Millimeter-VLBI Observations of Low-luminosity Active Galactic Nuclei with Source-frequency Phase Referencing

We report millimeter-VLBI results of low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (M84 and M87) up to 88 GHz with source-frequency phase-referencing observations. We detected the weak VLBI core and obtained the first image of M84 at 88 GHz. The derived brightness temperature of the M84 core was about 7.2 x 10(9) K, which could serve as a lower limit because the core down to 30 Schwarzschild radii was still unresolved in our 88 GHz observations. We successfully determined the core shifts of M87 at 22-44 GHz and 44-88 GHz through the source-frequency phase-referencing technique. The jet apex of M87 could be deduced at similar to 46 mu as upstream of the 43 GHz core from core-shift measurements. The estimated magnetic field strength of the 88 GHz core of M87 is 4.8 +/- 2.4 G, which is at the same magnitude of 1-30 G near the event horizon probed by the Event Horizon Telescope.