The twin-jet system in the FRII radio galaxy 3C 452: A sub-parsec scale VLBI study

TL;DR

This study uses multi-frequency VLBI observations to resolve and analyze the twin-jet structure of the FRII radio galaxy 3C 452 on sub-parsec scales, revealing symmetric, parabolically expanding jets and insights into jet orientation and collimation.

Contribution

First detailed VLBI-scale description of 3C 452's twin-jet system, including jet expansion, brightness temperatures, spectral analysis, and implications for jet collimation and orientation.

Findings

Jets are symmetrically expanding with power-law indices ~0.66 and ~0.47.

Brightness temperatures indicate low Doppler factors and large viewing angle (~70°).

Core spectrum is inverted with absorption at high frequencies, steepening in the innermost jet.

Abstract

We present a comprehensive multifrequency VLBI analysis of the FRII, high-excitation radio galaxy 3C 452, aiming to resolve and analyze for the first time its twin-jet structure on sub-parsec scales. Our data set comprises High Sensitivity Array (HSA) observations at 4.9, 8.4, 15.4, 23.6, and 43.2 GHz. Through fitting methods performed in both the visibility and the image plane, we trace the jet expansion from scales of a few thousand to nearly $10^5$ Schwarzschild radii ($R_S$) on both the approaching and receding jets. Additionally, we derive the core brightness temperatures and Doppler factors to constrain the jet's orientation and intrinsic speed. Our study provides the first detailed description of the twin-jet system in 3C 452 on VLBI scales, confirming it as a rare FRII source with jets detected down to millimeter wavelengths. We resolve both jet and counter-jet down to scales of a few thousand $R_S$, revealing a symmetric, parabolically expanding structure with power-law indices $k \approx 0.66$ (jet) and $k \approx 0.47$ (counter-jet). The brightness temperature analysis yields low Doppler factors ($\delta \sim 0.03$-$0.83$), indicative of Doppler de-boosting due to the large viewing angle ($\theta \approx 70^\circ$) and/or a magnetically dominated jet base. A spectral index analysis reveals a strongly inverted core spectrum ($\alpha > 2$) with additional absorption at the highest frequencies, followed by a sharp steepening ($\alpha \sim -2.5$) to optically thin values in the innermost jet. Finally, a comparison between broad- and narrow-line high-excitation radio galaxies shows that jets in narrow-line sources such as 3C 452 and Cygnus A complete collimation at $\leq 10^5 R_S$, whereas broad-line sources exhibit shape transitions at $10^6$-$10^7 R_S$, suggesting that orientation plays an important role in the observed collimation scales.