Hubble Space Telescope far-ultraviolet imaging of the jet in 3C 273: a common emission component from optical to X-rays

نویسندگان

  • Sebastian Jester
  • Klaus Meisenheimer
  • André R. Martel
  • Eric S. Perlman
  • William B. Sparks
چکیده

We present far-ultraviolet (UV) observations at ∼ 150 nm of the jet of the quasar 3C 273 obtained with the Advanced Camera for Survey’s Solar Blind Channel (ACS/SBC) on board the Hubble Space Telescope. While the jet morphology is very similar to that in the optical and near-ultraviolet, the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the jet’s sub-regions show an upturn in νfν at 150 nm compared to 300 nm everywhere in the jet. Moreover, the 150 nm flux is compatible with extrapolating the X-ray power-law down to the ultra-violet region. This constitutes strong support for a common origin of the jet’s far-UV and X-ray emission. It implies that even a substantial fraction of the visible light in the X-ray brightest parts of the jet arises from the same spectral component as the X-rays, as had been suggested earlier based on Spitzer Space Telescope observations. We argue that the identification of this UV/X-ray component opens up the possibility to establish the synchrotron origin of the X-ray emission by optical polarimetry.

برای دانلود رایگان متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

X - rays from the jet in 3 C 273 : clues from the radio – optical spectra

Using new deep VLA and HST observations of the large-scale jet in 3C 273 matched to 0. ′′ 3 resolution, we have detected excess near-ultraviolet emission (λ 300 nm) above a synchrotron cutoff spectrum accounting for the emission from radio through optical (λλ3.6 cm–620 nm). This necessitates a two-component model for the emission. The radio–optical–X-ray spectral energy distributions suggest a ...

متن کامل

Emission from Large-scale Jets in Quasars

We consider the emission processes in the large-scale jets of powerful quasars based on the results obtained with the VLA, Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra. We show that two well-known jets, 3C 273 and PKS 1136−135, have two distinct spectral components on large-scales: (1) the low-energy (LE) synchrotron spectrum extending from radio to infrared, and (2) the high-energy (HE) component arising from...

متن کامل

Detection of Optical Synchrotron Emission from the Radio Jet of 3c 279

We report the detection of optical and ultraviolet emission from the kiloparsec scale jet of the well-known quasar 3C 279. A bright knot, discovered in archival V and U band Hubble Space Telescope Faint Object Camera images, is coincident with a peak in the radio jet ∼0.6 from the nucleus. The detection was also confirmed in Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 images. Archival Very Large Array and ME...

متن کامل

The multiwavelength variability of 3 C 273

Aims. We present an update of the 3C 273’s database hosted by the ISDC, completed with data from radio to gamma-ray observations over the last 10 years. We use this large data set to study the multiwavelength properties of this quasar, especially focussing on its variability behaviour. Methods. We study the amplitude of the variations and the maximum variability time scales across the broad-ban...

متن کامل

The blue - bump of 3 C 273

We present optical and ultraviolet observations of 3C 273 covering the whole life of the IUE satellite. We analyze the variability properties of the light curves, and find that two variable components, written B and R respectively, must contribute to the blue-bump emission in this object. The B component produces most of the variability in the ultraviolet domain. A maximum time scale of variabi...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2008