Related papers: Keck Spectropolarimetry of BALQSO
Spectropolarimetry is a powerful technique that has provided critical support for the geometric unification model of local active galactic nuclei. In this paper, we present optical (rest-frame UV) Keck spectropolarimetry of five luminous…
It is widely accepted that the broad absorption line region (BALR) exists in most (if not all) quasars with a small covering factor. Recent works showed that the BALR is optically thick to soft and even medium energy X-rays, with a typical…
We present a spectropolarimetric survey of 36 broad absorption line quasi-stellar objects (BAL QSOs). The continuum, absorption trough, and emission line polarization of BAL QSOs yield clues about their structure. We confirm that BAL QSOs…
Highly polarized QSOs discovered in the Two-Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) have been observed to determine the source(s) of optical polarization in this near-infrared color-selected sample. Broad emission lines are observed in the polarized…
We report spectropolarimetry of 30 radio-selected broad absorption line (BAL) quasars with the Keck Observatory, 25 from the sample of Becker et al. (2000). Both high and low-ionization BAL quasars are represented, with redshifts ranging…
It has been argued that certain broad absorption line quasars are viewed within 35 degrees of the axis of a relativistic radio jet, based on two-epoch radio flux density variability. It is true if the surface brightness of a radio source is…
We present spectropolarimetry of 19 confirmed and 4 possible bright, southern broad absorption line (BAL) quasars from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT). A wide range of redshifts is covered in the sample…
The polarization state of starlight reflected by a planetary atmosphere uniquely reveals coverage, particle size, and composition of aerosols as well as changing cloud patterns. It is not possible to obtain a comparable level of detailed…
Roughly 10% of all quasars exhibit Broad Absorption Line (BAL) features which appear to arise in material outflowing at high velocity from the active galactic nucleus (AGN). The details of this outflow are, however, very poorly constrained…
Thermal models for the quasar Big Blue Bump generally lead to bound-free continuum features, which may be in absorption or emission. Searches for Lyman edges attributable to quasar atmospheres (in particular accretion disk atmospheres) have…
We discuss the polarization of broad emission lines in the type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The polarization depends on the geometry of the broad line region (BLR), and also on the polarization mechanism, or distribution of the…
Recent works showed that the absorbing material in broad absorption line (BAL) quasars is optically thick to major resonant absorption lines. This material may contribute significantly to the polarization in the absorption lines. In this…
We describe the results of a detailed study of the polarization properties of the broad H-alpha emission line in Type 1 Seyfert nuclei. Our analysis of these data points to a model in which the broad Balmer lines are emitted by a rotating…
We have used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to obtain spectropolarimetry of the radio-loud, double-lobed broad absorption line (BAL) quasar PKS 0040-005. We find that the optical continuum of PKS 0040-005 is intrinsically polarized at 0.7%…
Optical spectropolarimetry and broadband polarimetry in other wavebands has been a key to understanding many diverse aspects of AGN. In some cases polarization is due to synchrotron radiation, and in other cases it's due to scattering.…
While amongst the most luminous objects in the universe, many details regarding the inner structure of quasars remain unknown. One such area is the mechanism promoting increased polarisation in the broad absorption line troughs of certain…
Spectropolarimetry of Broad Absorption Line Quasars (BALQSO's) has demonstrated that the geometry of the absorbing material is far from spherically symmetric. Calculations of accretion disk spectra suggest that the intrinsic radiation…
Photons preferentially Compton scatter perpendicular to the plane of polarisation. This property can be exploited to design instruments to measure the linear polarisation of hard X-rays ($\sim$10 - 100 keV). Photons may undergo two…
Recent spectropolarimetry of QSOs has revealed a surprising rise in polarization in the Lyman continuum of several objects. We discuss several recent attempts to interpret this feature, including the role of Lyman limit absorption in PG…
We consider the polarization arising from scattering in an envelope illuminated by a central anisotropic source. Spherical harmonics are used to describe both the light source anisotropy and the envelope density distribution functions of…