Polarization swings from curved trajectories of the emitting regions

Abstract

We present a model of polarization swings in blazars from axially symmetric blobs propagating on curved trajectories. If the minimum inclination of the velocity vector to the line of sight is smaller than Gamma^{-1}, the polarization angle maximum rotation rate is simultaneous with the polarization degree minimum and a spike in the total flux. By measuring the maximum rotation rate and the moment of the polarization maximum, it is possible to estimate the distance covered by the blob and thus its approximate position. We apply this model to the recent polarization event in blazar 3C 279.

arXiv comment6 pages, 2 figures, proceedings of the HEPRO II conference, Buenos Aires, October 2009

References in corpus (5)

• Polarimetric Observations of 15 Active Galactic Nuclei at High Frequencies: Jet Kinematics from Bimonthly Monitoring with the Very Long Baseline Array
• Correlated Multi-Waveband Variability in the Blazar 3C~279 from 1996 to 2007
• Results of WEBT, VLBA and RXTE monitoring of 3C 279 during 2006-2007
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Cited by in corpus (19)

• The structure and emission model of the relativistic jet in the quasar 3C 279 inferred from radio to high-energy gamma-ray observations in 2008-2010
• MAGIC gamma-ray and multifrequency observations of flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1510-089 in early 2012
• The RINGO2 and DIPOL Optical Polarisation Catalogue of Blazars
• Optical EVPA rotations in blazars: testing a stochastic variability model with RoboPol data
• Dissecting the long-term emission behaviour of the BL Lac object Mrk 421
• Two Flares with One Shock: the Interesting Case of 3C 454.3
• Polarization swings in blazars
• MAGIC observations and multifrequency properties of the Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar 3C 279 in 2011
• Synchrotron emission from the blazar PG 1553+113. An analysis of its flux and polarization variability
• VLBA polarimetric monitoring of 3C 111
• Probing shock acceleration in BL Lac jets through X-ray polarimetry: the time-dependent view
• Curvature induced polarization and spectral index behavior for PKS 1502+106
• A comprehensive study on the variation phenomena of AO 0235+164
• A Model of Polarisation Rotations in Blazars from Kink Instabilities in Relativistic Jets
• The Time-Dependent Distribution of Optical Polarization Angle Changes in Blazars
• Optical polarization variations in the blazar PKS 1749+096
• Analyzing polarization swings in 3C 279
• Optical polarimetric and multiwavelength flaring activity of blazar 3C279
• The Method of Searching for Rotations of the Polarization Position Angle of Quasars