Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We present a 13 yr Chandra High Resolution Camera (HRC-I) study of the M87 jet, using point-spread function deconvolution to achieve unprecedented subarcsecond X-ray resolution of its kiloparsec-scale structure and temporal evolution. The deconvolved images reveal previously blended structures within the jet, including two components in HST-1 and complex morphology in downstream knots. Flux measurements reveal a global decrease in X-ray emission across the jet of up to 84%, consistent with synchrotron cooling. Modeling the fading yields minimum magnetic field strengths of ∼324–1006 μ G for HST-1 and ∼41–115 μ G for knot A. Consistent with synchrotron cooling, multiwavelength comparisons with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, James Webb Space Telescope, and Hubble Space Telescope show that the principal X-ray structures closely match the jet width and knot locations observed at lower energies, while the X-ray emission is generally shifted upstream. Proper-motion measurements show that jet features exhibit both quasistationary and superluminal apparent motions, reaching up to 4.8 c for HST-1, and also demonstrate that unresolved component blending can substantially bias inferred velocities. These results demonstrate the unique capability of high-resolution Chandra X-ray imaging over long temporal baselines to resolve the evolving substructure of relativistic jets and to probe the particle acceleration and energy dissipation processes that shape their dynamics.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
Funders: National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Science and Technology Council, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W7220947959