A parsec-scale faint jet in the nearby changing-look Seyfert galaxy Mrk 590
Journal article, 2021
Broad Balmer emission lines in active galactic nuclei (AGN) may display dramatic changes in amplitude, even disappearance and re-appearance in some sources. As a nearby galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.0264, Mrk 590 suffered such a cycle of Seyfert type changes between 2006 and 2017. Over the last 50 yr, Mrk 590 also underwent a powerful continuum outburst and a slow fading from X-rays to radio wavelengths with a peak bolometric luminosity reaching about 10 per cent of the Eddington luminosity. To track its past accretion and ejection activity, we performed very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 1.6 GHz in 2015. The EVN observations reveal a faint (∼1.7 mJy) radio jet extending up to ∼2.8 mas (projected scale ∼1.4 pc) toward north, and probably resulting from the very intensive AGN activity. To date, such a parsec-scale jet is rarely seen in the known changing-look AGN. The finding of the faint jet provides further strong support for variable accretion as the origin of the type changes in Mrk 590.
galaxies: active
radio continuum: galaxies
galaxies: Seyfert
galaxies: individual: Mrk 590
galaxies: jets
Author
Jun Yang
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Onsala Space Observatory
I. van Bemmel
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
Z. Paragi
Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (JIVE)
S. Komossa
Max Planck Society
Feng Yuan
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Xiaolong Yang
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Tao An
Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Jun Yi Koay
Academia Sinica
C. Reynolds
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
J. B. R. Oonk
Leiden University
Surfsara Bv
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
Xiang Liu
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Qingwen Wu
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
17453925 (ISSN) 17453933 (eISSN)
Vol. 502 1 L61-L65Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Geology
Climate Research
DOI
10.1093/mnrasl/slab005