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First millimeter Mapping of the jet and nucleus of M87

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2016

V. Despringre
Affiliation:
Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble BP53X, 38041 Grenoble Cédex, France
D. Fraix-Burnet
Affiliation:
Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble BP53X, 38041 Grenoble Cédex, France

Extract

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An intriguing question about extragalactic jets is why they are so few being seen at optical wavelengths, or equivalently, why the cutoff frequency of the synchrotron radiation is generally not in the optical, but rather in the infrared or even in the sub- millimeter domain. The answer is undoubtedly related to the efficiency of the acceleration of the relativistic electrons responsible for the synchrotron emission. The presence of a break at low frequency somewhere in the synchrotron spectrum is another feature that constrains the model parameters, but its precise location is unknown for most jets, because of the lack of photometry in the millimeter domain. It was thus necessary to fill the gap between radio and optical wavelengths in the synchrotron spectrum of optical jets. The required observation had to be of high sensitivity and high spatial resolution (of the order of 1″). Another reason for observing at millimeter wavelengths is that molecular lines and thermal emission from cold dust are detectable in this frequency range.

Type
Properties of Radio Sources
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1996 

References

Despringre, V., Fraix-Burnet, D., Davoust, E., 1995, A&A in press Google Scholar