EVN and MERLIN confirmation of the LS5039 jets

Abstract

The microquasar nature of LS5039 was revealed by May 1999 VLBA+VLA observations showing a two-sided jet at milliarcsecond scales. Here we present follow-up interferometric observations carried out with the EVN and MERLIN at 5 GHz in March 2000. The obtained maps with both the EVN and MERLIN show a two-sided jet with a similar position angle to the previous VLBA+VLA map. The total length of the jet arms is ~60 mas in the EVN map and ~300 mas in the MERLIN map. A brightness and length asymmetry of the jets, compatible with the earlier observations, is also present in the maps. Overall, these observations confirm the existence of a two-sided jet structure in LS 5039 and seem to indicate their persistent nature.

Proceedings of the 6th European VLBI Network Symposium, Ros E., Porcas R.W., Lobanov A.P., Zensus J.A. (Eds.), MPIfR, Bonn, Germany (2002), pp. 277-278. 2 pages, 1 figure, needs evn2002.cls