AT2019wey is a Galactic low mass X-ray binary with a candidate black hole accretor first discovered as an optical transient by ATLAS in December 2019. It was then associated with an X-ray source discovered by SRG in March 2020. After observing a brightening in X-rays in August 2020, VLA observations of the source revealed an optically thin spectrum that subsequently shifted to optically thick, as the source continued to brighten in radio. This motivated observations of the source with the VLBA. We found a resolved source that we interpret to be a steady compact jet, a feature associated with black hole X-ray binary systems in the hard X-ray spectral state. The jet power is comparable to the accretion-disk X-ray luminosity. Here, we summarize the results from these observations.
A VLBA-resolved Jet Associated with Super-Eddington Accretion in a Radio-loud Quasar at $z=3.4$
Waseda University（早稻田大学）；New York University Abu Dhabi（阿布扎比纽约大学）；Nagoya City University（名古屋市立大学）；National Astronomical Observatory of Japan（日本国立天文台）；Tohoku University（东北大学）
Following the discovery of a new radio component right before the GeV γ-ray detection since 2008 August by Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, we present a detailed study of the kinematics and lightcurve on the central sub-pc scale of 3C 84 using the archival VLBA 43-GHz data covering the period between 2002 January to 2008 November. We find that the new component "C3", previously reported by the observations with the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA), was already formed in 2003. The flux density of C3 increases moderately until 2008, and then it becomes brighter rapidly after 2008. The…
The central radio source in M87 provides the best opportunity to study jet formation because it has a large angular size for the gravitational radius of the black hole and has a bright jet that is well resolved by VLBI observations. We present intensive monitoring observations from 2007 and 2008, plus roughly annual observations that span 17 years, all made with the the Very Long Baseline Array at 43 GHz with a resolution of about 30 by 60 Rs. Our high-dynamic-range images clearly show the wide-opening-angle structure and the counter-jet. The jet and counter-jet are nearly symmetric in the inn…
We present Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) images of 20 TeV blazars (HBLs) not previously well-studied on the parsec scale. Observations were made between August and December 2013, at a frequency of 8.4 GHz. These observations represent the first epoch of a VLBA monitoring campaign on these blazars, and they significantly increase the fraction of TeV HBLs studied with high-resolution imaging. The peak VLBI flux densities of these sources range from about 10 to 100 mJy/beam, and parsec-scale jet structure is detected in all sources. About half of the VLBI cores are resolved, with brightness tem…
We report the appearance of a new radio source at a projected offset of 460 pc from the nucleus of Cygnus A. The flux density of the source (which we designate Cygnus A-2) rose from an upper limit of <0.5 mJy in 1989 to 4 mJy in 2016 (nu=8.5 GHz), but is currently not varying by more than a few percent per year. The radio luminosity of the source is comparable to the most luminous known supernovae, it is compact in VLBA observations down to a scale of 4 pc, and it is coincident with a near-infrared point source seen in pre-existing adaptive optics and HST observations. The most likely interpre…
Supermassive binary black holes (BBHs) on sub-parsec scales are prime targets for gravitational wave experiments. They also provide insights on close binary evolution and hierarchical structure formation. Sub-parsec BBHs cannot be spatially resolved but indirect methods can identify candidates. In 2015 Liu et al. reported an optical-continuum periodicity in the quasar PSO J334.2028+01.4075, with the estimated mass and rest-frame period suggesting an orbital separation of about 0.006 pc (0.7 micro-arcsec). The persistence of the quasar's optical periodicity has recently been disfavored over an …
Black hole X-ray binaries undergo occasional outbursts caused by changing inner accretion flows. Here we report high-angular resolution radio observations of the 2013 outburst of the black hole candidate X-ray binary system J1908+094, using data from the VLBA and EVN. We show that following a hard-to-soft state transition, we detect moving jet knots that appear asymmetric in morphology and brightness, and expand to become laterally resolved as they move away from the core, along an axis aligned approximately $-11$\degree\ east of north. We initially see only the southern component, whose evolu…
