Submillimeter polarization and variability of quasar PKS 1830-211

Abstract

Polarization from active galactic nuclei is interpreted as a signpost of the role of magnetic fields in the launch and collimation of their relativistic radio jets. Here, we report the detection of a clear polarization signal from ALMA observations of the gravitationally lensed quasar PKS 1830-211 at submillimeter wavelengths (Band 9, 650 GHz). Applying a differential-polarimetry technique to the two compact lensed images of the quasar, we estimate a fractional polarization of ~5% for one lensed image, while the other appears nearly unpolarized, which implies that the polarization activity varies on a timescale of a few weeks. With additional ALMA Band 7 and 8 (between 300-500 GHz) concomitant data, we constrain a Faraday rotation of a few $10^5$ rad m${}^{-2}$. We also observe flux-density variability of ~10% within one hour in Band 9. This work illustrates that a differential analysis can extract high-accuracy information (flux-density ratio and polarimetry) free of calibration issues from resolved sources in the submillimeter domain.

arXiv comment7 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publications in A&A

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Cited by in corpus (8)

• A comprehensive power spectral density analysis of astronomical time series I: the Fermi-LAT gamma-ray light curves of selected blazars
• New molecular species at redshift z=0.89
• A study of submillimeter methanol absorption toward PKS1830-211: Excitation, invariance of the proton-electron mass ratio, and systematics
• All good things come in threes: the third image of the lensed quasar PKS1830-211
• How Spatially Resolved Polarimetry Informs Black Hole Accretion Flow Models
• Cosmo-tomography toward PKS1830-211: Variability of the quasar and of its foreground molecular absorption monitored with ALMA
• Discovery of Hydrogen Radio Recombination Lines at z=0.89 towards PKS 1830-211
• ALMA full polarization observations of PKS1830-211 during its record-breaking flare of 2019