The Parsec-Scale Jets of the TeV Blazars H 1426+428, 1ES 1959+650, and PKS 2155-304: 2001-2004

TL;DR

This paper presents VLBA observations of three TeV blazars from 2001-2004, measuring jet speeds, core structures, and polarization, providing insights into their parsec-scale jet dynamics and comparing them with theoretical models.

Contribution

It provides new VLBA measurements of jet speeds, core identification, and polarization for three TeV blazars, enhancing understanding of their jet kinematics and structure.

Findings

Jet component in H 1426+428 has apparent speed of 2.09c.

1ES 1959+650's jet component is stationary within measurement errors.

Mean peak apparent pattern speed in TeV HBLs is about 1c.

Abstract

We present Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the TeV blazars H 1426+428, 1ES 1959+650, and PKS 2155-304 obtained during the years 2001 through 2004. We observed H 1426+428 at four epochs at 8 GHz, and found that its parsec-scale structure consisted of a ~17 mJy core and a single ~3 mJy jet component with an apparent speed of 2.09 +/- 0.53c. The blazar 1ES 1959+650 was observed at three epochs at frequencies of 15 and 22 GHz. Spectral index information from these dual-frequency observations was used to definitively identify the core of the parsec-scale structure. PKS 2155-304 was observed at a single epoch at 15 GHz with dual-circular polarization, and we present the first VLBI polarimetry image of this source. For 1ES 1959+650 and PKS 2155-304, the current observations are combined with the VLBA observations from our earlier paper to yield improved apparent speed measurements for these sources with greatly reduced measurement errors. The new apparent speed measured for component C2 in 1ES 1959+650 is 0.00 +/- 0.04c (stationary), and the new apparent speed measured for component C1 in PKS 2155-304 is 0.93 +/- 0.31c. We combine the new apparent speed measurements from this paper with the apparent speeds measured in TeV blazar jets from our earlier papers to form a current set of apparent speed measurements in TeV HBLs. The mean peak apparent pattern speed in the jets of the TeV HBLs is about 1c. We conclude the paper with a detailed discussion of the interpretation of the collected VLBA data on TeV blazars in the context of current theoretical models for the parsec-scale structure of TeV blazar jets.