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The inner radio jet of 3C273

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Abstract

Radio maps of 3C273 obtained with very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) have been limited by low dynamic range and poor north–south resolution resulting from the low declination (2°) of this quasar1. Dramatic improvement can now be achieved using larger arrays and antennas in the Southern Hemisphere2,3. A new VLBI map, made at 5 GHz with angular resolution and dynamic range unsurpassed at this frequency for this source, shows a narrow jet extending to a projected distance lproj∼125 h–;1 parsecs from the core. Superluminal motion exists out to at least lproj≈46h–1 parsecs. Successive superluminal components emerge from the core and appear to move on a fixed curved path with similar speeds of about 1 milliarcseconds per year.

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Zensus, J., Bååth, L., Cohen, M. et al. The inner radio jet of 3C273. Nature 334, 410–412 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/334410a0

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