The λ=6 cm VLBI polarization structure of nine BL Lacertae objects

VLBI total intensity ( I ) and linear polarization ( P ) images at λ =6 cm have been obtained for nine radio-bright BL Lacertae objects. These are the first VLBI P images for these sources, and, in a number of cases, the first I images as well. They confirm the previously noted tendency for the jet magnetic fields of BL Lacertae objects to be transverse to the local jet direction, but also provide new evidence that a sizeable minority of BL Lacertae objects have VLBI jet components with longitudinal magnetic fields. In addition, two sources have VLBI jet components in which the direction of the electric vector χ bears no obvious relation to the apparent local jet direction; the origin of these arbitrary χ offsets is unclear. A new tentative superluminal speed of β =6.3  h ⁻¹ has been determined for 0828+493; tentative speeds for two knots in 1418+546 are β =4.3 and 2.5  h ⁻¹. This work is part of an ongoing programme to determine the VLBI I and P structure of all 34 sources in the 1-Jy sample of northern BL Lacertae objects defined by Kühr & Schmidt.     

Analysis of λ = 6 cm VLBI polarization observations of a complete sample of northern BL Lacertae objects

The results of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) total intensity ( I ) and linear polarization ( P ) observations at     are presented for 10 radio bright BL Lacertae objects. These images complete first-epoch polarization observations for the 1-Jy sample of northern BL Lacertae objects defined by Kühr & Schmidt. Estimates of superluminal speeds are presented for several sources, bringing the total number of sources in the sample for which such estimates are available to 16. Second-epoch observations currently being reduced should yield speed estimates for VLBI features in essentially all the sources in the sample. The jet magnetic fields of these BL Lacertae objects are usually transverse to the local jet direction, but a sizeable minority (about 30 per cent) have VLBI jet components with longitudinal magnetic fields. This may suggest that the conditions in the VLBI jets of BL Lacertae objects are favourable for the formation of relativistic shocks; alternatively, it may be that the toroidal component of the intrinsic jet magnetic field is characteristically dominant in these sources.     

Evidence for cospatial optical and radio polarized emission in active galactic nuclei

We investigate the relationship between the optical and radio emission of active galactic nuclei (AGN) by analysing optical and 15+22+43 GHz Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) polarization observations simultaneous to within a day for 11 BL Lacertae (BL Lac) objects and the blazar 3C279. We have determined and corrected for the Faraday rotation measures in the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) cores, enabling us to compare the intrinsic (zero-wavelength) VLBI-core polarization angles and the optical polarization angles χ_opt. A clear alignment between these two angles emerges in the transition toward higher radio frequencies, and a prominent peak at 0° is visible in the distribution of |χ_opt−χ_43 GHz|. This correlation implies that the magnetic-field orientations in the regions giving rise to the optical and radio polarization are the same, and can be easily understood if the radio and optical polarization are roughly cospatial. It is difficult to rule out the possibility that they arise in different regions in a straight jet with a uniform magnetic-field structure, but this seems less likely, since the VLBI jets of AGN are often bent on parsec-scales. This may suggest that much or all of the strong optical polarization in these sources arises in the inner radio jets, possibly associated with the formation and emergence of compact new VLBI components.     

Spine–sheath polarization structures in four active galactic nuclei jets

We present the results of multifrequency (15 + 8 + 5 GHz) polarization Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the three BL Lacertae objects 0745+241, 1418+546 and 1652+398 together with 5-GHz VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) observations of 1418+546 and 1.6- and 5-GHz VSOP observations of the blazar 1055+018. The jets of all these sources have polarization structure transverse to the jet axis, with the polarization E vectors aligned with the jet along the jet spine and 'sheaths' of orthogonal E vectors at one or both edges of the jet. The presence of polarization aligned with the jet near the 'spine' may indicate that the jets are associated with helical B fields that propogate outward with the jet flow; the presence of orthogonal polarization near the edges of the jet may likewise be a consequence of a helical jet B field, or may be owing to an interaction with the ambient medium on parsec scales. We have tentatively detected interknot polarization in 1055+018 with E aligned with the local jet direction, consistent with the possibility that the jet of this source is associated with a helical B field.     

