Swift J1727.8-1613 Has the Largest Resolved Continuous Jet Ever Seen in an X-Ray Binary

Multiwavelength polarimetry and radio observations of Swift J1727.8-1613 at the beginning of its recent 2023 outburst suggested the presence of a bright compact jet aligned in the north-south direction, which could not be confirmed without high-angular-resolution images. Using the Very Long Baseline Array and the Long Baseline Array, we imaged Swift J1727.8-1613 during the hard/hard-intermediate state, revealing a bright core and a large, two-sided, asymmetrical, resolved jet. The jet extends in the north-south direction, at a position angle of -0.60 degrees +/- 0.07 degrees east of north. At 8.4 GHz, the entire resolved jet structure is similar to 110(d/2.7kpc)/sini au long, with the southern approaching jet extending similar to 80(d/2.7kpc)/sini au from the core, where d is the distance to the source and i is the inclination of the jet axis to the line of sight. These images reveal the most resolved continuous X-ray binary jet, and possibly the most physically extended continuous X-ray binary jet ever observed. Based on the brightness ratio of the approaching and receding jets, we put a lower limit on the intrinsic jet speed of beta >= 0.27 and an upper limit on the jet inclination of i <= 74 degrees. In our first observation we also detected a rapidly fading discrete jet knot 66.89 +/- 0.04 mas south of the core, with a proper motion of 0.66 +/- 0.05 mas hr-1, which we interpret as the result of a downstream internal shock or a jet-interstellar medium interaction, as opposed to a transient relativistic jet launched at the beginning of the outburst.