Radio jets in NGC 1068 with e-MERLIN and VLA: Structure and morphology

Journal article, 2024

We present new high-sensitivity e-MERLIN and Very Large Array (VLA) radio images of the prototypical Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 1068 at 5, 10, and 21 GHz. We image the radio jet, from the compact components north-east (NE), C, S1, and S2 to the faint double-lobed jet structure of the NE and south-west (SW) jet lobes. We map the jet between 15 kλ and 3300 kλ spatial scales by combining enhanced-Multi Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (e-MERLIN) and VLA data for the first time. Components NE, C, and S2 have steep spectra indicative of optically thin non-Thermal emission domination between 5 and 21 GHz. Component S1, which is where the active galactic nucleus resides, has a flat radio spectrum. We report a new component, S2a, a part of the southern jet. We compare these new data with the MERLIN and VLA data observed in 1983, 1992, and 1995 and report a flux decrease by a factor of 2 in component C, suggesting variability of this jet component. With the high angular resolution e-MERLIN maps, we detect the bow shocks in the NE jet lobe that coincide with the molecular gas outflows observed with ALMA. The NE jet lobe has a jet power of 6.7 × 1042 erg s-1 and is considered to be responsible for driving out the dense molecular gas observed with ALMA around the same region.