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The first resolved imaging of milliarcsecond-scale jets in Circinus X-1

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Authors
Miller-Jones, James
Moin, Aquib
Tingay, Steven
Reynolds, Cormac
Phillips, C.
Tzioumis, A.
Fender, R.
McCallum, J.
Nicolson, G.
Tudose, V.
Date
2012
Type
Journal Article

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Miller-Jones, J. and Moin, A. and Tingay, S. and Reynolds, C. and Phillips, C. and Tzioumis, A. and Fender, R. et al. 2012. The first resolved imaging of milliarcsecond-scale jets in Circinus X-1. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 419 (1): pp. L49-L53.
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Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
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Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (Physics)
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This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, ©: 2011, the authors and the Royal Astronomical Society. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

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Abstract

We present the first resolved imaging of the milliarcsecond-scale jets in the neutron star X-ray binary Circinus X-1, made using the Australian Long Baseline Array. The angular extent of the resolved jets is ~20 mas, corresponding to a physical scale of ~150 au at the assumed distance of 7.8 kpc. The jet position angle is relatively consistent with previous arcsecond-scale imaging with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The radio emission is symmetric about the peak, and is unresolved along the minor axis, constraining the opening angle to be <20°. We observe evidence for outward motion of the components between the two halves of the observation. Constraints on the proper motion of the radio-emitting components suggest that they are only mildly relativistic, although we cannot definitively rule out the presence of the unseen, ultrarelativistic (G > 15) flow previously inferred to exist in this system.