VLBI observations of the nucleus of Centaurus A

VLBI observations of the nucleus of Centaurus A made at 2.3 GHz on baselines with minimum fringe spacings of 0.15 and 0.0027 arcsec are presented. Results show that the nuclear component is elongated with a maximum extent of approximately 0.05 arcsec which is equivalent to a size of approximately 1 pc at the 5 Mpc distance of Centaurus A. The position angle of the nucleus is found to be 30 + or - 20 degrees, while the ratio of nuclear jet length to width is less than or approximately equal to 20. The nuclear flux density is determined to be 6.8 Jy, while no core component is found with an extent less than or approximately equal to 0.001 (less than or approximately equal to 0.02 pc) with a flux density of greater than or approximately equal to 20 mJy. A model of the Centaurus A nucleus composed of at least two components is developed on the basis of these results in conjunction with earlier VLBI and spectral data. The first component is an elongated source of approximately 0.05 arcsec (approximately 1 pc) size which contains most of the 2.3 GHz nuclear flux, while the second component is a source of approximately 0.0005 arcsec (approximately 0.01 pc) size which is nearly completely self-absorbed at 2.3 GHz but strengthens at higher frequencies.