The TeV radio galaxy M87 is the first radio galaxy detected in the TeV regime. The structure of its jet, which is not pointing towards our line of sight, is spatially resolved in X-ray (by Chandra), optical and radio observations. In 2008, the three main Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope observatories VERITAS, MAGIC and H.E.S.S. coordinated their observations in a joint campaign from January to May with a total observation time of approx. 120 hours. In February, strong and rapid day-scale TeV flares were detected. VLBA monitoring observations during the same period showed that the 43 GHz radio f…
Microlensing events provide a unique capacity to study the stellar remnant population of the Galaxy. Optical microlensing suffers from a near complete degeneracy between the mass, the velocity and the distance. However, a subpopulation of lensed stars, Mira variable stars, are also radio bright, exhibiting strong SiO masers. These are sufficiently bright and compact to permit direct imaging using existing very long baseline interferometers such as the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). We show that these events are relatively common, occurring at a rate of $\approx 2~{\rm yr^{\ -1}}$ of which $0…
The diffuse appearance of the Galactic Ridge X-ray Emission (GRXE) has been puzzling since its discovery due to lack of compelling theories for sustainable hot diffuse X-ray emission in the Galactic plane. Recently (Revnivtsev et al. 2009; R09) claimed that about 90% of the 6.5-7.1 keV X-ray flux from a small section of a low extinction region at 1.4 degree south of the Galactic Center has been resolved to discrete sources with 2-10 keV L_X > 4x10^{-16} erg s cm^-2, using ultra-deep (1 Ms) Chandra ACIS-I observations. They also concluded thatcoronally active stars such as active binaries (ABs)…
We have conducted a survey of Faraday rotation in a sample of 191 compact radio-loud AGNs as part of the MOJAVE (Monitoring of Jets in Active galactic nuclei with VLBA Experiments) project. The observations were carried out with the VLBA at 8.1, 8.4, 12.1 and 15.3 GHz over 12 epochs in 2006. We detect sufficiently strong linear polarization in 159 out of 211 observations to calculate the rotation measure values, resulting in a large enough sample for statistical analysis of the Faraday rotation in blazars. These Faraday rotation measures can be used to study the intrinsic magnetic field order …
First Detection of Radio Polarization During Jet Formation in the Changing-Look AGN 1ES 1927+654
University of Maryland Baltimore County（马里兰大学巴尔的摩县分校）；NASA Goddard Space Flight Center（美国宇航局戈达德太空飞行中心）；Center for Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County（马里兰大学巴尔的摩县分校空间科学与技术中心）；Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, NASA/GSFC（NASA/戈达德太空飞行中心空间科学与探索研究中心）；National Centre for Radio Astrophysics（国家射电天文中心）
We use the Very Long Baseline Array to conduct high precision astrometry of a sample of 33 compact, flat spectrum, variable radio sources in the direction of the Galactic plane (Becker et al. 2010). Although Becker et al. (2010) ruled out a few potential scenarios for the origin of the radio emission, the study could not rule out that these sources were black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs). Most known BHXBs are first detected by X-ray or optical emission when they go into an outburst, leaving the larger quiescent BHXB population undiscovered. In this paper, we attempt to identify any Galactic sou…
We present results of a detailed investigation of the poorly studied X-ray pulsar XTE J1858+034 based on the data obtained with the NuSTAR observatory during the outburst of the source in 2019. The spectral analysis resulted in the discovery of a cyclotron absorption feature in the source spectrum at ~48 keV both in the pulse phase averaged and resolved spectra. Accurate X-ray localization of the source using the NuSTAR and Chandra observatories allowed us to accurately determine the position of the X-ray source and identify the optical companion of the pulsar. The analysis of the counterpart …
VER J0521+211 (RGB J0521.8+2112) is one of the brightest and most powerful blazars detected in the TeV gamma-ray regime. It is located at a redshift of z=0.108 and since its discovery in 2009, VER J0521+211 has exhibited an average TeV flux exceeding 0.1 times that of the Crab Nebula, corresponding to an isotropic luminosity of $3\times10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$. We present data from a comprehensive multiwavelength campaign on this object extending between November 2012 and February 2014, including single-dish radio observations, optical photometry and polarimetry, UV, X-ray, GeV and TeV gamma-ray …
We present the discovery of a strongly phase-variable absorption feature in the X-ray spectrum of the nearby, thermally-emitting, isolated neutron star RX J0720.4-3125. The absorption line was detected performing detailed phase-resolved spectroscopy in 20 XMM-Newton observations, covering the period May 2000 - September 2012. The feature has an energy of ~750eV, an equivalent width of ~30eV, and it is significantly detected for only ~20% of the pulsar rotation. The absorption feature appears to be stable over the timespan covered by the observations. Given its strong dependence on the pulsar r…