Evidence for parsec-scale absorption from VSOP observations of the BL Lacertae object 0735+178

VLBI total intensity and linear polarization images of the BL Lacertae object 0735+178 have been obtained at     using the     VLA as a ground array together with the HALCA orbiting antenna, and at     about a month later using the VLBA. The most surprising result to come from a comparison of these two images, which have nearly equivalent resolution, is that the path of the jet appears to be appreciably different at the two wavelengths. We have interpreted this as evidence for free–free absorption to the east of the core, near a bend of about 90° in the 2-cm image where the emission is very weak in the 6-cm image. Overall, the polarization structures seen in corresponding regions at the two wavelengths are in good agreement. We find tentative evidence for enhanced rotation measures near two sharp bends in the VLBI jet.     

VLBI polarization images of eight compact active galactic nuclei at λ = 1.3 cm

Global VLBI images in intensity and linear polarization at     of the BL Lacertae objects 0235+164, 0300+470, 0735+178, 0954+658, 1803+784, 1823+568, and BL Lac and OVV quasar 3C 279 are presented and analysed. These are the highest resolution polarization images currently available for several of these sources. On the whole, the tendencies observed at longer centimetre wavelengths are also exhibited in these 1.3-cm images. When core polarization is detected, the corresponding polarization angles χ tend to lie either parallel or perpendicular to the direction of the inner jet. The core degrees of polarization are usually comparable to those typical at 6 cm, but somewhat lower in several cases, suggesting that the higher resolution data are better separating the contributions of intrinsically weakly polarized cores and highly polarized emerging knots. The observed χ vectors in the jets of 0735+178, 0954+658, 1823+568, BL Lac and 3C 279 are aligned with the jet, implying the presence of transverse magnetic fields. In 0300+470 and BL Lac, there are regions where the direction of χ seems to be neither parallel nor perpendicular to the jet; it is not clear whether this is due to genuine obliquity of the magnetic field structure or to inadequate knowledge of the local flow direction.     

OJ 287,0716+714与BL Lacertae的光变分析

OJ 287是存在着剧烈活动的低峰频BL Lac天体,其低频段的能谱与另两个TeV BL Lac天体(0716+714和BL Lacertae)在低频段的能谱很相似,但是切仑科夫望远镜却没能探测到它的TeV射线.利用这3个天体的观测数据,比较它们在22 GHz、37 GHz和B波段的最小光变周期及延迟的异同,进一步寻找没有观测到OJ 287的TeV伽马射线的可能原因.分析结果显示:(1)最小光变周期方面,OJ 287在37 GHz和B波段的周期偏小,在22 GHz,OJ 287与0716+714的结果相当,但与BL Lacertae相比要小很多,OJ 287的周期更短表明其活动性更强,却没有探测到来自OJ 287的TeV伽马射线,这表明OJ 287在TeV波段的辐射与这3个低能波段最小光变周期之间可能没有联系;(2)延迟方面,OJ 287在B波段相对于37 GHz的延迟要长于0716+714,短于BL Lacertae;在37 GHz相对于22 GHz的延迟要短于0716+714,而BL Lacertae在37 GHz相对于22 GHz的时延为负值,表明22 GHz要超前于37 GHz.通过对延迟的比较分析,并没有发现OJ 287与0716+714和BL Lacertae之间存在明显的差异;从能谱来看,很可能是由于OJ 287在TeV波段的能谱较陡造成切仑科夫望远镜没有探测到来自OJ 287的伽马辐射,但TeV能段较陡的能谱对低能段光变的影响目前还不是很清楚.     

Analyses of the Light Variations of OJ 287, 0716+714 and BL Lacertae

OJ 287 is a BL Lac object which exhibits intense activities of low peak-frequencies. Its energy spectrum in low frequency band is quite similar with those of two other TeV BL Lac objects (i.e., 0716+714 and BL Lacertae). However, the Cerenkov telescope did not detect its TeV rays. By using the observational data of these three heavenly bodies and comparing the discrepan- cies of their minimal periods of light variations and delays at 22 GHz, 37 GHz and B-waveband, we have further investigated the possible reason why the TeV gamma-rays of OJ 287 have not been observed. The results of analyses are as fol- lows. (1) For the minimal periods of light variations, the periods of OJ 287 at 37 GHZ and B-waveband are short. At 22 GHz the results of OJ 287 and 0716+714 are comparable, but the period of OJ 287 is much shorter in comparison with that of BL Lacertae, and this shows that its activity is more intense. However, the TeV gamma-rays of OJ 287 have not been detected, which implies that the radiation of OJ 287 in TeV waveband may have no connection with the minimal periods of light variations in these three low-energy wavebands. (2) In respect of delays, the delay of OJ 287 in the B waveband with respect to 37 GHz is longer than that of 0716+714, but shorter than that of BL Lacertae. Its delay at 37 GHz in respect to 22 GHz is shorter than that of 0716+714. Meanwhile, the delay of BL Lacertae at 37 GHz in respect to 22 GHz is negative, which implies that 22 GHz precedes 37 GHz. Via the comparison and analysis of delays, no obvious differences between OJ 287 and 0716+714 as well as BL Lacertae have been found. On the side of energy spectra, it is quite possible that due to the steep energy spectrum of OJ 287 in TeV waveband, the Cerenkov telescope has not detected the gamma radiation of OJ 287. However, nowadays it is still not clear whether the steep energy spectrum in TeV energy range has some influence on the light variations in low energy realm.     

