Discovery of Limb Brightening in the Parsec-scale Jet of NGC 315 through Global Very Long Baseline Interferometry Observations and Its Implications for Jet Models

Abstract

We report the first observation of the nearby giant radio galaxy NGC 315 using a global very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) array consisting of 22 radio antennas located across five continents, including high-sensitivity stations, at 22 GHz. Utilizing the extensive u v-coverage provided by the array, coupled with the application of a recently developed superresolution imaging technique based on the regularized maximum-likelihood method, we were able to transversely resolve the NGC 315 jet at parsec scales for the first time. Previously known for its central ridge-brightened morphology at similar scales in former VLBI studies, the jet now clearly exhibits a limb-brightened structure. This finding suggests an inherent limb brightening that was not observable before due to limited angular resolution. Considering that the jet is viewed at an angle of ∼50°, the observed limb brightening is challenging to reconcile with the magnetohydrodynamic models and simulations, which predict that the Doppler-boosted jet edges should dominate over the nonboosted central layer. The conventional jet model that proposes a fast spine and a slow sheath with uniform transverse emissivity may pertain to our observations. However, in this model, the relativistic spine would need to travel at speeds of Γ ≳ 6.0–12.9 along the deprojected jet distance of (2.3–10.8) × 103 gravitational radii from the black hole. We propose an alternative scenario that suggests higher emissivity at the jet boundary layer, resulting from more efficient particle acceleration or mass loading onto the jet edges, and consider prospects for future observations with even higher angular resolution.