Radio-Optical Study of Double-Peaked AGNs. I. 3C 390.3

TL;DR

This study investigates the connection between radio and optical emissions in the galaxy 3C 390.3, testing a model that explains double-peaked emission lines through jet and outflow interactions over 11 years.

Contribution

The paper provides a detailed radio imaging and modeling of 3C 390.3's inner jet to test a proposed emission mechanism involving jet-related ionization and outflows.

Findings

Radio images locate the emission regions near the jet base.

Correlations observed between radio flux and optical emission support the model.

Preliminary results align with the proposed ionization scenario.

Abstract

We aim to test the model proposed to explain the correlation between the flux density at 15 GHz of a stationary component in the parsec-scale jet and the optical continuum emission in the radio galaxy 3C~390.3. In the model, the double-peaked emission from 3C~390.3 is likely to be generated both near the disk and in a rotating subrelativistic outflow surrounding the jet, due to ionization of the outflow by the beamed continuum emission from the jet. This scenario is chosen since broad-emission lines are observed to vary following changes in the inner radio jet. For recent epochs we have imaged and modelled the radio emission of the inner jet of 3C~390.3, which was observed with very long baseline interferometry at 15 GHz, 22 GHz and 43 GHz, to image the inner part of the parsec-scale jet, locate the exact region where the bulk of the continuum luminosity is generated and search for the mechanism that drives the double-peaked profile emission. We present the preliminary results of testing the model using data from 11 years of active monitoring of 3C~390.3.