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Vela X-1 is a runaway X-ray binary system hosting a massive donor star, whose strong stellar wind creates a bow shock as it interacts with the interstellar medium. This bow shock has previously been detected in H$\alpha$ and IR, but, similar to all but one bow shock from a massive runaway star (BD+43$^{\rm o}$3654), has escaped detection in other wavebands. We report on the discovery of $1.3$ GHz radio emission from the Vela X-1 bow shock with the MeerKAT telescope. The MeerKAT observations reveal how the radio emission closely traces the H$\alpha$ line emission, both in the bow shock and in the larger-scale diffuse structures known from existing H$\alpha$ surveys. The Vela X-1 bow shock is the first stellar-wind-driven radio bow shock detected around an X-ray binary. In the absence of a radio spectral index measurement, we explore other avenues to constrain the radio emission mechanism. We find that thermal/free-free emission can account for the radio and H$\alpha$ properties, for a combination of electron temperature and density consistent with earlier estimates of ISM density and the shock enhancement. In this explanation, the presence of a local ISM over-density is essential for the detection of radio emission. Alternatively, we consider a non-thermal/synchrotron scenario, evaluating the magnetic field and broad-band spectrum of the shock. However, we find that exceptionally high fractions ($\gtrsim 13$%) of the kinetic wind power would need to be injected into the relativistic electron population to explain the radio emission. Assuming lower fractions implies a hybrid scenario, dominated by free-free radio emission. Finally, we speculate about the detectability of radio bow shocks and whether it requires exceptional ISM or stellar wind properties., Comment: 17 pages including appendices, 12 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS. Updated version with minor corrections to reference list

Full list of authors: Baldi, R. D.; Williams, D. R. A.; Beswick, R. J.; McHardy, I.; Dullo, B. T.; Knapen, J. H.; Zanisi, L.; Argo, M. K.; Aalto, S.; Alberdi, A.; Baan, W. A.; Bendo, G. J.; Fenech, D. M.; Green, D. A.; Klöckner, H. -R.; Körding, E.; Maccarone, T. J.; Marcaide, J. M.; Mutie, I.; Panessa, F.; Pérez-Torres, M. A.; Romero-Cañizales, C.; Saikia, D. J.; Saikia, P.; Shankar, F.; Spencer, R. E.; Stevens, I. R.; Uttley, P.; Brinks, E.; Corbel, S.; Martí-Vidal, I.; Mundell, C. G.; Pahari, M.; Ward, M. J., What determines the nuclear radio emission in local galaxies? To address this question, we combine optical [O iii] line emission, robust black hole (BH) mass estimates, and high-resolution e-MERLIN 1.5-GHz data, from the LeMMINGs survey, of a statistically complete sample of 280 nearby optically active (LINER and Seyfert) and inactive [H ii and absorption line galaxies (ALGs)] galaxies. Using [O iii] luminosity (L[O III]) as a proxy for the accretion power, local galaxies follow distinct sequences in the optical-radio planes of BH activity, which suggest different origins of the nuclear radio emission for the optical classes. The 1.5-GHz radio luminosity of their parsec-scale cores (Lcore) is found to scale with BH mass (MBH) and [O iii] luminosity. Below MBH ∼106.5 M⊙, stellar processes from non-jetted H ii galaxies dominate with Lcore ∝ MBH0.61 ± 0.33 and Lcore ∝ L[O III]0.79 ± 0.30. Above MBH ∼106.5 M⊙, accretion-driven processes dominate with Lcore ∝ MBH1.5-1.65 and Lcore ∝ L[O III]0.99-1.31 for active galaxies: radio-quiet/loud LINERs, Seyferts, and jetted H ii galaxies always display (although low) signatures of radio-emitting BH activity, with L1.5 GHz ≳ 1019.8 W Hz-1 and MBH ≳ 107 M⊙, on a broad range of Eddington-scaled accretion rates (m). Radio-quiet and radio-loud LINERs are powered by low-m discs launching sub-relativistic and relativistic jets, respectively. Low-power slow jets and disc/corona winds from moderately high to high-m discs account for the compact and edge-brightened jets of Seyferts, respectively. Jetted H ii galaxies may host weakly active BHs. Fuel-starved BHs and recurrent activity account for ALG properties. In conclusion, specific accretion-ejection states of active BHs determine the radio production and the optical classification of local active galaxies. © 2021 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society., This research was supported by a Newton Fund project, DARA (Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy), and awarded by the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) – grant reference ST/R001103/1. This research was supported by European Commission Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No. 730884 (JUMPING JIVE). FS acknowledges support from a Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship. JHK acknowledges support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 721463 to the SUNDIAL ITN network, from the State Research Agency (AEI) of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) under the grant with reference PID2019-105602GB-I00, and from IAC project P/300724, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, through the State Budget and by the Canary Islands Department of Economy, Knowledge and Employment, through the Regional Budget of the Autonomous Community. IMV thanks the Generalitat Valenciana (funding from the GenT Project CIDEGENT/2018/021) and the MICINN (funding from the Research Project PID2019-108995GB-C22). AA and MAPT acknowledge support from the Spanish MCIU through grant PGC2018-098915-B-C21 and from the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the ‘Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa’ award for the Instituto de Astrofìsica de Andalucìa (SEV-2017-0709). BTD acknowledges financial support from grant ‘Ayudas para la realización de proyectos de I + D para jóvenes doctores 2019’ funded by Comunidad de Madrid and Universidad Complutense de Madrid under grant no. PR65/19-22417.

