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Register a new userHigh Levels of Circularly Polarized Emission from the Radio Jet in NGC 1275 (3C 84)
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D. C. Homan NRAO
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We present multi-frequency, high resolution VLBA circular polarization images of the radio source 3C 84 in the center of NGC 1275. Our images reveal a complex distribution of circular polarization in the inner parsec of the radio jet, with local levels exceeding 3% polarization, the highest yet detected with VLBI techniques. The circular polarization changes sign along the jet, making 3C 84 also the first radio jet to show both signs of circular polarization simultaneously. The spectrum and changing sign of the circular polarization indicate that it is unlikely to be purely intrinsic to the emitted synchrotron radiation. The Faraday conversion process makes a significant and perhaps dominant contribution to the circular polarization, and the observed spectrum suggests the conversion process is near saturation. The sign change in the circular polarization along the jet may result from this saturation or may be due to a change in magnetic field order after an apparent bend in the jet. From the small spatial scales probed here, ~ 0.15 pc, and the comparably high levels of circular polarization inferred for the intra-day variable source PKS 1519-273, we suggest a connection between small spatial scales and efficient production of circular polarization.
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Nearby radio galaxies that contain jets are extensively studied with VLBI, addressing jet launching and the physical mechanisms at play around massive black holes. 3C 84 is unique in this regard, because the combination of its proximity and large SMBH mass provides a high spatial resolution to resolve the complex structure at the jet base. For 3C 84 an angular scale of 50 ${mu}$as corresponds to 200 - 250 Schwarzschild radii ($R_s$). Recent RadioAstron VLBI imaging at 22 GHz revealed an east-west elongated feature at the northern end of the VLBI jet, which challenges interpretations. Here we propose instead that the jet apex is not located within the 22 GHz VLBI core region but more upstream of the jet. We base our arguments on a 2D cross-correlation analysis of quasi-simultaneously obtained VLBI images at 15, 43, and 86 GHz, which measures the opacity shift of the VLBI core in 3C 84. With the assumption of the power law index ($k_r$) of the core shift being set to 1, we find the jet apex to be located $83 pm 7$ ${mu}$as north (upstream) of the 86 GHz VLBI core. Depending on the assumptions for $k_r$ and the particle number density power law index n, we find a mixed toroidal/poloidal magnetic field configuration, consistent with a region which is offset from the central engine by about 400-1500 $R_s$. The measured core shift is then used to estimate the magnetic field strength, which amounts to B = 1.80 - 4.0 G near the 86 GHz VLBI core. We discuss some physical implications of these findings.
Radio jets in active galaxies have been expected to interact with circumnuclear environments in their early phase evolutions. By performing the multi-epoch monitoring observation with the KVN and VERA Array (KaVA) at 43~GHz, we investigate the kinematics of the notable newborn bright component C3 located at the tip of the recurrent jet of 3C~84. During 2015 August-September, we discover the flip of C3 and the amount of the flip is about 0.4~milli-arcsecond in angular scale, which corresponds to 0.14 parsec in physical scale. After the flip of C3, it wobbled at the same location for a few months and then it restarted to propagate towards the southern direction. The flux density of C3 coherently showed the monotonic increase during the observation period. The flip is in good agreement with hydrodynamical simulations of jets in clumpy ambient medium. We estimate the number density of the putative clump based on the momentum balance between the jet thrust and the ram pressure from the clump and it is about $10^{3-5}~{rm cm^{-3}}$. We briefly discuss possible origins of the clump.
We report detection of strong circularly polarized emission from the transient bursting source GCRT J1745-3009 based on new analysis of 325 MHz GMRT observations conducted on 28 September 2003. We place 8 Solar radius as the upper limit on the size of the emission region. The implied high brightness temperature required for an object beyond 1 pc and the high fraction of circular polarization firmly establish the emission as coherent. Electron cyclotron or plasma emission from a highly subsolar magnetically dominated dwarf located less than 4 kpc away could have given rise to the GCRT radio emission.
The recent detection by the Fermi gamma-ray space telescope of high-energy gamma-rays from the radio galaxy NGC 1275 makes the observation of the very high energy (VHE: E > 100 GeV) part of its broadband spectrum particularly interesting, especially for the understanding of active galactic nuclei (AGN) with misaligned multi-structured jets. The radio galaxy NGC 1275 was recently observed by VERITAS at energies above 100 GeV for about 8 hours. No VHE gamma-ray emission was detected by VERITAS from NGC 1275. A 99% confidence level upper limit of 2.1% of the Crab Nebula flux level is obtained at the decorrelation energy of approximately 340 GeV, corresponding to 19% of the power-law extrapolation of the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) result.
The radio galaxy NGC 1275, recently identified as a very high energy (VHE, >100 GeV) gamma-ray emitter by MAGIC, is one of the few non-blazar AGN detected in the VHE regime. In order to better understand the origin of the gamma-ray emission and locate it within the galaxy, we studied contemporaneous multi-frequency observations of NGC 1275 and modeled the overall spectral energy distribution (SED). We analyzed unpublished MAGIC observations carried out between Oct. 2009 and Feb. 2010, and the previously published ones taken between Aug. 2010 and Feb. 2011. We studied the multi-band variability and correlations by analyzing data of Fermi-LAT (0.1-100 GeV), as well as Chandra (X-ray), KVA (optical) and MOJAVE (radio) data taken during the same period. Using customized Monte Carlo simulations corresponding to early MAGIC stereo data, we detect NGC 1275 also in the earlier campaign. The flux level and energy spectra are similar to the results of the second campaign. The monthly light curve >100 GeV shows a hint of variability at the 3.6 sigma level. In the Fermi-LAT band, both flux and spectral shape variabilities are reported. The optical light curve is variable and shows a clear correlation with the gamma-ray flux >100 MeV. In radio, 3 compact components are resolved in the innermost part of the jet. One of them shows a similar trend as the LAT and KVA light curves. The 0.1-650 GeV spectra measured simultaneously with MAGIC and Fermi-LAT can be well fitted either by a log-parabola or by a power-law with a sub-exponential cutoff for both campaigns. A single-zone synchrotron-self-Compton model, with an electron spectrum following a power-law with an exponential cutoff, can explain the broadband SED and the multi-band behavior of the source. However, this model suggests an untypical low bulk-Lorentz factor or a velocity alignment closer to the line of sight than the pc-scale radio jet.
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