Frequency and Time Dependence of Linear Polarization in Turbulent Jets of Blazars
Abstract
Time-variable polarization is an extremely valuable observational tool to probe the dynamical physical conditions of blazar jets. Since 2008, we have been monitoring the flux and linear polarization of a sample of gamma-ray bright blazars at optical frequencies. Some of the observations were performed on nightly or intra-night time-scales in four optical bands, providing information on the frequency and time dependence of the polarization. The observed behavior is similar to that found in simulations of turbulent plasma in a relativistic jet that contains a standing shock and/or a helical background magnetic field. Similar simulations predict the characteristics of X-ray synchrotron polarization of blazars that will be measured in the future by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2105.00094,
title = {Frequency and Time Dependence of Linear Polarization in Turbulent Jets of Blazars},
author = {Alan P. Marscher and Svetlana G. Jorstad},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2105.00094},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
2021, Special issue of Galaxies, "Polarimetry as a Probe of Magnetic Fields in AGN Jets", ed. M.F. Aller, J.L. Gomez, & E. Perlman