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The Milliarcsecond Structure of Active Galactic Nuclei Observed with VLBI

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2017

T. J. Pearson
Affiliation:
Owens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA
A. C. S. Readhead
Affiliation:
Owens Valley Radio Observatory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA

Extract

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Very Long Baseline Interferometry at radio wavelengths is the only technique available for imaging the central few parsecs of powerful radio galaxies and quasars. VLBI observations have shown that in many nuclei radio-emitting material is collimated into a jet on a scale less than a parsec and ejected at relativistic velocities. The interpretation of the observations is complicated by the relativistic motion, however: the images are dominated by those parts of the source that are moving almost directly towards the observer, and thus amplified by relativistic aberration. Nonetheless, the VLBI images are vital for understanding the nature of the central engine, the cause of the collimation, and the physics of the jets.

Type
Part 10: Radio Galaxies, Components and Structure
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1989 

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