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.     

A Faraday rotation template for the Galactic sky

Using a set of compilations of measurements for extragalactic radio sources, we construct all-sky maps of the Faraday rotation produced by the Galactic magnetic field. In order to generate the maps, we treat the radio source positions as a kind of 'mask' and construct combinations of spherical harmonic modes that are orthogonal on the masked sky. As long as relatively small multipoles are used, the resulting maps are quite stable to changes in the selection criteria for the sources, and show clearly the structure of the local Galactic magnetic field. We also suggest the use of these maps as templates for cosmic microwave background (CMB) foreground analysis, illustrating the idea with a cross-correlation analysis between the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe ( WMAP ) data and our maps. We find a significant cross-correlation, indicating the presence of a significant residual contamination.     

A warped m= 2 water maser disc in V778 Cyg?

The silicate carbon star V778 Cyg is a source of 22-GHz water maser emission which was recently resolved by MERLIN. Observations revealed an elongated     -like structure along which the velocities of the maser features show a linear dependence on the impact parameter. This is consistent with a doubly warped   m = 2  disc observed edge-on. Water masers and silicate dust emission (detected by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite and Infrared Space Observatory ) have a common origin in O-rich material and are likely to be co-located in the disc. We propose a detailed self-consistent model of a masing gas–dust disc around a companion to the carbon star in a binary system, which allows us to estimate the companion mass of  1.7 ± 0.1 M_⊙  , the disc radius of  40 ± 3  au and the distance between companions of ∼80 au. Using a dust–gas coupling model for water masing, we calculate the maser power self-consistently, accounting for both the gas and the dust energy balances. Comparing the simulation results with the observational data, we deduce the main physical parameters of the masing disc, such as the gas and dust temperatures and their densities. We also present an analysis of the stability of the disc.     

Dissipationless mergers of elliptical galaxies and the evolution of the fundamental plane

We carry out numerical simulations of dissipationless major mergers of elliptical galaxies using initial galaxy models that consist of a dark matter haloes and a stellar bulge with properties consistent with the observed fundamental plane. By varying the density profile of the dark matter haloes [standard Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) profile versus adiabatically contracted NFW profile], the global stellar to dark matter mass ratio and the orbit of the merging galaxies, we are able to assess the impact of each of these factors on the structure of the merger remnant. Our results indicate that the properties of the remnant bulge depend primarily on the angular momentum and energy of the orbit; for a cosmologically motivated orbit, the effective radius and velocity dispersion of the remnant bulge remain approximately on the fundamental plane. This indicates that the observed properties of elliptical galaxies are consistent with significant growth via late dissipationless mergers. We also find that the dark matter fraction within the effective radius of our remnants increases after the merger, consistent with the hypothesis that the tilt of the fundamental plane from the virial theorem is due to a varying dark matter fraction as a function of galaxy mass.