Superluminal non-ballistic jet swing in the quasar NRAO 150 revealed by mm-VLBI

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a superluminal, non-ballistic jet swing in the quasar NRAO 150, revealing extreme jet dynamics and magnetic field influence on parsec scales through high-resolution mm-VLBI observations.

Contribution

It provides the first estimates of the jet's physical properties and demonstrates the role of magnetic fields in jet wobbling in NRAO 150.

Findings

Jet position angle swings up to ~11 deg./yr

Non-ballistic superluminal jet motion observed

Magnetic fields likely influence jet dynamics

Abstract

NRAO 150 -a compact and bright radio to mm source showing core/jet structure- has been recently identified as a quasar at redshift z=1.52 through a near-IR spectral observation. To study the jet kinematics on the smallest accessible scales and to compute the first estimates of its basic physical properties, we have analysed the ultra-high-resolution images from a new monitoring program at 86 GHz and 43 GHz with the GMVA and the VLBA, respectively. An additional archival and calibration VLBA data set, covering from 1997 to 2007, has been used. Our data shows an extreme projected counter-clock-wise jet position angle swing at an angular rate of up to ~11 deg./yr within the inner ~31 pc of the jet, which is associated with a non-ballistic superluminal motion of the jet within this region. The results suggest that the magnetic field could play an important role in the dynamics of the jet in NRAO 150, which is supported by the large values of the magnetic field strength obtained from our first estimates. The extreme characteristics of the jet swing make NRAO 150 a prime source to study the jet wobbling phenomenon.