TXS 0128+554: A Young Gamma-Ray-emitting Active Galactic Nucleus with Episodic Jet Activity

Abstract

Abstract We have carried out a Chandra X-ray and multifrequency radio Very Long Baseline Array study of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) TXS 0128+554, which is associated with the Fermi γ-ray source 4FGL J0131.2+5547. The AGN is unresolved in a target 19.3 ks Chandra image, and its spectrum is well fit by a simple absorbed power-law model, with no distinguishable spectral features. Its relatively soft X-ray spectrum compared to other compact symmetric objects (CSOs) may be indicative of a thermal emission component, for which we were able to obtain an upper temperature limit of kT = 0.08 keV. The compact radio morphology and measured advance speed of 0.32 c ± 0.07 c indicate a kinematic age of only 82 yr ± 17 yr, placing TXS 0128+554 among the youngest members of the CSO class. The lack of compact, inverted spectrum hotspots and an emission gap between the bright inner jet and outer radio lobe structure indicate that the jets have undergone episodic activity, and were relaunched a decade ago. The predicted γ-ray emission from the lobes, based on an inverse Compton-emitting cocoon model, is three orders of magnitude below the observed Fermi-LAT flux. A comparison to other Fermi-detected and non-Fermi-detected CSOs with redshift z < 0.1 indicates that the γ-ray emission likely originates in the inner jet/core region, and that nearby, recently launched AGN jets are primary candidates for detection by the Fermi-LAT instrument.