Relativistic Jets in the Radio Reference Frame Image Database. II. Blazar Jet Accelerations from the First 10 Years of Data (1994-2003)

We analyze blazar jet apparent speeds and accelerations from the RDV series of astrometric and geodetic very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiments. From these experiments, we have produced and analyzed 2753 global VLBI images of 68 sources at 8 GHz with a median beam size of 0.9 milliarcseconds (mas) and a median of 43 epochs per source. From this sample, we analyze the motions of 225 jet components in 66 sources. The distribution of the fastest measured apparent speed in each source has a median of 8.3c and a maximum of 44c. Sources in the 2FGL Fermi LAT catalog display higher apparent speeds than those that have not been detected. On average, components farther from the core in a given source have significantly higher apparent speeds than components closer to the core; for example, for a typical source, components at ~3 mas from the core (~15 pc projected at z ~ 0.5) have apparent speeds about 50% higher than those of components at ~1 mas from the core (~5 pc projected at z ~ 0.5). We measure accelerations of components in orthogonal directions parallel and perpendicular to their average velocity vector. Parallel accelerations have significantly larger magnitudes than perpendicular accelerations, implying that observed accelerations are predominantly due to changes in the Lorentz factor (bulk or pattern) rather than projection effects from jet bending. Positive parallel accelerations are significantly more common than negative ones, so the Lorentz factor (bulk or pattern) tends to increase on the scales observed here. Observed parallel accelerations correspond to modest source frame increases in the bulk or pattern Lorentz factor

A close look into the carbon disk at the core of the planetary nebula CPD-568032

We present high spatial resolution observations of the dusty core of the Planetary Nebula with Wolf-Rayet central star CPD-568032. These observations were taken with the mid-infrared interferometer VLTI/MIDI in imaging mode providing a typical 300 mas resolution and in interferometric mode using UT2-UT3 47m baseline providing a typical spatial resolution of 20 mas. The visible HST images exhibit a complex multilobal geometry dominated by faint lobes. The farthest structures are located at 7" from the star. The mid-IR environment of CPD-568032 is dominated by a compact source, barely resolved by a single UT telescope in a 8.7 micron filter. The infrared core is almost fully resolved with the three 40-45m projected baselines ranging from -5 to 51 degree but smooth oscillating fringes at low level have been detected in spectrally dispersed visibilities. This clear signal is interpreted in terms of a ring structure which would define the bright inner rim of the equatorial disk. Geometric models allowed us to derive the main geometrical parameters of the disk. For instance, a reasonably good fit is reached with an achromatic and elliptical truncated Gaussian with a radius of 97+/-11 AU, an inclination of 28+/-7 degree and a PA for the major axis at 345+/-7 degree. Furthermore, we performed some radiative transfer modeling aimed at further constraining the geometry and mass content of the disk, by taking into account the MIDI dispersed visibilities, spectra, and the large aperture SED of the source. These models show that the disk is mostly optically thin in the N band and highly flared.Comment: Paper accepted in A&

Characterisation of Long Baseline Calibrators at 2.3 GHz

We present a detailed multi-epoch analysis of 31 potential southern hemisphere radio calibrators that were originally observed as part of a program to maintain the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). At radio wavelengths, the primary calibrators are Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), powerful radio emitters which exist at the centre of most galaxies. These are known to vary at all wavelengths at which they have been observed. By determining the amount of radio source structure and variability of these AGN, we determine their suitability as phase calibrators for long baseline radio interferometry at 2.3 GHz. For this purpose, we have used a set of complementary metrics to classify these 31 southern sources into five categories pertaining to their suitability as VLBI calibrators. We find that all of the sources in our sample would be good interferometric calibrators and almost ninety per cent would be very good calibrators.Comment: 9 pages, 7 Figures, accepted MNRA

IVS Live: All IVS on your desktop

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IVS Live - Observing sessions come alive

IVS Newsletter, Issue 28, December 201

Real-time data streams from e-RemoteCtrl to central VLBI network status monitoring services like IVS Live

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When "IVS Live" meets "e-RemoteCtrl" real-time data ...

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Imaging Capabilities of the Next Generation VLBI System

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VLBI Imaging and Structure Correction Impact", Inter-national VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry

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