A galactic microquasar mimicking winged radio galaxies

A subclass of extragalactic radio sources known as winged radio galaxies has puzzled astronomers for many years. The wing features are detected at radio wavelengths as low-surface-brightness radio lobes that are clearly misaligned with respect to the main lobe axis. Different models compete to accou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2017-11, Vol.8 (1), p.1757-7, Article 1757
Main Authors: Martí, Josep, Luque-Escamilla, Pedro L., Bosch-Ramon, Valentí, Paredes, Josep M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/33/34/863
639/33/34/864
Celestial bodies
Emissions
Extragalactic radio sources
Galaxies
Galàxies
Gravitational waves
Humanities and Social Sciences
Lobes
Microquasars
Mimicry
Morphology
multidisciplinary
Quasars
Quàsars
Radio emission
Radio galaxies
Radio jets (astronomy)
Radio sources (astronomy)
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Space telescopes
Stars & galaxies
Wavelengths
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Summary:A subclass of extragalactic radio sources known as winged radio galaxies has puzzled astronomers for many years. The wing features are detected at radio wavelengths as low-surface-brightness radio lobes that are clearly misaligned with respect to the main lobe axis. Different models compete to account for these peculiar structures. Here, we report observational evidence that the parsec-scale radio jets in the Galactic microquasar GRS 1758-258 give rise to a Z -shaped radio emission strongly reminiscent of the X and Z -shaped morphologies found in winged radio galaxies. This is the first time that such extended emission features are observed in a microquasar, providing a new analogy for its extragalactic relatives. From our observations, we can clearly favour the hydrodynamic backflow interpretation against other possible wing formation scenarios. Assuming that physical processes are similar, we can extrapolate this conclusion and suggest that this mechanism could also be at work in many extragalactic cases. Winged radio galaxies possess wing features detectable at radio wavelengths, yet the physical interpretation of such extragalactic radio sources remains elusive. Here, the authors report the observation of a downsized  Z -shaped radio emission from the Galactic microquasar GRS 1758-258, shedding light on the formation of wings in radio galaxies given its strongly  reminiscent winged morphology.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-01976-5