Proper Motion of the Sub-Parsec Scale Jet in the Radio Galaxy 3C 66B

Abstract

We present proper motion of the sub-parsec scale jet in a nearby elliptical galaxy 3C 66B. Observations were made using the VLBA and partly Effelsburg 100-m telescope at 2.3 GHz and 8.4 GHz at 10 epochs over 4 years. The 8.4 GHz images showed that a proper motion increases from 0.21 to 0.70 mas/year, corresponding to an apparent speed of 0.30 c to 0.96 c, with a distance from the core on a sub-parsec scale. Our investigation suggests that the apparent increase of the proper motion can be explained by changes in the viewing angle, according to a relativistic beaming model. However, we still cannot eliminate the possibility that acceleration of the jet outflow speed or of changes of emissivity profile in the two-zone jet might be found in 3C 66B.

29 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal

References in corpus (4)

• Discovery of a very high energy gamma-ray signal from the 3C 66A/B region
• A Very Close Binary Black Hole in a Giant Elliptical Galaxy 3C 66B and its Black Hole Merger
• 3C66B as a TeV radiogalaxy
• Multi-epoch VLBA observations of 3C 66A

Cited by in corpus (4)

• The Relativistic Jet Dichotomy and the End of the Blazar Sequence
• A Multi-Wavelength Study of Multiple Spectral Component Jets in AGN: Testing the IC/CMB Model for the Large-Scale-Jet X-ray Emission
• VLBI Monitoring of the Sub-parsec-scale Jet in the Radio Galaxy 3C 66B at 22 GHz
• JD6 - The Connection between Radio Properties and High Energy Emission in AGNs