Energy-Dependent Polarization Angle Variability as a Robust Diagnostic for Blazar Flaring Mechanisms
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866918474652057600 |
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| author | Zhang, Haocheng de Jonge, Benjamin Errando, Manel Li, Xiaocan Guo, Fan |
| author_facet | Zhang, Haocheng de Jonge, Benjamin Errando, Manel Li, Xiaocan Guo, Fan |
| contents | Identifying the physical mechanism driving blazar flares remains a central challenge in high-energy astrophysics. We show that the energy dependence of the standard deviation of the polarization angle variability ($σ_\text{PA}$) provides a powerful and robust discriminator of blazar flaring mechanisms. Using particle-in-cell-integrated polarized radiative transfer simulations, we perform to-date the most rigorous statistical analyses of polarization variability. We demonstrate that magnetic reconnection and magnetized turbulence imprint qualitatively distinct energy dependence of $σ_\text{PA}$ that directly reflect their different magnetic field evolution and particle transport. Reconnection predicts higher $σ_\text{PA}$ with higher photon energy till the synchrotron spectral peak, whereas turbulence produces nearly flat $σ_\text{PA}$ across the synchrotron spectral component. These trends are resilient to realistic observational limitations. Applying our results to optical and IXPE data of Mrk~421 and 1ES~1959+650, we find strong evidence for reconnection-driven flares embedded in a turbulent blazar zone. Energy-dependent $σ_\text{PA}$ emerges as a decisive new probe of particle acceleration in relativistic jets. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_26930 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Energy-Dependent Polarization Angle Variability as a Robust Diagnostic for Blazar Flaring Mechanisms Zhang, Haocheng de Jonge, Benjamin Errando, Manel Li, Xiaocan Guo, Fan High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena Identifying the physical mechanism driving blazar flares remains a central challenge in high-energy astrophysics. We show that the energy dependence of the standard deviation of the polarization angle variability ($σ_\text{PA}$) provides a powerful and robust discriminator of blazar flaring mechanisms. Using particle-in-cell-integrated polarized radiative transfer simulations, we perform to-date the most rigorous statistical analyses of polarization variability. We demonstrate that magnetic reconnection and magnetized turbulence imprint qualitatively distinct energy dependence of $σ_\text{PA}$ that directly reflect their different magnetic field evolution and particle transport. Reconnection predicts higher $σ_\text{PA}$ with higher photon energy till the synchrotron spectral peak, whereas turbulence produces nearly flat $σ_\text{PA}$ across the synchrotron spectral component. These trends are resilient to realistic observational limitations. Applying our results to optical and IXPE data of Mrk~421 and 1ES~1959+650, we find strong evidence for reconnection-driven flares embedded in a turbulent blazar zone. Energy-dependent $σ_\text{PA}$ emerges as a decisive new probe of particle acceleration in relativistic jets. |
| title | Energy-Dependent Polarization Angle Variability as a Robust Diagnostic for Blazar Flaring Mechanisms |
| topic | High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.26930 |