Collimation of the kiloparsec-scale radio jets in NGC 2663

Abstract

We present the discovery of highly collimated radio jets spanning a total of 355 kpc around the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 2663, and the possible first detection of recollimation on kiloparsec scales. The small distance to the galaxy (∼28.5 Mpc) allows us to resolve portions of the jets to examine their structure. We combine multiwavelength data: radio observations by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), and X-ray data from Chandra, Swift, and SRG/eROSITA. We present intensity, rotation measure, polarization, spectral index, and X-ray environment maps. Regions of the southern jet show simultaneous narrowing and brightening, which can be interpreted as a signature of the recollimation of the jet by external, environmental pressure, though it is also consistent with intermittent active galactic nuclei or complex internal jet structure. X-ray data suggest that the environment is extremely poor; if the jet is indeed recollimating, the large recollimation scale (40 kpc) is consistent with a slow jet in a low-density environment.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 12, 2022
Source ID
10.1093/mnras/stac2012

Entities

People

  • A. W. Hotan
  • Bärbel Koribalski
  • C. D. Tremblay
  • Dirk Grupe
  • Ettore Carretti
  • Gavin Rowell
  • George Heald
  • H. Andernach
  • Jordan Collier
  • Joshua Marvil
  • Kirpal Nandra
  • Lawrence Rudnick
  • Luke Barnes
  • Mara Salvato
  • Matthew Whiting
  • Miroslav Filipovic
  • Oleg Titov
  • P. Manojlović
  • R. Z. E. Alsaberi
  • Ray P. Norris
  • S G H Waddell
  • Sabrina Einecke
  • Stanislav Shabala
  • T H Reiprich
  • T. G. Pannuti
  • T. J. Galvin
  • Thomas H. Jarrett
  • Velibor Velović

Organizations

  • Associated Universities, Inc.
  • Curtin University
  • Geoscience Australia
  • German Aerospace Center
  • Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam
  • Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
  • Max Planck Society
  • Morehead State University
  • National Radio Astronomy Observatory
  • National Science Foundation
  • Russian Academy of Sciences
  • SETI Institute
  • Swinburne University of Technology
  • United States Naval Observatory
  • Universidad de Guanajuato
  • University of Adelaide
  • University of Bonn
  • University of Cape Town
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Tasmania
  • Western Sydney University

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Astronomy/Astrophysics
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.

Technology Areas

  • Space