First Detection of Radio Polarization During Jet Formation in the Changing-Look AGN 1ES 1927+654
astro-ph.HE, astro-ph.GA
Submitted: 2026-09-08
Updated: 2026-09-08
Comments: 22 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to ApJ
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: We present a multiwavelength radio study of the changing-look AGN 1ES 1927+654 following its renewed X-ray brightening since mid-2022, combining VLBA imaging with multi-band and time-resolved VLA
Terminology
Abstract
We present a multiwavelength radio study of the changing-look AGN 1ES 1927+654 following its renewed X-ray brightening since mid-2022, combining VLBA imaging with multi-band and time-resolved VLA observations. Our main results are: (i) VLBA observations continue to reveal the bipolar jet structure first reported in Meyer et al. (2025), with new X-band detections confirming the morphology at larger separation and K-band imaging revealing a bridge of emission consistent with a continuous outflow; (ii) the VLBA core exhibits a GHz-peaked spectrum, and VLA/VLITE observations from 340 MHz to 45 GHz show emission from an inhomogeneous synchrotron source, self-absorbed below 3 GHz and optically thin above; (iii) VLA and VLBA flux densities are consistent above 8 GHz, indicating emission dominated by a compact core; (iv) linear polarization is detected above 3 GHz, with fractional polarization increasing with frequency from 0.2% to 6% and EVPAs exhibiting non-linear lambda squared behavior; (v) long-term VLA X-band monitoring reveals a large, smooth rotation of the EVPA of 137 degrees over 81 days in 2026, followed by a partial return, at stable total intensity and suppressed fractional polarization < 1.4%, consistent with a propagating disturbance crossing the compact emitting region; and (vi) circular polarization is not detected at any epoch. These observations demonstrate that 1ES 1927+654 has transitioned from an X-ray-dominated, non-jetted state to a radio-loud AGN (Laha et al. 2025) hosting a newly launched relativistic jet, a unique laboratory for studying jet birth and early magnetic field evolution.
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