Origin of the complex radio structure in BAL QSO 1045+352

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution radio observations to analyze the complex jet structure of BAL quasar 1045+352, exploring possible causes like jet precession, environmental interactions, and orientation effects.

Contribution

It provides new detailed radio imaging of 1045+352, revealing complex jet morphology and discussing potential mechanisms behind it, including jet precession and environmental interactions.

Findings

Jet morphology shows multiple bends and knots.

The jet is oriented close to the line of sight.

No direct correlation between jet orientation and BAL features.

Abstract

We present new more sensitive high-resolution radio observations of a compact broad absorption line (BAL) quasar, 1045+352, made with the EVN+MERLIN at 5 GHz. They allowed us to trace the connection between the arcsecond structure and the radio core of the quasar. The radio morphology of 1045+352 is dominated by a knotty jet showing several bends. We discuss possible scenarios that could explain such a complex morphology: galaxy merger, accretion disk instability, precession of the jet and jet-cloud interactions. It is possible that we are witnessing an ongoing jet precession in this source due to internal instabilities within the jet flow, however, a dense environment detected in the submillimeter band and an outflowing material suggested by the X-ray absorption could strongly interact with the jet. It is difficult to establish the orientation between the jet axis and the observer in 1045+352 because of the complex structure. Nevertheless taking into account the most recent inner radio structure we conclude that the radio jet is oriented close to the line of sight which can mean that the opening angle of the accretion disk wind can be large in this source. We also suggest that there is no direct correlation between the jet-observer orientation and the possibility of observing BALs.