Radio Jet-Ambient Medium Interactions on Parsec Scales in the Blazar 1055+018
Astrophysics
2009-10-31 v3
Abstract
As part of our study of the magnetic fields of AGN we have recently observed a large sample of blazars with the Very Long Baseline Array. Here we report the discovery of a striking two-component jet in the source 1055+018, consisting of an inner spine with a transverse magnetic field, and a fragmentary but distinct boundary layer with a longitudinal magnetic field. The polarization distribution in the spine strongly supports shocked-jet models while that in the boundary layer suggests interaction with the surrounding medium. This behavior suggests a new way to understand the differing polarization properties of strong- and weak-lined blazars.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/9903330,
title = {Radio Jet-Ambient Medium Interactions on Parsec Scales in the Blazar 1055+018},
author = {Joanne M. Attridge and David H. Roberts and John F. C. Wardle},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/9903330},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
LaTex; 10 pages; 6 figures; reference fix; to appear in ApJL, 518, 1999 June 20