Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
May 1976
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976apj...206l...5a&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, vol. 206, May 15, 1976, pt. 2, p. L5-L9. Research supported by the National Research Council of Canada
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
51
Emission Spectra, Galactic Nuclei, Polarization Characteristics, Seyfert Galaxies, Circular Polarization, Cosmic Dust, Forbidden Bands, Polarimetry, Scattering
Scientific paper
The polarization of emission lines in the nucleus of NGC 1068 has been measured with a digicon, a single-channel scanner, and interference filters. It is found that the permitted lines of H and probably also He II are polarized at nearly the same position angle and by the same amount as the neighboring continuum. This argues strongly that a common dust scattering mechanism is responsible for all the polarization. The forbidden lines are weakly polarized at a position angle quite different from the continuum, indicating an origin outside the nuclear scattering region. The continuum radiation has been found to be circularly polarized with ellipticity of the order of 5 percent in the red. Such high ellipticity is very unlikely to be of nonthermal origin. We take it as evidence that the nuclear dust is in the form of clouds in an asymmetric skew geometry; the polarization then arises from multiple scattering within these clouds.
Angel James Roger P.
Beaver Edward A.
Martin Peter G.
Stockman Hervey S.
Woolf Nancy J.
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