TY  - JOUR
A1  - Zhang, Haocheng
A1  - Chen, Xuhui
A1  - Boettcher, Markus
T1  - Synchrotron polarization in blazars
T2  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - We present a detailed analysis of time-and energy-dependent synchrotron polarization signatures in a shock-in-jet model for gamma-ray blazars. Our calculations employ a full three-dimensional radiation transfer code, assuming a helical magnetic field throughout the jet. The code considers synchrotron emission from an ordered magnetic field, and takes into account all light-travel-time and other relevant geometric effects, while the relevant synchrotron self-Compton and external Compton effects are handled with the two-dimensional Monte-Carlo/Fokker-Planck (MCFP) code. We consider several possible mechanisms through which a relativistic shock propagating through the jet may affect the jet plasma to produce a synchrotron and high-energy flare. Most plausibly, the shock is expected to lead to a compression of the magnetic field, increasing the toroidal field component and thereby changing the direction of the magnetic field in the region affected by the shock. We find that such a scenario leads to correlated synchrotron + synchrotron-self-Compton flaring, associated with substantial variability in the synchrotron polarization percentage and position angle. Most importantly, this scenario naturally explains large polarization angle rotations by greater than or similar to 180 degrees, as observed in connection with gamma-ray flares in several blazars, without the need for bent or helical jet trajectories or other nonaxisymmetric jet features.
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - relativistic processes
Y1  - 2014
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/37752
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 789
IS  - 1
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  -