Threads, Ribbons, and Rings in the Radio Galaxy IC 4296

The nearby elliptical galaxy IC.4296 has produced a large (510 kpc) low-luminosity radio source with typical FR I core/jet/lobe morphology. The unprecedented combination of brightness sensitivity, dynamic range, and angular resolution of a new 1.28 GHz MeerKAT continuum image reveals striking new morphological features, which we call threads, ribbons, and rings. The threads are faint narrow emission features originating where helical Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities disrupt the main radio jets. The ribbons are smooth regions between the jets and the lobes, and they appear to be relics of jets powered by earlier activity that have since come into pressure equilibrium. Vortex rings in the outer portions of the lobes and their backflows indicate that the straight outer jets and ribbons are inclined by i = 60 degrees +/- 5 degrees from the line of sight, in agreement with photometric, geometric, and gas-dynamical estimates of inclination angles near the nucleus.

Automated summary

A large low-luminosity radio source in the nearby elliptical galaxy IC.4296 has been studied using a new 1.28 GHz MeerKAT continuum image, revealing new features such as threads, ribbons, and rings. These features are likely related to disrupted main radio jets and relics of earlier jet activity.