The jets in 3C 296

Abstract

We present observations made with the VLA at 1.5 and 8.4 GHz of the nearby FRI radio galaxy 3C296. The most recent models of FRI radio galaxies suggest that sub- stantial deceleration must take place in their jets, with strongly relativistic velocities on parsec scales giving place to at most mildly relativistic velocities on scales of tens of kiloparsecs. The region over which this deceleration takes place is therefore of con- siderable interest. By considering the side-to-side asymmetries of the jets of 3C296, we constrain the region of strong deceleration in the source. Our observations show evidence that the jets have slow edges surrounding faster central spines. We discuss the implications of our observations for models of the magnetic field structure in these objects.