Polarization of synchrotron emission from relativistic reconfinement shocks with ordered magnetic fields

Abstract

We calculate the polarization of synchrotron radiation produced at the relativistic reconfinement shocks, taking into account globally ordered magnetic field components, in particular toroidal and helical fields. In these shocks, toroidal fields produce high parallel polarization (electric vectors parallel to the projected jet axis), while chaotic fields generate moderate perpendicular polarization. Helical fields result in a non-axisymmetric distribution of the total and polarized brightness. For a diverging downstream velocity field, the Stokes parameter U does not vanish and the average polarization is neither strictly parallel nor perpendicular. A distance at which the downstream flow is changing from diverging to converging can be easily identified on polarization maps as the turning point, at which polarization vectors switch, e.g., from clockwise to counterclockwise.

arXiv comment10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

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• On the Injection of Relativistic Electrons in the Jet of 3C 279
• A model for the polarization of the high-energy radiation from accreting black holes: the case of XTE J1118+480
• VLBI Imagings of Kilo-parsec Knot in 3C 380
• Forgotten treasures in the HST/FOC UV imaging polarimetric archives of active galactic nuclei. IV. 5 Orphaned AGNs