Collimation of the kiloparsec-scale radio jets in NGC 2663

Velibor Velović, M. D. Filipovic, L. Barnes, R. P. Norris, C. D. Tremblay, G. Heald, L. Rudnick, S. S. Shabala, T. G. Pannuti, H. Andernach, O. Titov, S. G. H. Waddell, B. S. Koribalski, D. Grupe, T. Jarrett, R. Z. E. Alsaberi, E. Carretti, J. D. Collier, S. Einecke, T. J. GalvinA. Hotan, P. Manojlovic, J. Marvil, K. Nandra, T. H. Reiprich, G. Rowell, M. Salvato, M. Whiting

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We present the discovery of highly collimated radio jets spanning a total of 355 kpc around the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 2663, and the possible first detection of recollimation on kiloparsec scales. The small distance to the galaxy (similar to 28.5 Mpc) allows us to resolve portions of the jets to examine their structure. We combine multiwavelength data: radio observations by the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), and X-ray data from Chandra, Swift, and SRG/eROSITA. We present intensity, rotation measure, polarization, spectral index, and X-ray environment maps. Regions of the southern jet show simultaneous narrowing and brightening, which can be interpreted as a signature of the recollimation of the jet by external, environmental pressure, though it is also consistent with intermittent active galactic nuclei or complex internal jet structure. X-ray data suggest that the environment is extremely poor; if the jet is indeed recollimating, the large recollimation scale (40 kpc) is consistent with a slow jet in a low-density environment.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1865-1880
Number of pages16
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume516
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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