2005/11/28 by D. E. Harris, C. C. Cheung, J. A. Biretta +6 · 10 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics and Cosmic Phenomena #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/500081
published as Astrophys.J.640:211-218,2006 · ApJ accepted, 7 pages, 4 figures
arxiv created 2005/11/28 · openalex publication_date 2006/03/13 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
The X-ray intensity of knot HST-1, 0 85 from the nucleus of the radio galaxy M87, has increased by more than a factor of 50 during the last 5 yr. The optical increase is similar, and our more limited radio data indicate a commensurate activity. We give the primary results of our Chandra X-Ray Observatory monitoring program and consider some of the implications of this extreme variability in a relativistic jet. We find that the data support a "modest beaming synchrotron" model as indicated in our earlier papers. Based on this model, the decay of the X-ray light curve appears to be dominated by the light-travel time across the emitting region of HST-1, rather than synchrotron loss timescales.