Speaker
Mohammad Zamaninasab
(Max-Plack-Institut fuer Radioastronomie)
Description
Most current theoretical models relate launching of relativistic jets from active galac- tic nuclei to the presence of twisted magnetic fields close to the supermassive black hole. While these models predict a large-scale, ordered, helical magnetic field near the central engine, it is not clear if, and to what extent, this order is preserved further downstream in the jet. Here we present the first compelling evidence that the radio emission from the jet of the quasar 3C454.3 exhibits multiple signatures of a large-scale, ordered helical magnetic field component at a distance of hundreds of parsecs from the launching point. Our results provide direct observational support for magnetic jet launching models and demonstrate the stability of the ordered field component over a large distance down the jet.
Author
Mohammad Zamaninasab
(Max-Plack-Institut fuer Radioastronomie)