Unveiling the Complex Jet Dynamics in the Blazar 2021+317 through Multi-Epoch VLBI Observations

TL;DR

This study uses multi-epoch VLBI observations to analyze the complex jet structure and dynamics of the blazar 2021+317, revealing stationary and moving components, jet precession, and magnetic dominance in the core.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed multi-frequency, multi-epoch VLBI analysis of 2021+317, proposing models for jet motion and magnetic field dominance, and identifying jet precession.

Findings

Detection of two new moving jet components (S4 and S5).

Jet ridge line exhibits counter-clockwise rotation over time.

Evidence supports a precessing jet model with a half-cycle completed.

Abstract

We present an investigation of the compact structure of the AGN 2021+317 based on multi-epoch Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations at 15, 22, and 43 GHz in the period from 2013 through 2024. The VLBI images show a core-jet structure extended to the south, with two stationary components in the northern region, one of which likely to be the core of the source. We also detected two new moving jet components (S4 and S5) in the observations of 2021. Based on these observational findings, we analyzed two distinctive jet models, involving one or another stationary component mentioned above as the jet core. One model assumes a moderate bulk motion velocity, a wider viewing angle, and a lower Doppler factor, with the magnetic field energy density significantly dominating over non-thermal particle energy density. The other model involves a higher bulk motion velocity, a narrower viewing angle, and a higher Doppler factor, with an even greater dominance of magnetic field energy in the core. The position angle of the jet ridge line rotates counter-clockwise over the observed period. The apparent kinematics of the jet components is more consistent with a model of the precessing jet, which has recently completed the first half of the precession cycle. Our results provide constraints on the dynamic evolution of the jet and its interaction with the surrounding medium.