Sub-milliarcsecond imaging of 3C111

2020

Flares in radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are thought to be associated with the injection of fresh plasma into the compact jet base. Such flares are usually strongest and appear earlier at shorter radio wavelengths. Hence, very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) at millimeter (mm)-wavelengths is the best-suited technique for studying the earliest structural changes of compact jets associated with emission flares. Aims. We study the morphological changes of the parsec-scale jet in the nearby (z=0.049) gamma-ray bright radio galaxy 3C 111 following a flare that developed into a major radio outburst in 2007. We analyse three successive observations of 3C 111 at 86 GHz with the Global…