Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007mnras.374..187k&link_type=abstract
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 374, Issue 1, pp. 187-195.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Line: Profiles, Polarization, Radiative Transfer, Scattering
Scientific paper
Thomson scattering is often invoked to explain broad wing features that are seen in various objects including active galactic nuclei and symbiotic stars. Despite the wavelength-independent scattering cross-section of Thomson scattering, the line flux may exhibit wavelength-dependent linear degree of polarization, because various parts of emission wings are contributed by photons with different scattering numbers. Specifically, more scattered and hence more weakly polarized photons tend to fill the farther wing parts from the line centre, while the neighbourhood of the line centre is dominated by less-scattered photons with higher degree of polarization. Using a Monte Carlo technique, we investigate the polarization structure of Thomson-scattered line radiation. A detailed analysis of polarization structure formation is conducted by investigating the dependence of the polarization and profile width on the scattering number for various finite electron scattering slabs. Significantly varying degree of polarization is obtained when the scattering medium has Thomson optical depth τTh >= 1. We present our high-resolution spectrum of the symbiotic star V1016 Cyg obtained with the Bohyunsan Optical Echelle Spectrograph (BOES) in order to fit the broad profile around Hα by electron scattering wings adopting an oblate spheroidal geometry with Thomson optical depth τTh = 0.5 and electron temperature Te = 6.2 × 104 K. Local maxima in the linear degree of polarization of Thomson-scattered line radiation are expected to appear in the spectral regions characterized by the average scattering number ~=1.
Kang Suna
Kim Hyo Jeong
Lee Hee-Won
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