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Evidence for Relativistic Motion in the Millisecond Structure of BL Lac

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 August 2015

R. L. Mutel
Affiliation:
University of Iowa
R. B. Phillips
Affiliation:
University of Kansas

Extract

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After several years of relative quiescence, the flux of BL Lac has increased dramatically at centimeter wavelength, starting about epoch 1979.9 (Fig. 1). We have begun a series of VLBI observations to monitor the milliarcsecond structure at λ6 and λ2.8 cm wavelengths, using a five element VLBI array consisting of telescopes at Bonn, West Germany; Westford, MA; Green Bank, WV; Ft. Davis, TX; and Owens Valley, CA. The first two observations, in 1980 May and September, were at 5 GHz and were not of sufficient resolution to distinguish individual components in the source (Mutel, Phillips and Aller 1981). They did show, however, that the source was highly elongated along position angle ∼ 10° and was expanding that axis with a velocity of ∼4 c. The position angle is the same as several previous VLBI observations of this source, both during quiet periods and during previous flux outbursts (Pearson and Readhead 1981; Shaffer 1978 and references therein).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1982 

References

Mutel, R. L., Phillips, R. B., and Aller, H. 1981, submitted to Nature .Google Scholar
Pearson, T. J., and Readhead, A. C. S. 1981, Ap. J. , in press.Google Scholar
Shaffer, D. B. in Pittsburgh Conference on BL Objects , U. of Pittsburgh, PA, 1978.Google Scholar