The polarisation behaviour of OJ 287 viewed through radio, millimetre and optical observations between 2015 and 2017

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Main Authors: Jormanainen, J., Hovatta, T., Lindfors, E., Berdyugin, A., Chamani, W., Ramazani, V. Fallah, Jermak, H., Jorstad, S. G., Lähteenmäki, A., McCall, C., Nilsson, K., Smith, P., Steele, I. A., Tammi, J., Tornikoski, M., Wierda, F.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Jormanainen, J.
Hovatta, T.
Lindfors, E.
Berdyugin, A.
Chamani, W.
Ramazani, V. Fallah
Jermak, H.
Jorstad, S. G.
Lähteenmäki, A.
McCall, C.
Nilsson, K.
Smith, P.
Steele, I. A.
Tammi, J.
Tornikoski, M.
Wierda, F.
author_facet Jormanainen, J.
Hovatta, T.
Lindfors, E.
Berdyugin, A.
Chamani, W.
Ramazani, V. Fallah
Jermak, H.
Jorstad, S. G.
Lähteenmäki, A.
McCall, C.
Nilsson, K.
Smith, P.
Steele, I. A.
Tammi, J.
Tornikoski, M.
Wierda, F.
contents OJ 287 is a bright blazar with century-long observations, and one of the strongest candidates to host a supermassive black hole binary. Its polarisation behaviour between 2015 and 2017 (MJD 57300-58000) contains several interesting events that we re-contextualise in this study. We collected optical photometric and polarimetric data from several telescopes and obtained high-cadence light curves from this period. In the radio band, we collected mm-wavelength polarisation data from the AMAPOLA program. We combined these with existing multifrequency polarimetric radio results and the results of very-long-baseline-interferometry imaging with the Global mm-VLBI Array at 86 GHz. In December 2015, an optical flare was seen according to the general relativistic binary black hole model. We suggest that the overall activity near the accretion disk and the jet base during this time may be connected to the onset of a new moving component K seen in the jet in March 2017. With the additional optical data, we find a fast polarisation angle rotation of 210 degrees coinciding with the December 2015 flare, hinting at a possible link between these events. Based on the 86-GHz images, we calculated a new speed of 0.12 mas/yr for K, which places it inside the core at the time of the 2015 flare. This speed also supports the scenario where the passage of K through the quasi-stationary feature S1 could have been the trigger for the very-high-energy gamma-ray flare of OJ 287 seen in February 2017. With the mm-polarisation data, we established that these bands follow the cm-band data but show a difference during the time of K passing through S1. This indicates that the mm-bands trace the substructures of the jet still unresolved in the cm-bands.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_08652
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The polarisation behaviour of OJ 287 viewed through radio, millimetre and optical observations between 2015 and 2017
Jormanainen, J.
Hovatta, T.
Lindfors, E.
Berdyugin, A.
Chamani, W.
Ramazani, V. Fallah
Jermak, H.
Jorstad, S. G.
Lähteenmäki, A.
McCall, C.
Nilsson, K.
Smith, P.
Steele, I. A.
Tammi, J.
Tornikoski, M.
Wierda, F.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
OJ 287 is a bright blazar with century-long observations, and one of the strongest candidates to host a supermassive black hole binary. Its polarisation behaviour between 2015 and 2017 (MJD 57300-58000) contains several interesting events that we re-contextualise in this study. We collected optical photometric and polarimetric data from several telescopes and obtained high-cadence light curves from this period. In the radio band, we collected mm-wavelength polarisation data from the AMAPOLA program. We combined these with existing multifrequency polarimetric radio results and the results of very-long-baseline-interferometry imaging with the Global mm-VLBI Array at 86 GHz. In December 2015, an optical flare was seen according to the general relativistic binary black hole model. We suggest that the overall activity near the accretion disk and the jet base during this time may be connected to the onset of a new moving component K seen in the jet in March 2017. With the additional optical data, we find a fast polarisation angle rotation of 210 degrees coinciding with the December 2015 flare, hinting at a possible link between these events. Based on the 86-GHz images, we calculated a new speed of 0.12 mas/yr for K, which places it inside the core at the time of the 2015 flare. This speed also supports the scenario where the passage of K through the quasi-stationary feature S1 could have been the trigger for the very-high-energy gamma-ray flare of OJ 287 seen in February 2017. With the mm-polarisation data, we established that these bands follow the cm-band data but show a difference during the time of K passing through S1. This indicates that the mm-bands trace the substructures of the jet still unresolved in the cm-bands.
title The polarisation behaviour of OJ 287 viewed through radio, millimetre and optical observations between 2015 and 2017
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.08652