Polarization and kinematics in Cygnus A
Astrophysics
2009-11-10 v1
Abstract
From optical spectropolarimetry of Cygnus A we conclude that the scattering medium in the ionization cones in Cygnus A is moving outward at a speed of 170+-34 km/s, and that the required momentum can be supplied by the radiation pressure of an average quasar. Such a process could produce a structure resembling the observed ionization cones, which are thought to result from shadowing by a circumnuclear dust torus. We detect a polarized red wing in the [O III] emission lines arising from the central kiloparsec of Cygnus A. This wing is consistent with line emission created close to the boundary of the broad-line region.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0308412,
title = {Polarization and kinematics in Cygnus A},
author = {Ilse M. van Bemmel and Joel Vernet and Robert A. E. Fosbury and Henny J. G. L. M. Lamers},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0308412},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
5 pages, accepted for publication in MNRAS letters