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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal

Resolving the Temporal Evolution of M87 Jet with ≲0 . ″ 1 Chandra Observations

  • Camille Poitras1
  • Gerrit Schellenberger2
  • Ralph Kraft2
  • Paul Nulsen2,3
  • Marie-Lou Gendron-Marsolais1
  • Eileen Meyer4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Université Laval
  2. 2Center for Astrophysics—Harvard & Smithsonian
  3. 3University of Western Australia
  4. 4University of Maryland Baltimore County
Open at sourcePDFDOICite

Abstract

We present a 13 yr Chandra High Resolution Camera (HRC-I) study of the M87 jet, using point-spread function deconvolution to achieve unprecedented subarcsecond X-ray resolution of its kiloparsec-scale structure and temporal evolution. The deconvolved images reveal previously blended structures within the jet, including two components in HST-1 and complex morphology in downstream knots. Flux measurements reveal a global decrease in X-ray emission across the jet of up to 84%, consistent with synchrotron cooling. Modeling the fading yields minimum magnetic field strengths of ∼324–1006 μ G for HST-1 and ∼41–115 μ G for knot A. Consistent with synchrotron cooling, multiwavelength comparisons with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, James Webb Space Telescope, and Hubble Space Telescope show that the principal X-ray structures closely match the jet width and knot locations observed at lower energies, while the X-ray emission is generally shifted upstream. Proper-motion measurements show that jet features exhibit both quasistationary and superluminal apparent motions, reaching up to 4.8 c for HST-1, and also demonstrate that unresolved component blending can substantially bias inferred velocities. These results demonstrate the unique capability of high-resolution Chandra X-ray imaging over long temporal baselines to resolve the evolving substructure of relativistic jets and to probe the particle acceleration and energy dissipation processes that shape their dynamics.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{poitras2026resolving,
  title = {{Resolving the Temporal Evolution of M87 Jet with ≲0 . ″ 1 Chandra Observations}},
  author = {Camille Poitras and Gerrit Schellenberger and Ralph Kraft and Paul Nulsen and Marie-Lou Gendron-Marsolais and Eileen Meyer},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/aea13c},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea13c},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Resolving the Temporal Evolution of M87 Jet with ≲0 . ″ 1 Chandra Observations
AU  - Camille Poitras
AU  - Gerrit Schellenberger
AU  - Ralph Kraft
AU  - Paul Nulsen
AU  - Marie-Lou Gendron-Marsolais
AU  - Eileen Meyer
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/aea13c
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea13c
AB  - We present a 13 yr Chandra High Resolution Camera (HRC-I) study of the M87 jet, using point-spread function deconvolution to achieve unprecedented subarcsecond X-ray resolution of its kiloparsec-scale structure and temporal evolution. The deconvolved images reveal previously blended structures within the jet, including two components in HST-1 and complex morphology in downstream knots. Flux measurements reveal a global decrease in X-ray emission across the jet of up to 84%, consistent with synchrotron cooling. Modeling the fading yields minimum magnetic field strengths of ∼324–1006 μ G for HST-1 and ∼41–115 μ G for knot A. Consistent with synchrotron cooling, multiwavelength comparisons with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, James Webb Space Telescope, and Hubble Space Telescope show that the principal X-ray structures closely match the jet width and knot locations observed at lower energies, while the X-ray emission is generally shifted upstream. Proper-motion measurements show that jet features exhibit both quasistationary and superluminal apparent motions, reaching up to 4.8 c for HST-1, and also demonstrate that unresolved component blending can substantially bias inferred velocities. These results demonstrate the unique capability of high-resolution Chandra X-ray imaging over long temporal baselines to resolve the evolving substructure of relativistic jets and to probe the particle acceleration and energy dissipation processes that shape their dynamics.
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
ER  -