dc.contributor.author | Zhang, Haocheng | |
dc.contributor.author | Böttcher, Markus | |
dc.contributor.author | Chen, Xuhui | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2016-01-14T07:22:41Z | |
dc.date.available | 2016-01-14T07:22:41Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2014 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Zhang, H. et al. 2014. Synchrotron polarization in blazars. Astrophysical journal, 789: Article no 66. [https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/66] | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 0004-637X | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1538-4357 (Online) | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10394/15860 | |
dc.identifier.uri | https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/66 | |
dc.description.abstract | We present a detailed analysis of time- and energy-dependent synchrotron polarization signatures in a shock-in-jet model for γ-ray blazars. Our calculations employ a full three-dimensional radiation transfer code, assuming a helical magnetic field throughout the jet. The code considers synchrotron emission from an ordered magnetic field, and takes into account all light-travel-time and other relevant geometric effects, while the relevant synchrotron self-Compton and external Compton effects are handled with the two-dimensional Monte-Carlo/Fokker-Planck (MCFP) code. We consider several possible mechanisms through which a relativistic shock propagating through the jet may affect the jet plasma to produce a synchrotron and high-energy flare. Most plausibly, the shock is expected to lead to a compression of the magnetic field, increasing the toroidal field component and thereby changing the direction of the magnetic field in the region affected by the shock. We find that such a scenario leads to correlated synchrotron + synchrotron-self-Compton flaring, associated with substantial variability in the synchrotron polarization percentage and position angle. Most importantly, this scenario naturally explains large polarization angle rotations by gsim 180°, as observed in connection with γ-ray flares in several blazars, without the need for bent or helical jet trajectories or other nonaxisymmetric jet features | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | NASA through Fermi
Guest Investigator Grant no. NNX12AP20G. H.Z. is supported
by the LANL/LDRD program and by DoE/Office of Fusion
Energy Science through CMSO. X.C. acknowledges support by
the Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics HAP funded
by the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association.
X.C. gratefully acknowledges the support during his
visit to LANL when this work was started. M.B. acknowledges
support by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the
Department of Science and Technology and the National Research
Foundation of South Africa. | en_US |
dc.description.uri | http://iopscience.iop.org/0004-637X | |
dc.description.uri | http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/789/1/66 | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
dc.publisher | IOP Publishing | en_US |
dc.subject | Galaxies: active | en_US |
dc.subject | galaxies: jets | en_US |
dc.subject | gamma rays: galaxies | en_US |
dc.subject | radiation mechanisms: non-thermal | en_US |
dc.subject | relativistic processes | en_US |
dc.title | Synchrotron polarization in blazars | en_US |
dc.type | Article | en_US |
dc.contributor.researchID | 24420530 - Böttcher, Markus | |