Detection of Optical Synchrotron Emission from the Radio Jet of 3C 279

Cheung, C. C.

doi:10.1086/345926

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…We also processed the optical images with an unsharped masking filter in which smoothed versions of the original images were subtracted from the originals. This additional processing helped us to identify the nearest features to the bright optical nuclei (within $1 00 ) in previous work with similar data (Cheung 2002;Sambruna et al 2004) and led here to the successful detection of optical emission in the jet of 3C 454.3 (x 3.2).…”

Section: Archival Hubble Space Telescope Wfpc2 Datasupporting

confidence: 62%

Discovery of Optical Emission in the Hot Spots of Three 3CR Quasars: High‐Energy Particle Acceleration in Powerful Radio Hot Spots

Cheung

Wardle

Chen

2005

ApJ

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Archival Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images were used to search for optical emission associated with the radio jets of a number of luminous quasars. From this search, we report new optical hot spot detections in the wellknown blazar 3C 454.3 and the lobe-dominated quasars 3C 275.1 and 3C 336. We also find optical emission in the vicinity of the hot spot in 3C 208 but believe this is a chance alignment. Optical emission from the arcsecond-scale jet in 3C 454.3 is also detected. Multifrequency archival radio data from the VLA and MERLIN are analyzed, and the synchrotron spectra of these high-power hot spots are presented. We estimate that their break frequencies are in the range of 10 10 -10 11 Hz, with large uncertainties due to the wide gap in frequency coverage between the radio and optical bands. We also calculate their equipartition magnetic fields and find that the anticorrelation between break frequency and magnetic field found by Brunetti et al. for lower power hot spots extends to these high-power hot spots. This supports their model of hot spots based on shock acceleration and synchrotron losses.

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Section: Archival Hubble Space Telescope Wfpc2 Datasupporting

confidence: 62%

Discovery of Optical Emission in the Hot Spots of Three 3CR Quasars: High‐Energy Particle Acceleration in Powerful Radio Hot Spots

Cheung

Wardle

Chen

2005

ApJ

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“…Moreover, hydrodynamic/magnetohydrodynamic (HD/MHD) simulations of cavity-accretion in binary supermassive black hole systems have shown that gas-streams preferentially accrete onto the secondary (Tanaka 2013;Artymovicz & Lubow 1996;Cuadra et al 2009;Shi et al 2012), thus the secondary jet would be more active than the primary jet. The optical and radio observations by Cheung (2002) have confirmed this deduction; (6) Cheung (2002) reported the detection of the optical synchrotron emission from the kpc-scale radio jet of 3C279. This radio jet extends out to ∼5 arcseconds (15 GHz, VLA (Very Large Array)) at a position angle of ∼-155 • , indicating its lifetime of ∼10 6 yr at least.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Possible evidence of a supermassive black hole binary with two radio jets in blazar 3C279

Qian

Britzen

Krichbaum

et al. 2018

A&A

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Context. Studies of periodic and quasi-periodic phenomena in optical and radio bands are important for understanding the physical processes in quasars. Investigation of periodic/quasi-periodic behavior of the relativistic jets in blazars is particularly significant because it can provide unique information about the formation, collimation, and acceleration of the jets and the properties of the central engines (black hole/accretion disk systems) in blazars. Aims. We investigate the parsec-scale kinematics of the 31 superluminal components observed in blazar 3C279 and attempt to search for evidence of its jet precession and double-jet structure. Methods. The previously suggested precessing jet nozzle model is applied to model-fit the kinematics of its superluminal components observed during the 1981–2015 period. It is shown that the parsec-scale kinematics of the entire source can be interpreted in terms of a double-jet scenario. Results. The superluminal components observed in 3C279 can be divided into two groups that are ejected from two relativistic jets. The two jets have different orientations in space and jet-cone shapes, but both jets precess with the same precession period of 25 yr (16.3 yr in the source frame). The kinematic features of all the superluminal knots (trajectory, core separation, and apparent velocity) can be consistently explained. Their innermost trajectories follow the respective precessing common parabolic patterns with trajectory curvatures that occurred in the outer jet regions at different core separations. The bulk Lorentz factor, Doppler factor, and viewing angle of their motion are derived. The unusual jet-direction change of ∼100° observed in 2010–2011 can be naturally explained. Conclusions. We propose a double-jet structure scenario for 3C279 and suggest that there may be a supermassive black hole binary in the center of 3C279 ejecting two precessing relativistic jets, resulting in its very complex structure and kinematics on parsec scales, and with extremely variable emission across the electromagnetic spectrum. Because the two jets have the same precession period, the precession of the double jet may have originated from the modulation of their jet orientation by the change in their orbital velocity direction relative to the observer. In this case the mass ratio m/M of the binary is approximately equal to the ratio of the jet cone widths, being on the order of ∼0.5.

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“…It is clear from our results that the measurements over as wide a wavelength coverage as possible in the infrared-optical domain are of great importance in studying the particle acceleration mechanisms in the large-scale jets of powerful quasars. Unfortunately, quasar jet emission in the optical region of the spectrum is very faint, and only a few optical slopes for the powerful quasars have been measured (Ridgway & Stockton 1997;Cheung 2002). Further Spitzer observations are therefore particularly helpful, although the spatial resolution is not optimal for the study of jet emissions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shedding New Light on the 3C 273 Jet with theSpitzer Space Telescope

Uchiyama

Urry

Cheung

et al. 2006

ApJ

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158

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We have performed infrared imaging of the jet of the quasar 3C 273 at wavelengths of 3.6 and 5.8 m with the Infrared Array Camera ( IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. When combined with the radio, optical, and X-ray measurements, the IRAC photometry of the X-ray-bright jet knots clearly shows that the optical emission is dominated by the high-energy emission component of the jet, not by the radio synchrotron component, as had been assumed to date. The high-energy component, represented by a power law from the optical through X-ray, may be due to a second synchrotron component or to inverse Compton scattering of ambient photons. In the former case, we argue that the acceleration of protons exceeding energies of E p $ 10 16 eV or possibly even to E p $ 10 19 eV would be taking place in the jet knots of 3C 273, assuming that the acceleration time is proportional to the particle gyroradius. In contrast, the inverse Compton model, into which highly relativistic Doppler beaming has to be incorporated, requires very low energy electrons of E e $ 1 MeV in the jet knots. The present polarization data in the radio and optical would favor the former interpretation in the case of the 3C 273 jet. Sensitive and detailed measurements of optical polarization are important in order to establish the radiation mechanism responsible for the high-energy emission. The present study offers new clues as to the controversial origin of the X-ray emission seen in many quasar jets.

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Detection of Optical Synchrotron Emission from the Radio Jet of 3C 279

Cited by 23 publications

References 24 publications

Discovery of Optical Emission in the Hot Spots of Three 3CR Quasars: High‐Energy Particle Acceleration in Powerful Radio Hot Spots

Discovery of Optical Emission in the Hot Spots of Three 3CR Quasars: High‐Energy Particle Acceleration in Powerful Radio Hot Spots

Possible evidence of a supermassive black hole binary with two radio jets in blazar 3C279

Shedding New Light on the 3C 273 Jet with theSpitzer Space Telescope

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