The Cygnus Loop is a nearby supernova remnant (SNR) observed across the electromagnetic spectrum. With the analysis of 6 years of Fermi/LAT data we find that, what previous studies had considered a single source, consists of an extended source plus a point-like source south-east of the SNR. The extended gamma-ray emission is well correlated with the thermal X-ray emission of the SNR, and the energy spectrum displays a pronounced maximum at $\sim0.6$\,GeV. However, in a region where the radio emission is strongly and distinctly polarized, the gamma-ray spectrum shows no sign of a break. Therefo…
The radio source 3C 264, hosted by the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 3862, was observed with VERITAS between February 2017 and May 2019. These deep observations resulted in the discovery of very-high-energy (VHE; E $>100$ GeV) $γ$-ray emission from this active galaxy. An analysis of $\sim$57 hours of quality-selected live time yields a detection at the position of the source, corresponding to a statistical significance of 7.8 standard deviations above background. The observed VHE flux is variable on monthly time scales, with an elevated flux seen in 2018 observations. The VHE emission during thi…
We report on observations of BL Lacertae during the first 18 months of Fermi-LAT science operations and present results from a 48-day multifrequency coordinated campaign from 2008 August 19 to 2008 October 7. The radio to gamma-ray behavior of BL Lac is unveiled during a low activity state thanks to the coordinated observations of radio-band (Metsahovi and VLBA), near-IR/optical (Tuorla, Steward, OAGH and MDM) and X-ray (RXTE and Swift) observatories. No variability was resolved in gamma-rays during the campaign, and the brightness level was 15 times lower than the level of the 1997 EGRET outb…
The radio emitting X-ray binary GRS 1915+105 shows a wide variety of X-ray and radio states. We present a decade of monitoring observations, with the RXTE-ASM and the Ryle Telescope, in conjunction with high-resolution radio observations using MERLIN and the VLBA. Linear polarisation at 1.4 and 1.6 GHz has been spatially resolved in the radio jets, on a scale of ~150 mas and at flux densities of a few mJy. Depolarisation of the core occurs during radio flaring, associated with the ejection of relativistic knots of emission. We have identified the ejection at four epochs of X-ray flaring. Assum…
The jet in active galactic nuclei (AGN) is a key ingredient in understanding the co-evolution of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Unfortunately, the mechanism of jet launching and collimation is still elusive. The observational evidence of decreasing radio loudness with increasing Eddington ratio implies that the jet should be coupled with the accretion process. To further explore the relationship between the jet and accretion, it is necessary to extend our knowledge of the jet to an extreme end of the Eddington ratio distribution of AGN. Using Very Long Baseline Ar…
The Chandra X-ray observatory has proven to be a vital tool for studying high-energy emission processes in jets associated with Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN).We have compiled a sample of 27 AGN selected from the radio flux-limited MOJAVE (Monitoring of Jets in AGN with VLBA Experiments) sample of highly relativistically beamed jets to look for correlations between X-ray and radio emission on kiloparsec scales. The sample consists of all MOJAVE quasars which have over 100 mJy of extended radio emission at 1.4 GHz and a radio structure of at least 3" in size. Previous Chandra observations have re…
We report on the direct observation of an extended X-ray jet in the $z$=6.1 radio-loud Active Galactic Nucleus PSO J030947.49+271757.31 from a deep Chandra X-ray observation (128 ksec). This detection represents the most distant kpc off-nuclear emission resolved in the X-rays to date. The angular distance of the emission is $\sim$4" (corresponding to $\sim$20 kpc at $z$=6.1), along the same direction of the jet observed at parsec scales in previous VLBA high-resolution radio observations. Moreover, the 0.5-7.0 keV isophotes coincide with the extended radio emission as imaged by the VLA Sky Sur…
We report the discovery of the nearby long, soft GRB 100316D, and the subsequent unveiling of its host galaxy and associated supernova. We study the extremely unusual prompt emission with time-resolved gamma-ray to X-ray spectroscopy and find that a thermal component in addition to the synchrotron spectrum is required. The host galaxy is a bright, blue galaxy with a highly disturbed morphology. From optical photometry and spectroscopy we provide an accurate astrometry and redshift, and derive the key host properties of star formation rate and stellar age. We compare our findings for this GRB-S…
