Detection of a parsec-scale jet in a radio-quiet narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy with highly accreting supermassive black hole

Abstract

\n The jet in active galactic nuclei (AGN) is a key ingredient in understanding the co-evolution of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes (SMBHs). Unfortunately, the mechanism of jet launching and collimation is still elusive. The observational evidence of decreasing radio loudness with increasing Eddington ratio implies that the jet should be coupled with the accretion process. To further explore the relationship between the jet and accretion, it is necessary to extend our knowledge of the jet to an extreme end of the Eddington ratio distribution of AGN. Using Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), we report the detection of the parsec-scale radio structure in Mrk\u2009335, a radio-quiet narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy with an Eddington ratio close to/above unity. The VLBA image at 1.5\u2009GHz reveals an elongated structure extending ∼20\u2009pc in north–south direction with a peak flux density of 1.98\xa0±\xa00.05\u2009mJy\u2009beam−1 and radio brightness temperatures as high as 6\xa0×\xa0107\u2009K. This feature provides a strong evidence of a parsec-scale (bipolar) jet launched from a highly accreting SMBH. We discuss the result by comparing Mrk\u2009335 with other highly accreting systems, e.g. Galactic black holes and tidal disruption events, and recall the discovery of collimated corona in the vicinity of SMBH in Mrk\u2009335 by previous X-ray observations, whose relation to the parsec-scale radio jet should be explored by future simultaneous X-ray spectroscopy and high resolution radio observations.