4C02.27: a quasar with episodic activity?

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of a candidate double-double radio quasar, 4C02.27, providing evidence of episodic activity in quasars, which was previously observed mainly in radio galaxies.

Contribution

It presents the first candidate DDRQ, expanding the understanding of episodic activity to include quasars and discusses jet asymmetry as a factor in observed lobe asymmetries.

Findings

Identification of a candidate DDRQ, 4C02.27.

Evidence of episodic activity in a quasar.

Jet asymmetry may influence lobe properties.

Abstract

Striking examples of episodic activity in active galactic nuclei are the double-double radio galaxies (DDRGs) with two pairs of oppositely-directed radio lobes from two different cycles of activity. Although there are over about a dozen good examples of DDRGs, so far no case of one associated with a quasar has been reported. We present Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope observations of a candidate double-double radio quasar (DDRQ), J0935+0204 (4C02.27), and suggest that radio jets in this source may also have been intrinsically asymmetric, contributing to the large observed asymmetries in the flux density and location of both pairs of radio lobes.