed S5 2007+777 and 3C371 in the B and I bands for 13 and 8 nights, respectively, during various observing runs in 2001, 2002 and 2004. The observations resulted in almost evenly sampled light curves, 6-9 hours long. We do not detect any flares within the observed light curves, but we do observe small amplitude, significant variations, in both bands, on time scales of hours and days. The average variability amplitude on time scales of minutes/hours is 2.5% and 1-1.5% in the case of S5 2007+777 and 3C371, respectively. The average amplitudes increase to 5-12% and 4-6%, respectively, on time scales of days. We find that the B and I band variations are highly correlated, on both short and long time scales. During the 2004 observations, which resulted in the longest light curves, we observe two well defined flux-decay and rising trends in the light curves of both objects. When the flux decays, we observe significant delays, with the B band flux decaying faster than the flux in the I band. As a result, we also observe significant, flux related spectral variations as well. The flux-spectral relation is rather complicated, with loop-like structures forming during the flux evolution. The presence of spectral variations imply that the observed variability is not caused by geometric effects. On the other hand, our results are fully consistent with the hypothesis that the observed variations are caused by perturbations which affect different regions in the jet of the sources.
We present an X-ray image of the BL Lacertae object OJ287 revealing a long jet, curved by 55 degrees and extending 20, or 90 kpc from the nucleus. This de-projects to >1 Mpc based on the viewing angle on parsec scales. Radio emission follows the general X-ray morphology but extends even farther from the nucleus. The upper limit to the isotropic radio luminosity, ~2E24 W/Hz, places the source in the Fanaroff-Riley 1 (FR 1) class, as expected for BL Lac objects. The spectral energy distribution indicates that the extended X-ray emission is from inverse Compton scattering of cosmic microwave background photons. In this case, the derived magnetic field is B ~ 5 microGauss, the minimum electron energy is 7-40 m_e c^2, and the Doppler factor is delta ~ 8 in a knot 8 from the nucleus. The minimum total kinetic power of the jet is 1-2E45 erg/s. Upstream of the bend, the width of the X-ray emission in the jet is about half the projected distance from the nucleus. This implies that the highly relativistic bulk motion is not limited to an extremely thin spine, as has been proposed previously for FR 1 sources. The bending of the jet, the deceleration of the flow from parsec to kiloparsec scales, and the knotty structure can all be caused by standing shocks inclined by ~7 degrees to the jet axis. Moving shocks resulting from major changes in the flow properties can also reproduce the knotty structure, but such a model does not explain as many of the observational details.
The analysis of $gamma$-ray flux variability along with the parsec-scale jet kinematics suggests that the high-energy radiation in the BL Lac object S5 0716+714 has a significant correlation with the mm-VLBI core flux density and with the local orientation of the inner jet flow. For the first time in any blazar, we report a significant correlation between the $gamma$-ray flux variations and the variations in the local orientation of the jet outflow (position angle). We find that the $gamma$-ray flux variations lead the 7~mm VLBI core flux variations by 82$pm$32~days, which suggests that the high-energy emission in S5 0716+714 is coming from a region located 3.8$pm$1.9~parsecs closer to the central black hole than the core seen on the mm-VLBI images. The results imply a strong physical and casual connection between $gamma$-ray emission and the inner jet morphology in the source.
We present a high-frequency very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) kinematical study of the BL Lac object S5 0716+714 over the time period of September 2008 to October 2010. The aim of the study is to investigate the relation of the jet kinematics to the observed broadband flux variability. We find significant non-radial motions in the jet outflow of the source. In the radial direction, the highest measured apparent speed is sim37 c, which is exceptionally high, especially for a BL Lac object. Patterns in the jet flow reveal a roughly stationary feature sim0.15 mas downstream of the core. The long-term fits to the component trajectories reveal acceleration in the sub-mas region of the jet. The measured brightness temperature, T_{B}, follows a continuous trend of decline with distance, T_B propto r_{jet}^{-(2.36pm0.41)}, which suggests a gradient in Doppler factor along the jet axis. Our analysis suggest that a moving disturbance (or a shock wave) from the base of the jet produces the high-energy (optical to gamma-ray) variations upstream of the 7 mm core, and then later causes an outburst in the core. Repetitive optical/gamma-ray flares and the curved trajectories of the associated components suggest that the shock front propagates along a bent trajectory or helical path. Sharper gamma-ray flares could be related to the passage of moving disturbances through the stationary feature. Our analysis suggests that the gamma-ray and radio emission regions have different Doppler factors.
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