An extremely curved relativistic jet in PKS 2136+141

Abstract

We report the discovery of an extremely curved jet in the high frequency peaking GPS quasar PKS 2136+141. Our multi-frequency VLBA images show a bending jet making a turn-around of 210 degrees on the plane of the sky, which is, to our knowledge, the largest ever observed change in a structural position angle of an extragalactic jet. Images taken at six different frequencies, from 2 to 43 GHz, beautifully reveal a spiral-like trajectory. We discuss possibilities to constrain the 3-D geometry of the source and suggest that it could be used as a testbed for models describing the bending of the relativistic jets.

4 pages. 3 figures. Proceedings of the 7th European VLBI Network Symposium held in Toledo, Spain on October 12-15, 2004. Editors: R. Bachiller, F. Colomer, J.-F. Desmurs, P. de Vicente (Observatorio Astronomico Nacional), p. 107-110. Needs evn2004.cls