VLBI and VLA observations of intraday polarization variability in 0917+624 and 0954+658

Total intensity and polarization λ =6 cm Very Large Array (VLA) and global very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) images of the quasar 0917+624 and the BL Lacertae object 0954+658 (both at epoch 1991.43) are analysed. Integrated measurements using the VLA during the VLBI observations indicated that, although there were no substantial total intensity variations, there were significant polarization variations for both sources during the 24-h VLBI experiment. The VLBI data were divided into 2–3 h segments in order to try to identify corresponding rapid variability in the VLBI structure. This analysis revealed intraday variability (IDV) in the VLBI core of 0917+624: both the polarized flux and the polarization position angle varied substantially on time-scales of ∼5–10 h. There is evidence that the VLA polarization variations for 0954+658 occurred in an inner VLBI jet component, where the polarized flux varied by ∼30–40 per cent on time-scales of ∼2 h. 0917+624 and 0954+658 were observed together with 0716+714, an object that also displayed IDV in the polarized flux density measured during our experiment (analysed in a separate paper). These three sources were targeted for the VLBI observations since they had been previously identified as intraday variables, but we had no way of knowing whether they would vary during our observations. The fact that all three exhibited IDV in polarization (but not in total intensity) during our experiment suggests that polarization IDV occurs frequently in at least some IDV sources.     

Parsec-scale polarization of the jet in quasar 4C 71.07

Very long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of the quasar 4C 71.07 (0836+710) at frequencies of 5 and 8.4 GHz at two epochs are used to investigate apparent misalignments between the magnetic field and jet direction found in this source. The observed polarization angles are not consistent with Faraday rotation of synchrotron radiation from an aligned magnetic field. Internal Faraday rotation in a uniform spherical source is also ruled out by the observations, and while the misalignments could result from internal Faraday rotation in a non-uniform source, no strong signatures of this effect were found. The jet shows two distinct kinks at which the ridge-line changes direction and then reverts to its original direction. The magnetic field in these regions is parallel to the jet, and remains so as the jet bends. It seems likely that the largest remaining misalignment is associated with another such kink that is unresolved by these observations. The percentage polarization decreases near the bright knots, consistent with enhancement in brightness by compressions in the plane normal to the jet axis. The inferred rotation measure is low (100 rad m⁻²) throughout the jet, as for other quasars. However near the core, the polarization position angles suggest a rotation measure that appears to be uncharacteristically low by comparison with other quasars.     

The VLBI Polarization Properties of the Compact Steep-spectrum Source 1150+497

Using the Very Long Baseline Array of the USA, we have made the double-band full-polarization observations towards the compact steep-spectrum source 1150+497, and obtained the distributions of the polarization flux intensity and polarization vector of this source at the 5 GHz and 8 GHz wave bands. The results show that the polarization of the source is mostly concentrated in the core region. Besides, by fitting the polarization angles at three frequencies, the milliarcsecond-scale rotation measure of the source 1150+497 is derived to be 66 rad/m2 for the first time. After removing the ratation measure, the distribution of intrinsic magnetic fields of the source on milliarcsecond scale is obtained. It demonstrates that the direction of the magnetic vector is consistent with the direction of its jet.     

The unification of RBLs with XBLs

Many astronomers have discussed the property of BL Lacertae objects, including the variation of spectrum, the correlation of multi-wave bands and the property of polarization, which could give good information for studying intrinsic correlation of components and position of BL Lacertae objects. In the paper, we investigated the properties of RBLs and XBLs and RBLs/XBLs (these objects can also be found by radio survey as by X-ray survey). Firstly, we collected the light curve of 28 BL Lacertae objects, and gained their short timescales by Structure Function (SF). Secondly, we analyzed the distribution of the short timescales of some BL Lacertae objects, including 28 objects’ timescales calculated by SF, as well as the distribution of the redshift and the black hole mass and the flux densities of the multi-wavebands (radio, near-infrared, optical and Gamma-ray). Based on statistical analysis, the result of the paper support the unification model of RBLs and XBLs.     

