Rapid quasi-periodic oscillations in the relativistic jet of BL Lacertae.

Autor: Jorstad SG; Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA. jorstad@bu.edu.; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia. jorstad@bu.edu., Marscher AP; Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Raiteri CM; INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Torino, Italy., Villata M; INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Torino, Italy., Weaver ZR; Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Zhang H; NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, Greenbelt, MD, USA.; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA., Dong L; Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA., Gómez JL; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Granada, Spain., Perel MV; St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Savchenko SS; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia.; Special Astrophysical Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhnii Arkhyz, Russia.; Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia., Larionov VM; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia.; Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia., Carosati D; EPT Observatories, Tijarafe, La Palma, Spain.; INAF, TNG Fundación Galileo Galilei, La Palma, Spain., Chen WP; Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan., Kurtanidze OM; Abastumani Observatory, Mt. Kanobili, Abastumani, Georgia.; Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory, Kazan Federal University, Tatarstan, Russia.; Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Landessternwarte, Heidelberg, Germany., Marchini A; Astronomical Observatory, Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Siena, Italy., Matsumoto K; Astronomical Institute, Osaka Kyoiku University, Kashiwara, Japan., Mortari F; Hypatia Observatory, Rimini, Italy., Aceti P; Osservatorio Astronomico Città di Seveso, Seveso, Italy.; Department of Aerospace Science and Technology, Politecnico di Milano, Milano, Italy., Acosta-Pulido JA; Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and Dpto. de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain., Andreeva T; Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia., Apolonio G; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA., Arena C; Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi (GAC), Catania, Italy., Arkharov A; Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia., Bachev R; Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria., Banfi M; Osservatorio Astronomico Città di Seveso, Seveso, Italy., Bonnoli G; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (CSIC), Granada, Spain.; Astronomical Observatory, Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.; INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Merate, Italy., Borman GA; Crimean Astrophysical Observatory RAS, Bakhchisaray, Crimea., Bozhilov V; Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria., Carnerero MI; INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Torino, Italy., Damljanovic G; Astronomical Observatory Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia., Ehgamberdiev SA; Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute, Tashkent, Uzbekistan.; National University of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Uzbekistan., Elsässer D; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany.; Department of Physics, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany., Frasca A; INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Catania, Italy., Gabellini D; Hypatia Observatory, Rimini, Italy., Grishina TS; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Gupta AC; Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, India., Hagen-Thorn VA; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Hallum MK; Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Hart M; Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA., Hasuda K; Department of Physical Sciences, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan., Hemrich F; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany., Hsiao HY; Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan., Ibryamov S; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Shumen, Shumen, Bulgaria., Irsmambetova TR; Sternberg Astronomical Institute, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia., Ivanov DV; Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia., Joner MD; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA., Kimeridze GN; Abastumani Observatory, Mt. Kanobili, Abastumani, Georgia., Klimanov SA; Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia., Knött J; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany., Kopatskaya EN; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Kurtanidze SO; Abastumani Observatory, Mt. Kanobili, Abastumani, Georgia.; Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Landessternwarte, Heidelberg, Germany., Kurtenkov A; Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria., Kuutma T; Centro de Estudios de Física del Cosmos de Aragón, Teruel, Spain., Larionova EG; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Leonini S; Montarrenti Observatory, Siena, Italy., Lin HC; Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan., Lorey C; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany., Mannheim K; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany.; Lehrstuhl für Astronomie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany., Marino G; Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi (GAC), Catania, Italy.; Wild Boar Remote Observatory, Florence, Italy., Minev M; Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria., Mirzaqulov DO; Ulugh Beg Astronomical Institute, Tashkent, Uzbekistan., Morozova DA; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Nikiforova AA; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia.; Pulkovo Observatory, St. Petersburg, Russia., Nikolashvili MG; Abastumani Observatory, Mt. Kanobili, Abastumani, Georgia.; Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Landessternwarte, Heidelberg, Germany., Ovcharov E; Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria., Papini R; Wild Boar Remote Observatory, Florence, Italy., Pursimo T; Nordic Optical Telescope, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain.; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark., Rahimov I; Institute of Applied Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia., Reinhart D; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany., Sakamoto T; Department of Physical Sciences, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan., Salvaggio F; Gruppo Astrofili Catanesi (GAC), Catania, Italy.; Wild Boar Remote Observatory, Florence, Italy., Semkov E; Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria., Shakhovskoy DN; Crimean Astrophysical Observatory RAS, Bakhchisaray, Crimea., Sigua LA; Abastumani Observatory, Mt. Kanobili, Abastumani, Georgia., Steineke R; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany., Stojanovic M; Astronomical Observatory Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia., Strigachev A; Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria., Troitskaya YV; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Troitskiy IS; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Tsai A; Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Taoyuan, Taiwan., Valcheva A; Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria., Vasilyev AA; Astronomical Institute, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia., Vince O; Astronomical Observatory Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia., Waller L; Hans-Haffner-Sternwarte, Naturwissenschaftliches Labor für Schüler am FKG, Würzburg, Germany., Zaharieva E; Department of Astronomy, Faculty of Physics, University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria., Chatterjee R; Department of Physics, Presidency University, Kolkata, India.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Nature [Nature] 2022 Sep; Vol. 609 (7926), pp. 265-268. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Sep 07.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05038-9
Abstrakt: Blazars are active galactic nuclei (AGN) with relativistic jets whose non-thermal radiation is extremely variable on various timescales 1-3 . This variability seems mostly random, although some quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs), implying systematic processes, have been reported in blazars and other AGN. QPOs with timescales of days or hours are especially rare 4 in AGN and their nature is highly debated, explained by emitting plasma moving helically inside the jet 5 , plasma instabilities 6,7 or orbital motion in an accretion disc 7,8 . Here we report results of intense optical and γ-ray flux monitoring of BL Lacertae (BL Lac) during a dramatic outburst in 2020 (ref.  9 ). BL Lac, the prototype of a subclass of blazars 10 , is powered by a 1.7 × 10 8  M Sun (ref.  11 ) black hole in an elliptical galaxy (distance = 313 megaparsecs (ref.  12 )). Our observations show QPOs of optical flux and linear polarization, and γ-ray flux, with cycles as short as approximately 13 h during the highest state of the outburst. The QPO properties match the expectations of current-driven kink instabilities 6 near a recollimation shock about 5 parsecs (pc) from the black hole in the wake of an apparent superluminal feature moving down the jet. Such a kink is apparent in a microwave Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) image.
(© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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