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Polarization effects in the radiation of magnetized envelopes and extended accretion structures

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Abstract

We have calculated the degree and position angle of the polarization of radiation scattered in a magnetized, optically thin or optically thick envelope around a central source, taking into account Faraday rotation of the plane of polarization during the propagation of the scattered radiation and the finite size of the radiation source. The wavelength dependence of the degree of polarization can be used to estimate the magnetic field of the source (a star, the region around a neutron star, or a black hole), and we have used our calculations to estimate the magnetic fields in a number of individual objects: several hot O and Wolf-Rayet stars, compact objects in X-ray close binaries with black holes (SS 433, Cyg X-1), and supernovae. The spectrum of the linear polarization can be used to determine the magnetic field in the vicinity of a central supermassive black hole, where the polarized optical radiation is generated. In a real physical model, this value can be extrapolated to the region of the last stable orbit. In the future, the proposed technique will make it possible to directly estimate the magnetic field in the region of the last stable orbit of a supermassive black hole using X-ray polarimetry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pulkovskoe sh. 65, St. Petersburg, 196140, Russia

    Yu. N. Gnedin, M. Yu. Piotrovich & M. A. Pogodin

  2. Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica, Luis Enrique Erro No. 1, Apdo Postal 51 y 216, 72840, Tonantzintla, Puebla, Mexico

    N. A. Silant’ev

Authors
  1. Yu. N. Gnedin
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  2. N. A. Silant’ev
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  3. M. Yu. Piotrovich
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  4. M. A. Pogodin
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__________

Translated from Astronomicheski\(\overset{\lower0.5em\hbox{$\smash{\scriptscriptstyle\smile}$}}{l}\) Zhurnal, Vol. 82, No. 3, 2005, pp. 207–218.

Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Gnedin, Silant’ev, Piotrovich, Pogodin.

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Gnedin, Y.N., Silant’ev, N.A., Piotrovich, M.Y. et al. Polarization effects in the radiation of magnetized envelopes and extended accretion structures. Astron. Rep. 49, 179–189 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1882776

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/1.1882776

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