The 2009 Fermi Symposium

The MOJAVE Program: Investigating the Parsec-Scale Jet Properties of Gamma-Ray Blazars

Matt Lister, Purdue University

Abstract:

MOJAVE is a large program to investigate the structure and evolution of parsec-scale jets associated with compact radio-loud AGNs. The survey is regularly observing over 250 jets with the VLBA at 14.5 GHz, a subset of which comprise a complete radio flux-density-limited sample of bright blazars. We have found that many of the general properties of compact radio jets are strongly connected with their gamma-ray emission. The overall pc-scale radio flux density and gamma ray flux are well-correlated, and the LAT-detected jets in the MOJAVE sample have generally higher Doppler beaming factors and apparent speeds. Other correlations we have found involve linear polarization, rest frame viewing angle, and apparent jet opening angle. The initial MOJAVE-LAT detection statistics suggest that relativistic beaming, jet activity state, and spectral shape all play a role in determining the makeup of the Fermi AGN catalog. To further investigate these issues, we are in the process of expanding the MOJAVE sample to include up to 100 newly LAT-detected AGNs with significantly lower radio flux densities. We discuss the kinematics of these and other MOJAVE jets based on VLBA data obtained between 1994 and the present. The MOJAVE program is supported by NASA-Fermi grant NNX08AV67G.