We report on an optical photometric and polarimetric campaign on the accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar (AMXP) SAX J1808.4-3658 during its 2019 outburst. The emergence of a low-frequency excess in the spectral energy distribution in the form of a red excess above the disc spectrum (seen most prominently in z, i and R-bands) is observed as the outburst evolves. This is indicative of optically thin synchrotron emission due to a jet, as seen previously in this source and in other AMXPs during outburst. At the end of the outburst decay, the source entered a reflaring state. The low-frequency excess is still observed during the reflares. Our optical (BVRI) polarimetric campaign shows variable linear polarization (LP) throughout the outburst. We show that this is intrinsic to the source, with low-level but significant detections (0.2-2%) in all bands. The LP spectrum is red during both the main outburst and the reflaring state, favoring a jet origin for this variable polarization over other interpretations, such as Thomson scattering with free electrons from the disc or the propelled matter. During the reflaring state, a few episodes with stronger LP level (1-2 %) are observed. The low-level, variable LP is suggestive of strongly tangled magnetic fields near the base of the jet. These results clearly demonstrate how polarimetry is a powerful tool for probing the magnetic field structure in X-ray binary jets, similar to AGN jets., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ

Compact, continuously launched jets in black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) produce radio to optical-infrared synchrotron emission. In most BHXBs, an infrared (IR) excess (above the disc component) is observed when the jet is present in the hard spectral state. We investigate why some BHXBs have prominent IR excesses and some do not, quantified by the amplitude of the IR quenching or recovery over the transition from/to the hard state. We find that the amplitude of the IR excess can be explained by inclination dependent beaming of the jet synchrotron emission, and the projected area of the accretion disc. Furthermore, we see no correlation between the expected and the observed IR excess for Lorentz factor 1, which is strongly supportive of relativistic beaming of the IR emission, confirming that the IR excess is produced by synchrotron emission in a relativistic outflow. Using the amplitude of the jet fade and recovery over state transitions and the known orbital parameters, we constrain for the first time the bulk Lorentz factor range of compact jets in several BHXBs (with all the well-constrained Lorentz factors lying in the range of $\Gamma$ = 1.3 - 3.5). Under the assumption that the Lorentz factor distribution of BHXB jets is a power-law, we find that N($\Gamma$) $\propto \Gamma^{ -1.88^{+0.27}_{-0.34}}$. We also find that the very high amplitude IR fade/recovery seen repeatedly in the BHXB GX 339-4 favors a low inclination angle ($< 15^\circ$) of the jet., Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ

