Polarization swings reveal magnetic energy dissipation in blazars
- The polarization signatures of blazar emissions are known to be highly variable. In addition to small fluctuations of the polarization angle around a mean value, large (greater than or similar to 180 degrees) polarization angle swings are sometimes observed. We suggest that such phenomena can be interpreted as arising from light travel time effects within an underlying axisymmetric emission region. We present the first simultaneous fitting of the multi-wavelength spectrum, variability, and time-dependent polarization features of a correlated optical and gamma-ray flaring event of the prominent blazar 3C279, which was accompanied by a drastic change in its polarization signatures. This unprecedented combination of spectral, variability, and polarization information in a coherent physical model allows us to place stringent constraints on the particle acceleration and magnetic field topology in the relativistic jet of a blazar, strongly favoring a scenario in which magnetic energy dissipation is the primary driver of the flare event.
Author details: | Haocheng Zhang, Xuhui Chen, Markus Böttcher, Fan Guo, Hui Li |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/804/1/58 |
ISSN: | 0004-637X |
ISSN: | 1538-4357 |
Title of parent work (English): | The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics |
Publisher: | IOP Publ. Ltd. |
Place of publishing: | Bristol |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Year of first publication: | 2015 |
Publication year: | 2015 |
Release date: | 2017/03/27 |
Tag: | galaxies: active; galaxies: jets; gamma-rays: galaxies; radiation mechanisms: nonthermal; relativistic processes |
Volume: | 804 |
Issue: | 1 |
Number of pages: | 11 |
Funding institution: | LANL/LDRD program; DoE/Office of Fusion Energy Science through CMSO; Helmholtz Alliance for Astroparticle Physics HAP - Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association; South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the Department of Science and Technology; National Research Foundation6 of South Africa |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
Peer review: | Referiert |