2012A&A...538L..10G

We aim to constrain the structural variations within the HST-1 region downstream of the radio jet of M87, in general as well as in connection to the episodes of activity at very high energy (VHE). We analyzed and compared 26 VLBI observations of the M87 jet, obtained between 2006 and 2011 with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 1.7GHz and the European VLBI Network (EVN) at 5GHz. HST-1 is detected at all epochs; we model-fitted its complex structure with two or more components, the two outermost of which display a significant proper motion with a superluminal velocity around ∼4c. The motion of a third feature that is detected upstream is more difficult to characterize. The overall position angle of HST-1 has changed during the time of our observations from -65° to -90°, while the structure has moved by over 80 mas downstream. Our results on the component evolution suggest that structural changes at the upstream edge of HST-1 can be related to the VHE events.