BeppoSAX observations of 1-Jy BL Lacertae objects – I

We present new BeppoSAX observations of seven BL Lacertae objects selected from the 1-Jy sample plus one additional source. The collected data cover the energy range     (observer's frame), reaching ∼50 keV for one source (BL Lac). All sources characterized by a peak in their multifrequency spectra at infrared/optical energies (i.e., of the low-energy peaked BL Lac type, LBL) display a relatively flat     X-ray spectrum, which we interpret as inverse Compton emission. Four objects (two-thirds of the LBLs) show some evidence for a low-energy steepening, which is probably due to the synchrotron tail merging into the inverse Compton component around ∼     . If this were generally the case with LBLs, it would explain why the     ROSAT spectra of our sources are systematically steeper than the BeppoSAX ones     . The broad-band spectral energy distributions fully confirm this picture, and a synchrotron inverse Compton model allows us to derive the physical parameters (intrinsic power, magnetic field, etc.) of our sources. Combining our results with those obtained by BeppoSAX on BL Lacs covering a wide range of synchrotron peak frequency, ν _peak, we confirm and clarify the dependence of the X-ray spectral index on ν _peak originally found in ROSAT data.     

Optical R-band variability of seven X-ray-selected BL Lacertae objects

This paper presents the results of optical CCD photometry in the Cousins R band for seven X-ray-selected BL Lacertae objects. Observations have been performed with the 70-cm meniscus telescope of Abastumani Astrophysical Observatory, Georgia. The data obtained provide important information on sources that have been rarely observed in the optical band. The targets show clear long-term variability with time-scales of 1.5–5 yr. The maximum amplitudes are slightly greater than 1 mag. 1ES 0323+022, 0502+675 and 0806+524 show clear non-periodical behaviour. 1ES 1028+511 changes quasi-periodically but further monitoring for periodicity confirmation and period derivation is needed. Overall brightness variation is maximal for 1ES 0647+250 with  Δ R = 1.29  mag. Two-peak maxima, indicating the existence of reverse shocks in blazar jets, are observed for 1ES 0502+675, 0647+250, 0806+524 and 1517+656. The targets do not show intra-night variability. Day-to-day changes with amplitudes of 0.1–0.32 mag coincide mainly with short-term bursts. The latter are seen at faint (quiet) stages as during flaring activities. This fact leads to the suggestion that both hot-spot and shock-in-jet models explaining the origin of short-term bursts should be reasonable.     

VSOP polarization observations of the BL Lacertae object OJ 287

VLBI total intensity and linear polarization images of the BL Lacertae object OJ 287 have been obtained at     using a global ground array and the HALCA orbiting antenna, and at     two weeks earlier using the VLBA. In the ground-based 6-cm images, the source is dominated by a core–jet double structure the components of which are essentially unresolved. The baselines to the orbiting antenna resolve both of these compact components. In the VSOP images, the ground-based 'core' breaks up into several distinct components, demonstrating that this region is dominated by the contribution of bright, optically thin knots of jet emission. A very similar structure is observed in the 1.3-cm image. The magnetic field in the core is transverse, becomes longitudinal in the inner jet, then makes a sharp transition to a region of transverse field further from the core. This suggests that the field in the outer jet has become highly ordered in the transverse direction owing to the action of a shock; the physical nature of the extended region of longitudinal field closer to the core is not clear. The availability of nearly simultaneous observations with comparable resolution at widely spaced frequencies enabled detection of a ≃90° rotation in polarization position angle for the core, owing to the transition from the optically thick (6 cm) to the optically thin (1.3 cm) regime.     

The unusual host galaxy of the BL Lac object PKS 1413+135

The BL Lacertae object PKS 1413+135 is associated with a disc-dominated galaxy that heavily absorbs the BL Lac nucleus at optical and X-ray wavelengths. It has been argued whether this galaxy is actually the host galaxy of PKS 1413+135 or whether the BL Lac is a background QSO, gravitationally lensed by the apparent host galaxy. We have obtained deep high-resolution H -band images of this unusual BL Lac object using the UKIRT IRCAM3. Our observations show that the BL Lac nucleus is centred within 0.05 arcsec of the galaxy. Based on this result, we assess the probability for the lensing scenario and come to the conclusion that the disc galaxy is indeed the host of PKS 1413+135. The galaxy shows peanut-shaped isophotes, suggesting the presence of a central bar, which is a common feature of AGN.     

