Confining hot spots in 3C 196 - implications for QSO-companion galaxies

Journal Article · Tue Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1986 · Astrophys. J.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1086/164323· OSTI ID:7012885

Brown, R L; Broderick, J J; Mitchell, K J

VLBI observations of the extremely compact hot spot in the northern radio lobe of the QSO 3C 196 reveal the angular size of its smallest substructure to be 0.065 arcsec x 0.045 arcsec or about 300 pc at the redshift distance. The morphology of the hot spot and its orientation relative to the more diffuse radio emission suggest that it is formed by an oblique interaction between the nuclear QSO jet and circum-QSO cloud. The inferred density in this cloud, together with its apparent size, imply that the cloud contains a galactic mass, greater than a billion solar masses of gas. The effect of the jet will be to hasten gravitational collapse of the cloud. If many QSOs such as 3C 196 are formed or found in gas-rich environments, the QSO radio phase may commonly stimulate the metamorphosis of circum-QSO gas to QSO-companion galaxies or it may play a significant part in catalyzing star formation in existing companions. 30 references.

• Research Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Charlottesville, VA; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg; NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
• OSTI ID: 7012885
• Journal Information: Astrophys. J.; (United States), Journal Name: Astrophys. J.; (United States) Vol. 306; ISSN ASJOA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

640103* -- Astrophysics & Cosmology-- Quasi-Stellar
Radio
& X-Ray Sources-- (-1987)
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
COSMIC RADIO SOURCES
DISTRIBUTION
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EMISSION SPECTRA
ENERGY SPECTRA
INTERFEROMETRY
MASS DISTRIBUTION
MORPHOLOGY
QUASARS
RADIATIONS
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
RED SHIFT
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
SPECTRA
STAR EVOLUTION
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION