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Accretion of black holes at near-Eddington or super-Eddington rates represents the most powerful episode driving black hole growth, potentially occurring across various types of objects. However, the physics governing accretion and jet–disk coupling in such states remains unclear, primarily due to the difficulty in detecting associated jets, which may emit extremely weakly or exhibit episodic behavior. Only a few near/super-Eddington systems have demonstrated radio activity, and it remains uncertain whether jets exist and what their properties are in super-Eddington active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and ultraluminous X-ray sources. This uncertainty stems mainly from the complex radio emission mix, which includes contributions from jets, star formation activity, photoionized gas, accretion disk wind, and coronal activity. In this work, we conducted high-resolution, very long baseline interferometry observations to investigate jets in the highly accreting narrow-line Seyfert I system I Zw 1. Our observations successfully revealed small-scale jets (with a linear size of ∼45 pc) at both 1.5 and 5 GHz, based on the high radio brightness temperature, radio morphology, and spectral index distribution. Additionally, the parsec-scale jet observed in I Zw 1 displays a knotted morphology reminiscent of other sources accreting at similar rates. In summary, the high accretion rates and jet properties observed in the AGN I Zw 1 may support the AGN/X-ray binary analogy in this extreme state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present radio very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) and X-ray studies of the starburst galaxy NGC 3628. The VLBI observation at 1.5 GHz reveals seven compact (0.7−7 pc) radio sources in the central ∼250 pc region of NGC 3628. Based on their morphology, high radio-brightness temperatures (105–107 K), and steep radio spectra, none of these seven sources can be associated with active galactic nuclei (AGNs); instead, they can be identified as supernova remnants (SNRs), with three of them appearing consistent with partial shells. Notably, one of them (W2) is likely a nascent radio supernova (SN) and appears to be consistent with the star formation rate of NGC 3628 when assuming a canonical initial mass function. The VLBI observation provides the first precise measurement of the diameter of the radio sources in NGC 3628, which allow us to fit a well-constrained radio surface brightness—diameter (Σ– D) correlation by including the detected SNRs. Furthermore, future VLBI observations can be conducted to measure the expansion velocity of the detected SNRs. In addition to our radio VLBI study, we analyze Chandra and XMM-Newton spectra of NGC 3628. The spectral fitting indicates that the SNR activities could well account for the observed X-ray emissions. Along with the Chandra X-ray image, it further reveals that the X-ray emission is likely maintained by the galactic-scale outflow triggered by SN activities. These results provide strong evidence that SN-triggered activities play a critical role in generating both radio and X-ray emissions in NGC 3628. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dwarf galaxies are characterized by a very low luminosity and low mass. Because of significant accretion and ejection activity of massive black holes, some dwarf galaxies also host low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs). In a few dwarf AGNs, very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations have found faint non-thermal radio emission. SDSS J090613.77+561015.2 is a dwarf AGN owning an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) with a mass of |$M_\mathrm{BH} = 3.6^{+5.9}_{-2.3}\times 10^5 \mathrm{ M}_{\odot }$| and showing a rarely seen two-component radio structure in its radio nucleus. To further probe their nature, i.e. the IMBH jet activity, we performed additional deep observations with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 1.66 and 4.99 GHz. We find the more diffuse emission regions and structure details. These new EVN imaging results allow us to reveal a two-sided jet morphology with a size up to about 150 mas (projected length ∼140 pc) and a radio luminosity of about 3 × 1038 erg s−1. The peak feature has an optically thin radio spectrum and thus more likely represents a relatively young ejecta instead of a jet base. The EVN study on SDSS J090613.77+561015.2 demonstrates the existence of episodic, relatively large-scale, and powerful IMBH jet activity in dwarf AGNs. Moreover, we collected a small sample of VLBI-detected dwarf AGNs and investigated their connections with normal AGNs. We notice that these radio sources in the dwarf AGNs tend to have steep spectra and small linear sizes, and possibly represent ejecta from scaled-down episodic jet activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study radio and X-ray emissions from intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) and explore the unified model for accretion and ejection processes. The radio band survey of IMBH (candidate) hosted galaxies indicates that only a small fraction (∼0.6%) of them are radio-band active. In addition, very long baseline interferometry observations reveal parsec-scale radio emission of IMBHs, further resulting in a lower fraction of actively ejecting objects (radio emission is produced by IMBHs other than hosts), which is consistent with a long quiescent state in the evolution cycle of IMBHs. Most (75%, i.e., 3 out of 4 samples according to a recent mini-survey) of the radio-emitting IMBHs are associated with radio relics and there is also evidence of dual radio blobs from episodic ejecting phases. Taking the radio emission and the corresponding core X-ray emission of IMBH, we confirm a universal fundamental plane relation (FMP) of black hole activity. Furthermore, state transitions can be inferred by comparing a few cases in XRBs and IMBHs in FMP, i.e., both radio luminosity and emission regions evolve along these state transitions. These signatures