Identifying changing jets through their radio variability

Abstract

Context. Supermassive black holes can launch highly relativistic jets with velocities reaching Lorentz factors of as high as Γ > 50. How the jets accelerate to such high velocities and where along the jet they reach terminal velocity are open questions that are tightly linked to their structure as well as their launching and dissipation mechanisms. Aims. Changes in the beaming factor along the jets could potentially reveal jet acceleration, deceleration, or bending. We aim to (1) quantify the relativistic effects in multiple radio frequencies and (2) study possible jet velocity–viewing angle variations at parsec scales. Methods. We used the state-of-the-art code Magnetron to model light curves from the University of Michigan Radio Observatory and the Metsähovi Radio Observatory’s monitoring programs in five frequencies covering about 25 years of observations in the 4.8 to 37 GHz range for 61 sources. We supplement our data set with high-frequency radio observations in the 100–340 GHz range from ALMA, CARMA, and SMA. For each frequency we estimate the Doppler factor which we use to quantify possible changes in the relativistic effects along the jets. Results. The majority of our sources do not show any statistically significant difference in their Doppler factor across frequencies. This is consistent with constant velocity in a conical jet structure, as expected at parsec scales. However, our analysis reveals 17 sources where relativistic beaming changes as a function of frequency. In the majority of cases, the Doppler factor increases towards lower frequencies. Only 1253–053 shows the opposite behavior. By exploring their jet properties we find that the jet of 0420–014 is likely bent across the 4.8–340 GHz range. For 0212+735, the jet is likely parabolic, and still accelerating in the 4.8–37 GHz range. We discuss possible interpretations for the trends found in the remaining sources.