Compton scattering of polarized radiation in two phase accretion disks in active galactic nuclei
arXiv:astro-ph/9712058 · doi:10.1086/306263
Abstract
We present results of radiative transfer calculations of Compton scattering of polarized radiation in a corona above an accretion disk. The corona has a plane-parallel geometry and is assumed to be homogeneous with a fixed temperature. We employ a Feautrier method to calculate the radiative transfer, incorporating the full relativistic, polarized Compton redistribution matrix. This allows us to explore a broad range of parameter space, in particular large optical depths and/or low corona temperatures, for which the iterative scattering method is very inefficient. Compared to Thomson scattering, Compton scattering generally produces smaller polarizations for featureless spectra. Distinct frequency-dependent patterns in polarization are produced near lines and edges, which can be used as diagnostics for the corona. We discuss the physics which gives rise to these results. Compton scattering can smear out Lyman edges in total flux, and at the same time produce large increases in polarization. This might help explain the steep rises in polarization observed near the Lyman limit in some quasars.
22 pages, 18 figures, use AASTeX style file aaspp4.sty
References in corpus (3)
Cited by in corpus (6)
- Quasars and the Big Blue Bump
- The Effects of Magnetic Fields and Inhomogeneities on Accretion Disk Spectra and Polarization
- Non-LTE, Relativistic Accretion Disk Fits to 3C~273 and the Origin of the Lyman Limit Spectral Break
- Compton Scattering in Static and Moving Media. II. System-Frame Solutions for Spherically Symmetric Flows
- On the Origin of Polarization near the Lyman Edge in Quasars
- The relationship between variable and polarized optical spectral components of luminous type 1 non-blazar quasars