Core shift in parabolic accelerating jets

Abstract

The core shift method is a powerful method to estimate the physical parameters in relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei. The classical approach assumes a conical geometry of a jet and a constant plasma speed. However, recent observations showed that neither may hold close to the central engine, where plasma in a jet is effectively accelerating, and the jet geometry is quasi-parabolic. We modify the classical core shift method to account for these jet properties. We show that the core shift index may assume values in the range 0.8 − 1.2 or 0.53 − 0.8 depending on the jet geometry and viewing angle, with the indices close to both values are indeed being observed. We obtain the expressions to estimate jet magnetic field and a total magnetic flux in a jet. We show that the obtained magnetic field value can be easily recalculated down to the gravitational radius scales. For M 87 and NGC 315 these values are in good agreement with the ones obtained by different methods.