X-ray variability in M87

We present evidence for X-ray variability from the core and from knot A in the M87 jet based on data from two observations with the Einstein Observatory High Resolution Imager (HRI) and three observations with the ROSAT HRI. The core intensity showed a 16 per cent increase in 17 months (1979–80); a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 1997-02, Vol.284 (4), p.L21-L27
Main Authors: Harris, D. E., Biretta, J. A., Junor, W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
galaxies: active
galaxies: individual: M87
galaxies: jets
X-rays: galaxies
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:We present evidence for X-ray variability from the core and from knot A in the M87 jet based on data from two observations with the Einstein Observatory High Resolution Imager (HRI) and three observations with the ROSAT HRI. The core intensity showed a 16 per cent increase in 17 months (1979–80); a 12 per cent increase in the 3 years 1992 to 1995; and a 17 per cent drop in the last half of 1995. The intensity of knot A appears to have decreased by 16 per cent between 1992 June and 1995 December. Although the core variability is consistent with general expectations for AGN, the changes in knot A provide constraints on the X-ray emission process and geometry. Thus we predict that the X-ray morphology of knot A will differ significantly from the radio and optical structure.
ISSN:0035-8711
1365-2966
DOI:10.1093/mnras/284.4.L21