Swift J1727.8-1613 has the Largest Resolved Continuous Jet Ever Seen in an X-ray Binary

Abstract

Multi-wavelength polarimetry and radio observations of Swift J1727.8-1613 at the beginning of its recent 2023 outburst suggested the presence of a bright compact jet aligned in the north-south direction, which could not be confirmed without high angular resolution images. Using the Very Long Baseline Array and the Long Baseline Array, we imaged Swift J1727.8-1613, during the hard/hard-intermediate state, revealing a bright core and a large, two-sided, asymmetrical, resolved jet. The jet extends in the north-south direction, at a position angle of $-0.60\pm0.07\deg$ East of North. At 8.4 GHz, the entire resolved jet structure is $\sim110 (d/2.7\,\text{kpc})/\sin i$ AU long, with the southern approaching jet extending $\sim80 (d/2.7\,\text{kpc})/\sin i$ AU from the core, where $d$ is the distance to the source and $i$ is the inclination of the jet axis to the line of sight. These images reveal the most resolved continuous X-ray binary jet, and possibly the most physically extended continuous X-ray binary jet ever observed. Based on the brightness ratio of the approaching and receding jets, we put a lower limit on the intrinsic jet speed of $\beta\geq0.27$ and an upper limit on the jet inclination of $i\leq74\deg$. In our first observation we also detected a rapidly fading discrete jet knot $66.89\pm0.04$ mas south of the core, with a proper motion of $0.66\pm0.05$ mas hour$^{-1}$, which we interpret as the result of a downstream internal shock or a jet-ISM interaction, as opposed to a transient relativistic jet launched at the beginning of the outburst.