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Rameshan Thimmappa

Publications and source records attributed to Rameshan Thimmappa.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Hubble Study of the Proper Motion of HST-1 in the Jet of M87

The radio galaxy M87 is well known for its jet, which features a series of bright knots observable from radio to X-ray wavelengths. The most famous of these, HST-1, exhibits superluminal motion, and our analysis of {\it Chandra} data \citep{Thimmappa24} reveals a correlation between the X-ray flux of HST-1 and its separation from the core. This correlation likely arises from moving shocks in the jet, allowing measurement of the internal structure of HST-1 in the X-ray band. To follow up on these results, we use observations from the {\it Hubble} Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys HRC/WFC/SBC channel and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)'s UVIS to analyze the image and flux variability of HST-1. Our analysis includes 245 ACS and 120 WFC3 observations from 2002-2022, with a total exposure time of $\sim345$ ks. We study the brightness profile of the optical jet and measure the relative separation between the core and HST-1 for comparison to the X-ray. We find that the X-ray and the UV/optical emission could arise from physically distinct regions. The measured proper motion of the knot HST-1 is 1.04$\pm$0.04 c from 2002-2005 and around 2.1$\pm$0.05 c from 2005-2022. We discuss the acceleration of the jet and the flaring synchrotron emission from HST-1 from optical to X-rays.

astro-ph.GA

Chandra Study of the Proper Motion of HST-1 in the Jet of M87

The radio galaxy M87 is well known for its jet, which features a series of bright knots observable from radio to X-ray wavelengths. We analyze the X-ray image and flux variability of the knot HST-1 in the jet. Our analysis includes all 112 available Chandra ACIS-S observations from 2000-2021, with a total exposure time of $\sim$887 ks. We use de-convolved images to study the brightness profile of the X-ray jet and measure the relative separation between the core and HST-1. From 2003-2005 (which coincides with a bright flare from HST-1), we find a correlation between the flux of HST-1 and its offset from the core. In subsequent data, we find a steady increase in this offset, which implies a bulk superluminal motion for HST-1 of 6.6$\pm$0.9 c (2.0$\pm$0.3 pc yr$^{-1}$), in keeping with prior results. We discuss models for the flux-offset correlation that feature either two or four emission regions separated by tens of parsecs. We attribute these results to moving shocks in the jet, that allow us to measure the internal structure of the jet.

astro-ph.HE