Pseudo-3D visualization of Faraday structure in polarized radio sources: methods, science use cases, and development priorities

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Rudnick, Lawrence, Anderson, Craig, Cotton, William D., Pasetto, Alice, Alexander, Emma, Tahani, Mehrnoosh
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Rudnick, Lawrence
Anderson, Craig
Cotton, William D.
Pasetto, Alice
Alexander, Emma
Tahani, Mehrnoosh
author_facet Rudnick, Lawrence
Anderson, Craig
Cotton, William D.
Pasetto, Alice
Alexander, Emma
Tahani, Mehrnoosh
contents We introduce the construction of polarized intensity cubes $P$(RA, Dec, $Φ$) and their visualization as movies, as a powerful technique for interpreting Faraday structure. $P$ is constructed from maps of peak polarized intensity P(RA, Dec) with their corresponding Faraday depth maps $Φ$(RA, Dec). We illustrate the extensive scientific potential of such visualizations with a variety of science use cases from ASKAP and MeerKAT, presenting models that are consistent with the data but not necessarily unique. We demonstrate how one can, in principle, distinguish between cube structures which originate from unrelated foreground screens from those due to magnetized plasmas local to the emitting source. Other science use cases illustrate how variations in the local $n_e$ $B$, and line-of-sight distance to the synchrotron emitting regions can be distinguished using Faraday rotation. We show, for the first time, how the line-of-sight orientation of AGN jets can be determined. We also examine the case of M87 to show how internal jet magnetic field configurations can be identified, and extend earlier results. We recommend using this technique to re-evaluate all previous analyses of polarized sources that are well-resolved both spatially and in Faraday depth. Recognizing the subjective nature of interpretations at this early stage, we also highlight the need and utility for further scientific and technical developments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_13973
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Pseudo-3D visualization of Faraday structure in polarized radio sources: methods, science use cases, and development priorities
Rudnick, Lawrence
Anderson, Craig
Cotton, William D.
Pasetto, Alice
Alexander, Emma
Tahani, Mehrnoosh
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
We introduce the construction of polarized intensity cubes $P$(RA, Dec, $Φ$) and their visualization as movies, as a powerful technique for interpreting Faraday structure. $P$ is constructed from maps of peak polarized intensity P(RA, Dec) with their corresponding Faraday depth maps $Φ$(RA, Dec). We illustrate the extensive scientific potential of such visualizations with a variety of science use cases from ASKAP and MeerKAT, presenting models that are consistent with the data but not necessarily unique. We demonstrate how one can, in principle, distinguish between cube structures which originate from unrelated foreground screens from those due to magnetized plasmas local to the emitting source. Other science use cases illustrate how variations in the local $n_e$ $B$, and line-of-sight distance to the synchrotron emitting regions can be distinguished using Faraday rotation. We show, for the first time, how the line-of-sight orientation of AGN jets can be determined. We also examine the case of M87 to show how internal jet magnetic field configurations can be identified, and extend earlier results. We recommend using this technique to re-evaluate all previous analyses of polarized sources that are well-resolved both spatially and in Faraday depth. Recognizing the subjective nature of interpretations at this early stage, we also highlight the need and utility for further scientific and technical developments.
title Pseudo-3D visualization of Faraday structure in polarized radio sources: methods, science use cases, and development priorities
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.13973