Resolving the inner jet of PKS 1749+096 with super-resolution VLBA images at 7 mm

TL;DR

This study uses super-resolution VLBA imaging to analyze the inner jet structure and kinematics of PKS 1749+096, revealing limb-brightening, jet opening angles, and a position angle swing over a decade, providing insights into jet physics.

Contribution

It applies the Bi-Spectrum Maximum Entropy Method to VLBA data to resolve inner jet features at unprecedented scales, advancing understanding of jet morphology and dynamics in PKS 1749+096.

Findings

Inner jet is limb-brightened with a 50° apparent opening angle.

Detected a jet position angle swing over ten years.

Jet limb brightening and angle variations linked to flux and gamma-ray activity.

Abstract

High resolution imaging of inner jets in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) with VLBI at millimeter wavelengths provides deep insight into the launching and collimation mechanisms of relativistic jets. The BL Lac object, PKS 1749+096, shows a core-dominated jet pointing toward the northeast on parsec-scales revealed by various VLBI observations. In order to investigate the jet kinematics, in particular, the orientation of the inner jet on the smallest accessible scales and the basic physical conditions of the core, in this work we adopted a super-resolution technique, the Bi-Spectrum Maximum Entropy Method (BSMEM), to reanalyze VLBI images based on the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of PKS 1749+096 within the VLBA-BU-BLAZAR 7 mm monitoring program. These observations include a total of 105 epochs covering the period from 2009 to 2019. We found that the stacked image of the inner jet is limb-brightened with an apparent opening angle of 50{\deg}.0 +/- 8{\deg}.0 and 42{\deg}.0 +/- 6{\deg}.0 at the distance of 0.2 and 0.3 mas (0.9 and 1.4 pc) from the core, corresponding to an intrinsic jet opening angle of 5{\deg}.2 +/- 1{\deg}.0 and 4{\deg}.3 +/- 0{\deg}.7, respectively. In addition, our images show a clear jet position angle swing in PKS 1749+096 within the last ten years. We discuss the possible implications of jet limb brightening and the connection of the position angle with jet peak flux density and gamma-ray brightness.