FINE-SCALE STRUCTURE OF THE QUASAR 3C 279 MEASURED WITH 1.3 mm VERY LONG BASELINE INTERFEROMETRY

Journal Article · Sat Jul 20 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/772/1/13· OSTI ID:22140104

Rusen, Lu; Fish, Vincent L.; Doeleman, Sheperd S.; Crew, Geoffrey; Cappallo, Roger J. ^[1]; Akiyama, Kazunori; Honma, Mareki ^[2]; Algaba, Juan C.; Ho, Paul T. P.; Inoue, Makoto ^[3]; Bower, Geoffrey C.; Dexter, Matt ^[4]; Brinkerink, Christiaan ^[5]; Chamberlin, Richard ^[6]; Freund, Robert ^[7]; Friberg, Per ^[8]; Gurwell, Mark A. ^[9]; Jorstad, Svetlana G. ^[10]; Krichbaum, Thomas P. ^[11]; Loinard, Laurent ^[12] ; others, and

---

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Haystack Observatory, Route 40, Westford, MA 01886 (United States)
2. National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Osawa 2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan)
3. Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, P.O. Box 23-141, Taipei 10617, Taiwan, R.O.C. (China)
4. Department of Astronomy, Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California Berkeley, 601 Campbell, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)
5. Department of Astrophysics, IMAPP, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9010, 6500-GL Nijmegen (Netherlands)
6. Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, 111 Nowelo Street, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)
7. Arizona Radio Observatory, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721-0065 (United States)
8. James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, Joint Astronomy Centre, 660 North A'ohoku Place, University Park, Hilo, HI 96720 (United States)
9. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
10. Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 (United States)
11. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
12. Centro de Radiostronomia y Astrofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 58089 Morelia, Michoacan (Mexico)

We report results from five day very long baseline interferometry observations of the well-known quasar 3C 279 at 1.3 mm (230 GHz) in 2011. The measured nonzero closure phases on triangles including stations in Arizona, California, and Hawaii indicate that the source structure is spatially resolved. We find an unusual inner jet direction at scales of {approx}1 pc extending along the northwest-southeast direction (P.A. = 127 Degree-Sign {+-} 3 Degree-Sign ), as opposed to other (previously) reported measurements on scales of a few parsecs showing inner jet direction extending to the southwest. The 1.3 mm structure corresponds closely with that observed in the central region of quasi-simultaneous super-resolution Very Long Baseline Array images at 7 mm. The closure phase changed significantly on the last day when compared with the rest of observations, indicating that the inner jet structure may be variable on daily timescales. The observed new direction of the inner jet shows inconsistency with the prediction of a class of jet precession models. Our observations indicate a brightness temperature of {approx}8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 10} K in the 1.3 mm core, much lower than that at centimeter wavelengths. Observations with better uv coverage and sensitivity in the coming years will allow the discrimination between different structure models and will provide direct images of the inner regions of the jet with 20-30 {mu}as (5-7 light months) resolution.

• OSTI ID: 22140104
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 772, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BRIGHTNESS
FORECASTING
GALAXIES
IMAGES
INTERFEROMETRY
PRECESSION
QUASARS
RESOLUTION
SENSITIVITY
WAVELENGTHS