2025MNRAS.537..978K

We analyse the variability of the parsec-scale jet directions in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Our analysis involves 317 AGNs at frequencies ranging from 2 to 43 GHz, and is made possible by developing an automatic jet direction measurement procedure. We find strong significant variations in a one quarter of these AGNs; the effect is likely ubiquitous, and not detected in the rest due to a limited sensitivity and observations epoch coverage. Apparent jet rotation speeds range from 0.21 deg yr$^{-1}$ at 2 GHz to 1.04 deg yr$^{-1}$ at 43 GHz. This strong frequency dependence indicates that the variability cannot be explained by jet components propagating ballistically without acceleration: more complex jet shapes or motion patterns are required. Still, we demonstrate that the apparent direction changes are predominantly caused by the jet nozzle rotations, and not by individual components propagating transversely to the jet. In this work, we focus on variability scales much longer than the times of observations, that is $\gtrsim 50$ yr. Using our measurements, we bound potential periods to less than 1000 yr in the source rest frame for 90 per cent AGNs in the sample. These time-scales constrain jet direction variation mechanisms, with the most likely explanations being the plasma instabilities, the precession caused by the accretion disc with density $\sim r^{-1}$, and the orbital motion of binary systems.