Images of 0954+556 at multi-frequency Virtual Observatory Resource

Authors
  1. Zeng A.-L.
  2. Zhao W.
  3. Yang J.
  4. Hu X.-Z.
  5. Deng F.
  6. Lei Y.
  7. Hong X.
  8. Liu X.,Chen L.
  9. Liao M.
  10. Yang X.
  11. Shang H.-T.
  12. Published by
    CDS
Abstract

Intermittent jet activity of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) is a common phenomenon, whereas significant jet reorientation during episodic jet activity in relatively young radio galaxies are rarely reported. The quasar 0954+556 at z=0.903 is an intriguing source exhibiting an unusual radio jet structure with significantly different jet directions at kiloparsec (kpc) scales and at parsec (pc) scales. At kpc scales, images from Very Large Array (VLA) exhibit a bright core, a linear jet extending ~24kpc to the northwest, and a discrete jet component ~16kpc to the northeast. At pc scales, images from Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) show a two-component structure with a projected separation of ~360pc in north-south direction. The peculiar structure of 0954+556 might result from jet reorientation. Here, we aim to investigate the possible mechanism via multiscale and multifrequency deep radio images. We performed VLA and VLBA observations of 0954+556. Together with some existing data in the NRAO data archive, we made multiple VLA images at 1.4-22 GHz and VLBA images at 1.7-43 GHz for various image analysis of the jet structure. We have identified the location of the radio core at pc scales, detected the faint counter jets at both pc and kpc scales for the first time, and revealed a diffuse emission region connecting pc and kpc-scale forward jets. Our spectral index distribution and spectral aging analysis indicate that 0954+556 might undergo at least two episodes of jet activity during the current AGN phase. Moreover, pc-scale polarization maps display a well-resolved spine-sheath polarization structure. It seems that the jet direction of 0954+556 changed significantly during intermittent jet activity. This may imply the different jet orientations and spectral ages observed from kpc to pc scales. The research provides a strong case that AGN jet direction might change rapidly on timescale of million years.

Keywords
  1. active-galactic-nuclei
  2. magnetic-fields
  3. polarimetry
  4. radio-continuum-emission
  5. radio-sources
  6. very-long-baseline-interferometry
Bibliographic source Bibcode
2026A&A...705A..85Z
See also HTML
https://cdsarc.cds.unistra.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/705/A85
IVOA Identifier IVOID
ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/705/A85

Access

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http://vizieridia.saao.ac.za/viz-bin/VizieR-2?-source=J/A+A/705/A85
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History

2026-01-09T10:14:05Z
Resource record created
2026-01-09T10:14:05Z
Created
2026-03-02T06:25:50Z
Updated

Contact

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CDS support team
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