Helical magnetic field structure in 3C 273. A Faraday rotation analysis using multi-frequency polarimetric VLBA data

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Toscano, Teresa, Molina, Sol N., Gómez, José L., Zeng, Ai-Ling, Dahale, Rohan, Cho, Ilje, Moriyama, Kotaro, Wielgus, Maciek, Fuentes, Antonio, Foschi, Marianna, Traianou, Efthalia, Röder, Jan, Myserlis, Ioannis, Angelakis, Emmanouil, Zensus, Anton
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Toscano, Teresa
Molina, Sol N.
Gómez, José L.
Zeng, Ai-Ling
Dahale, Rohan
Cho, Ilje
Moriyama, Kotaro
Wielgus, Maciek
Fuentes, Antonio
Foschi, Marianna
Traianou, Efthalia
Röder, Jan
Myserlis, Ioannis
Angelakis, Emmanouil
Zensus, Anton
author_facet Toscano, Teresa
Molina, Sol N.
Gómez, José L.
Zeng, Ai-Ling
Dahale, Rohan
Cho, Ilje
Moriyama, Kotaro
Wielgus, Maciek
Fuentes, Antonio
Foschi, Marianna
Traianou, Efthalia
Röder, Jan
Myserlis, Ioannis
Angelakis, Emmanouil
Zensus, Anton
contents We present a study on rotation measure (RM) of the quasar 3C 273. This analysis aims to discern the magnetic field structure and its temporal evolution. The quasar 3C 273 is one of the most studied active galactic nuclei due to its high brightness, strong polarization, and proximity, which enables resolving the transverse structure of its jet in detail. We used polarized data from 2014, collected at six frequencies (5, 8, 15, 22, 43, 86 GHz) with the Very Long Baseline Array, to produce total and linear polarization intensity images, as well as RM maps. Our analysis reveals a well-defined transverse RM gradient across the jet, indicating a helical, ordered magnetic field that threads the jet and likely contributes to its collimation. Furthermore, we identified temporal variations in the RM magnitude when compared with prior observations. These temporal variations show that the environment around the jet is dynamic, with changes in the density and magnetic field strength of the sheath that are possibly caused by interactions with the surrounding medium.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_18250
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Helical magnetic field structure in 3C 273. A Faraday rotation analysis using multi-frequency polarimetric VLBA data
Toscano, Teresa
Molina, Sol N.
Gómez, José L.
Zeng, Ai-Ling
Dahale, Rohan
Cho, Ilje
Moriyama, Kotaro
Wielgus, Maciek
Fuentes, Antonio
Foschi, Marianna
Traianou, Efthalia
Röder, Jan
Myserlis, Ioannis
Angelakis, Emmanouil
Zensus, Anton
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
We present a study on rotation measure (RM) of the quasar 3C 273. This analysis aims to discern the magnetic field structure and its temporal evolution. The quasar 3C 273 is one of the most studied active galactic nuclei due to its high brightness, strong polarization, and proximity, which enables resolving the transverse structure of its jet in detail. We used polarized data from 2014, collected at six frequencies (5, 8, 15, 22, 43, 86 GHz) with the Very Long Baseline Array, to produce total and linear polarization intensity images, as well as RM maps. Our analysis reveals a well-defined transverse RM gradient across the jet, indicating a helical, ordered magnetic field that threads the jet and likely contributes to its collimation. Furthermore, we identified temporal variations in the RM magnitude when compared with prior observations. These temporal variations show that the environment around the jet is dynamic, with changes in the density and magnetic field strength of the sheath that are possibly caused by interactions with the surrounding medium.
title Helical magnetic field structure in 3C 273. A Faraday rotation analysis using multi-frequency polarimetric VLBA data
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.18250