The nature of the compact infrared core sources in powerful FRII radio galaxies

Details The nature of the compact infrared core sources in powerful FRII radio galaxies The nature of the compact infrared core sources in powerful FRII radio galaxies

Dec 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7258t&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #7258

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Hst Proposal Id #7258 Agn/Quasars

Scientific paper

The compact IR core sources discovered in the nuclei of powerful radio galaxies provide some of the most compelling evidence for the idea that all powerful radio galaxies contain luminous quasars which are hidden from our direct view by obscuring torii. However, our recent detection of substantial {1.5 -- 4.5 percent} in the cores of several nearby radio galaxies casts doubt on the idea that we are seeing the nuclei directly at near-IR wavelengths in these galaxies. The most likely explanation for the large K-band polarization is that we are seeing through a moderate amount of extinction to an inner scattering region close to, but not coincident with, the central engine. Unfortunately, at the limited resolution of our ground-based data it is not yet possible to unambigously rule out other polarization mechanisms such as dichroic absorption by aligned dust grains or non-thermal synchrotron emission from the core radio sources. We therefore propose to make NICMOS observations of two powerful radio galaxies with polarized cores in order to: {a} resolve the cores relative to the stellar populations in the host galaxies and thereby make accurate measurements of the intrinsic polarizations of the core sources; and {b} to examine the extent and morphology of the scattering region. If the scattering model proves correct, this will imply that estimates of the extinction to the AGN have been substantially underestimated in previous studies. With its capability of high spatial resolution polarimetry at near-IR wavelengths, the HST+NICMOS combination is uniquely capable of this project.

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