Blazar radiation is dominated by a relativistic jet which can be modeled at first approximation using just two intrinsic parameters - the Lorentz factor $\Gamma$ and the viewing angle $\theta$. Blazar jet observations are often beamed due to relativistic effects, complicating the understanding of these intrinsic properties. The most common way to estimate blazar Lorentz factors needs the estimation of apparent jet speeds and Doppler beaming factors. We present a new and independent method of constructing the blazar Lorentz factor distribution, using the optical fundamental plane of black hole activity. The optical fundamental plane is a plane stretched out by both the supermassive black holes and the X-ray binaries, in the 3D space provided by their [OIII] line luminosity, radio luminosity and black hole mass. We use the intrinsic radio luminosity obtained from the optical fundamental plane to constrain the boosting parameters of the VLBA Imaging and Polarimetry Survey (VIPS) blazar sample. We find a blazar bulk Lorentz factor distribution in the form of a power law as $N(\Gamma) \propto \Gamma^{-2.1 \pm 0.4}$ for the $\Gamma$ range of 1 to 40. We also discuss the viewing angle distribution of the blazars and the dependence of our results on the input parameters., Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, comments are welcome

We present the first data release of high-resolution (≤0.2 arcsec) 1.5-GHz radio images of 103 nearby galaxies from the Palomar sample, observed with the eMERLIN array, as part of the LeMMINGs survey. This sample includes galaxies which are active (low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions [LINER] and Seyfert) and quiescent (H II galaxies and absorption line galaxies, ALGs), which are reclassified based upon revised emission-line diagrams.We detect radio emission ≳0.2 mJy for 47/103 galaxies (22/34 for LINERS, 4/4 for Seyferts, 16/51 for HII galaxies, and 5/14 for ALGs) with radio sizes typically of ≲100 pc. We identify the radio core position within the radio structures for 41 sources. Half of the sample shows jetted morphologies. The remaining half shows single radio cores or complex morphologies. LINERs show radio structures more core-brightened than Seyferts. Radio luminosities of the sample range from 10 to 10 erg s: LINERs and HII galaxies show the highest and lowest radio powers, respectively, while ALGs and Seyferts have intermediate luminosities. We find that radio core luminosities correlate with black hole (BH) mass down to ~10 M, but a break emerges at lower masses. Using [OIII] line luminosity as a proxy for the accretion luminosity, active nuclei and jetted HII galaxies follow an optical Fundamental Plane of BH activity, suggesting a common disc-jet relationship. In conclusion, LINER nuclei are the scaled-down version of FR I radio galaxies; Seyferts show less collimated jets; HII galaxies may host weak active BHs and/or nuclear star-forming cores; and recurrent BH activity may account for ALG properties.© 2018 The Author(s)., The authors thank the referee for a quick publication and the helpful comments from A. Laor and A. Capetti for the interpretation of the results. RDB and IMcH acknowledge the support of STFC under grant [ST/M001326/1] and IMcH thanks the Royal Society for the award of a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Research Fellowship. We acknowledge funding from the University of Southampton for a Mayflower studentship afforded to DW. EB and JW acknowledge support from the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council [grant number ST/M503514/1] and [grant number ST/M001008/1], respectively. CGM acknowledges financial support from STFC. JHK acknowledges financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 721463 to the SUNDIAL ITN network, and from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) under grant number AYA2016-76219-P. DMF wishes to acknowledge funding from an STFC Q10 consolidated grant [ST/M001334/1]. BTD acknowledges support from a Spanish postdoctoral fellowship 'Ayudas para la atraccion del talento investigador. Modalidad 2: jovenes investigadores, financiadas por la Comunidad de Madrid' under grant number 2016-T2/TIC-2039. FP has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Programme under the AHEAD project (grant agreement No. 654215). We also acknowledge the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, which is funded by the STFC. eMERLIN and formerly MERLIN is a National Facility operated by the University of Manchester at Jodrell Bank Observatory on behalf of STFC. This publication has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 730562 [RadioNet].