Fast variability of BL Lacertae at 1 μm

We present the results of photometric observations of BL Lacertae at 1 μm performed during the strong outburst that occurred in the summer of 1997. Measurements were carried out using the F99 filter of the Arizona system. Simultaneous observations in the B V bands were made with other telescopes. Large and fast variations were observed on the night of August 2 when the brightness of BL Lacertae changed by ∼ 0.5 mag in about 2 h: the variation amplitude is greater at higher frequency. Some implications of these results for the origin of the fast variations are discussed. We also report the first F99 calibration for three reference stars in the BL Lac field.     

Variations in the broad-band spectra of BL Lac objects: millimetre observations of an X-ray-selected sample

Observations at millimetre wavelengths are presented for a representative sample of 22 X-ray-selected BL Lac objects (XBLs). This sample comprises 19 high-energy cut-off BL Lac objects (HBLs), 1 low-energy cut-off BL Lac object (LBL) and 2 'intermediate' sources. Data for LBLs, which are mostly radio-selected BL Lac objects (RBLs), are taken from the literature. It is shown that the radio–millimetre spectral indices of HBLs     are slightly steeper than those of the LBLs     . A correlation exists between α _5–230 and 230 GHz luminosity. While this correlation could be an artefact of comparing two populations of BL Lac objects with intrinsically different radio properties, it is also consistent with the predictions of existing unified schemes that relate BL Lac objects to Fanaroff–Riley class I radio galaxies.
The HBLs have significantly flatter submillimetre–X-ray spectral indices     than the LBLs     although the two intermediate sources also have intermediate values of α _230–X∼−0.9. It is argued that this difference cannot be explained entirely by the viewing-angle hypothesis and requires a difference in physical-source parameters. The α _230–X values for the HBLs are close to the canonical value found for large samples of radio sources and thus suggest that synchrotron radiation is the mechanism that produces the X-ray emission. As suggested by Padovani & Giommi, the inverse-Compton mechanism is likely to dominate in the LBLs requiring the synchrotron spectra of these sources to steepen or cut off at lower frequencies than those of the HBLs.     

Submillimetre observations of luminous z>4 radio-quiet quasars and the contribution of AGN to the submm source population

We present polarization observations of the gravitational lens system B1422+231 made at 8.4 GHz using the VLBA and the 100-m telescope at Effelsberg. All four images of the quasar show structure on the milliarcsec scale. The three bright images show tangential stretching as expected from lens models. Some basic properties of gravitational lensing are exhibited by this system. The surface brightness of images A and B are the same and the parity reversal expected in image B is revealed, for the first time, by polarization observations. There is a large differential Faraday rotation between images A and B.     

Intermediate BL Lac objects

The 200-mJy sample, defined by Marchã et al., contains about 60 nearby, northern, flat-spectrum radio sources. In particular, the sample has proved effective at finding nearby radio-selected BL Lac objects with radio luminosities comparable to those of X-ray-selected objects, and low-luminosity flat-spectrum weak emission-line radio galaxies (WLRGs). The 200-mJy sample contains 23 BL Lac objects (including 6 BL Lac candidates) and 19 WLRGs. We will refer to these subsamples as the 200-mJy BL Lac sample and the 200-mJy WLRG sample, respectively. We have started a systematic analysis of the morphological pc-scale properties of the 200-mJy radio sources using VLBI observations.
This paper presents VLBI observations at 5 and 1.6 GHz of 14 BL Lac objects and WLRGs selected from the 200-mJy sample. The pc-scale morphology of these objects is briefly discussed. We derive the radio beaming parameters of the 200-mJy BL Lac objects and WLRGs and compare them with those of other BL Lac samples and with a sample of FR I radio galaxies. The overall broad-band radio, optical and X-ray properties of the 200-mJy BL Lac sample are discussed and compared with those of other BL Lac samples, radio- and X-ray-selected. We find that the 200-mJy BL Lac objects fill the gap between HBL and LBL objects in the colour–colour plot, and have intermediate α _XOX as expected in the spectral energy distribution unification scenario. Finally, we briefly discuss the role of the WLRGs.