Fine-scale structure of the quasar 3C 279 Measured with 1.3 mm very long baseline interferometry

TL;DR

This study used 1.3 mm VLBI to resolve the inner structure of quasar 3C 279, revealing a variable jet direction inconsistent with precession models and providing insights into its brightness temperature and morphology.

Contribution

First high-resolution VLBI observations at 1.3 mm revealing the inner jet structure and variability of quasar 3C 279 at unprecedented spatial scales.

Findings

Inner jet extends NW-SE at ~1 parsec scale.

Jet structure varies on daily timescales.

Brightness temperature is ~8×10^{10} K, lower than at longer wavelengths.

Abstract

We report results from 5-day VLBI observations of the well-known quasar 3C 279 at 1.3 mm (230 GHz) in 2011. The measured nonzero closure phases on triangles including stations in Arizona, California and Hawaii indicate that the source structure is spatially resolved. We find an unusual inner jet direction at scales of $\sim$1 parsec extending along the northwest-southeast direction (PA = $127^{\circ}\pm3^{\circ}$), as opposed to other (previously) reported measurements on scales of a few parsecs showing inner jet direction extending to the southwest. The 1.3 mm structure corresponds closely with that observed in the central region of quasi-simultaneous super-resolution VLBA images at 7 mm. The closure phase changed significantly on the last day when compared with the rest of observations, indicating that the inner jet structure may be variable on daily timescales. The observed new direction of the inner jet shows inconsistency with the prediction of a class of jet precession models. Our observations indicate a brightness temperature of $\sim 8\times10^{10}$ K in the 1.3 mm core, much lower than that at centimeter wavelengths. Observations with better uv coverage and sensitivity in the coming years will allow the discrimination between different structure models and will provide direct images of the inner regions of the jet with 20--30 $\mu$as (5--7 light months) resolution.