Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001aas...19913201r&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 199th AAS Meeting, #132.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 33, p.1498
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
The transfer of polarized radiation in stochastic self-absorbed synchrotron sources is explored by means of analytic treatment and Monte Carlo simulations. We argue that the mechanism responsible for the circular polarization of most compact synchrotron sources is Faraday conversion. Contrary to common expectation, a significant rate of Faraday rotation does not necessarily imply strong depolarization. The long-term persistence of the sign of circular polarization, observed in many sources, is most likely due to a small net magnetic flux generated in the central engine, carried along the jet axis and superimposed on a turbulent magnetic field. The related issue of statistical fluctuations of polarized radiation is discussed. We demonstrate how our model can naturally explain the excess of circular over linear polarization in the Galactic Center and briefly discuss the application of the model to the quasar 3C 279. This work was supported in part by NSF grant AST-9876887.
Begelman Mitchell C.
Ruszkowski Mateusz
No associations
LandOfFree
Circular polarization from stochastic self-absorbed synchrotron sources does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Circular polarization from stochastic self-absorbed synchrotron sources, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Circular polarization from stochastic self-absorbed synchrotron sources will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1236531