Chandra Study of the Proper Motion of HST-1 in the Jet of M87

TL;DR

This study analyzes 21 years of Chandra X-ray data of M87's jet, revealing superluminal motion of knot HST-1 and its flux-offset correlation, providing insights into jet internal structure and shock dynamics.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of HST-1's superluminal motion and flux behavior using extensive Chandra data, advancing understanding of jet internal shocks.

Findings

HST-1 exhibits superluminal motion of 6.6c.

Flux of HST-1 correlates with its offset from the core.

Internal jet structure includes moving shocks separated by tens of parsecs.

Abstract

The radio galaxy M87 is well known for its jet, which features a series of bright knots observable from radio to X-ray wavelengths. We analyze the X-ray image and flux variability of the knot HST-1 in the jet. Our analysis includes all 112 available Chandra ACIS-S observations from 2000-2021, with a total exposure time of $\sim$887 ks. We use de-convolved images to study the brightness profile of the X-ray jet and measure the relative separation between the core and HST-1. From 2003-2005 (which coincides with a bright flare from HST-1), we find a correlation between the flux of HST-1 and its offset from the core. In subsequent data, we find a steady increase in this offset, which implies a bulk superluminal motion for HST-1 of 6.6$\pm$0.9 c (2.0$\pm$0.3 pc yr$^{-1}$), in keeping with prior results. We discuss models for the flux-offset correlation that feature either two or four emission regions separated by tens of parsecs. We attribute these results to moving shocks in the jet, that allow us to measure the internal structure of the jet.