and evidence suggest an analogy among all kinds of accretion systems which span from stellar mass to supermassive black holes, hinting at unified accretion and ejection physics. To validate the unified model, we explore the correlation between the scale of outflows (corresponding to ejection powers) and the masses of central engines; it shows that the largest scale of outflows L S ^ out follows a power-law correlation with the masses of accretors M core , i.e., log L S ^ out = (0.73 ± 0.01) log M core − (3.34 ± 0.10) . In conclusion, this work provides evidence to support the claim that the ejection (and accretion) process behaves as scale-invariant and their power is regulated by the masses of accretors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NGC 4395 is a dwarf galaxy at a distance of about 4.3 Mpc (scale: ∼0.021 pc mas−1). It hosts an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) with a mass between ∼104 and ∼105 solar masses. The early radio observations of NGC 4395 with the very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) network, High Sensitivity Array (HSA), at 1.4 GHz in 2005 showed that its nucleus has a sub-mJy outflow-like feature (E) extending over 15 mas. To probe the possibility of the feature E as a continuous jet with a base physically coupled with the accretion disc, we performed deep VLBI observations with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 5 GHz, and analysed the archival data obtained with the HSA at 1.4 GHz in 2008, NSF's Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at 12–18 GHz and the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) at 237 GHz. The feature E displays more diffuse structure in the HSA image of 2008 and has no compact substructure detected in the EVN image. Together with the optically thin steep spectrum and the extremely large angular offset (about 220 mas) from the accurate optical Gaia position, we explain the feature E as nuclear shocks likely formed by the IMBH's episodic ejection or wide-angle outflow. The VLA and ALMA observations find a sub-mJy pc-scale diffuse feature, possibly tracing a thermal free–free emission region near the IMBH. There is no detection of a jet base at the IMBH position in the VLBI maps. The non-detections give an extremely low luminosity of ≤4.7 × 1033 erg s−1 at 5 GHz and indicate no evidence of a disc-jet coupling on sub-pc scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-shaped radio galaxies (XRGs) are those that exhibit two pairs of unaligned radio lobes (main radio lobes and wings). One of the promising models for the peculiar morphology is jet reorientation. To clarify this, we conducted a 5 GHz observation with the European VLBI Network (EVN) of XRG J0725+5835, which resembles the archetypal binary active galactic nuclei (AGNs) 0402+379 in radio morphology, but it is larger in angular size. In our observation, two milliarcsecond-scale radio components with nonthermal radio emission are detected. Each of them coincides with an optical counterpart with similar photometric redshift and (optical and infrared) magnitude, corresponding to dual active nuclei. Furthermore, with the improved Very Large Array (VLA) images, we find a bridge between the two radio cores and a jet bending in the region surrounding the companion galaxy. This further supports the interplay between the main and companion galaxies. In addition, we also report the discovery of an arcsecond-scale jet in the companion. Given the projected separation of ∼100 kpc between the main and companion galaxies, XRG J0725+5835 is likely associated with a dual jetted-AGN system. In both EVN and VLA observations, we find signatures that the jet is changing its direction, which is likely responsible for the X-shaped morphology. For the origin of jet reorientation, several scenarios are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jets of high-redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can be used to directly probe the activity of the black holes in the early Universe. Radio sources with jets misaligned with respect to the line of sight are expected to dominate the high-redshift AGN population. In this paper, we present the high-resolution imaging results of a z  = 4.57 AGN J2102+6015 by analysing its multi-epoch dual-frequency very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) data. The 8.4-GHz VLBI images reveal two major features along the east–west direction separated by ∼10 mas. From the spectral index map, both features show flat/inverted spectra. The separation between the two features remains almost unchanged over an observation period of ∼13 yr, placing an upper limit of the separation speed as about 0.04 mas yr−1. Previous studies have classified the source as a GHz-peaked spectrum quasar. Our results indicate that J2102+6015 is most likely a young, compact symmetric object rather than a blazar-type core–jet source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Broad Balmer emission lines in active galactic nuclei (AGN) may display dramatic changes in amplitude, even disappearance and re-appearance in some sources. As a nearby galaxy at a redshift of z = 0.0264, Mrk 590 suffered such a cycle of Seyfert type changes between 2006 and 2017. Over the last 50 yr, Mrk 590 also underwent a powerful continuum outburst and a slow fading from X-rays to radio wavelengths with a peak bolometric luminosity reaching about 10 per cent of the Eddington luminosity. To track its past accretion and ejection activity, we performed very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations with the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 1.6 GHz in 2015. The EVN observations reveal a faint (∼1.7 mJy) radio jet extending up to ∼2.8 mas (projected scale ∼1.4 pc) toward north, and probably resulting from the very intensive AGN activity. To date, such a parsec-scale jet is rarely seen in the known changing-look AGN. The finding of the faint jet provides further strong support for variable accretion as the origin of the type changes in Mrk 590. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]