HST / Chandra Monitoring of a Dramatic Flare in the M87 Jet

Details HST / Chandra Monitoring of a Dramatic Flare in the M87 Jet HST / Chandra Monitoring of a Dramatic Flare in the M87 Jet

Jul 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003hst..prop.9829b&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #9829

Computer Science

Hst Proposal Id #9829 Agn/Quasars

Scientific paper

As the nearest galaxy with an optical jet, M87 affords an unparalleled opportunity to study extragalactic jet phenomena at the highest resolution. During 2002, HST and Chandra monitoring of the M87 jet have detected a dramatic flare in knot HST-1 located 1" from the nucleus. Its brightness has increased ten-fold in the optical band, and continues to increase, and the X-rays show a similarly dramatic outburst. In both bands this HST-1 now rivals the nucleus in brightness. To our knowledge this is the first incidence of an optical or X-ray outburst from a jet region which is spatially distinct from the core source; this presents an unprecedented opportunity to study the processes responsible for non-thermal variability and the X-ray emission. We propose four epochs of HST/ACS monitoring during Cycle 12, as well as seven epochs of Chandra/ACIS observation {5ksec each}. We also include a brief STIS observation that will be used with prior STIS data to measure proper motions, and ACS polarimetry to map the magnetic field structure. The results of this investigation are of key importance not only for understanding the nature of the X-ray emission of the M87 jet, but also for understanding flares in blazar jets, which are highly variable, but where we have never before been able to resolve the flaring region in the optical or X-rays. These observations will allow us to test synchrotron emission models for the X-ray outburst, constrain particle acceleration and loss timescales, and study the jet dynamics associated with this flaring component.

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