AGN polarization modeling with STOKES
arXiv:astro-ph/0701165 · doi:10.1017/S1743921307005522
Abstract
We introduce a new, publicly available Monte Carlo radiative transfer code, STOKES, which has been developed to model polarization induced by scattering off free electrons and dust grains. It can be used in a wide range of astrophysical applications. Here, we apply it to model the polarization produced by the equatorial obscuring and scattering tori assumed to exist in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We present optical/UV modeling of dusty tori with a curved inner shape and for two different dust types: one composition reproduces extinction properties of our Galaxy, and the other is derived from composite quasar spectra. The polarization spectra enable us to clearly distinguish between the two dust compositions. The STOKES code and its documentation can be freely downloaded from http://www.stokes-program.info/.
2 pages, 1 figure, conference proceedings of the Symposium 238 at the IAU General Assembly held in August 2006 in Prague. Eds. Vladimir Karas & Giorgio Matt, to be published by Cambridge University Press