%0 Journal Article %1 McNamara2009 %A McNamara, Aimee %A Kuncic, Zdenka %A Wu, Kinwah %D 2009 %K AGN Jets Polarization X-rays %T Polarization of Compton X-rays from Jets in AGN %U http://arxiv.org/abs/0906.2096 %X We investigate the polarization of Compton scattered X-rays from relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei using Monte Carlo simulations. We consider three scenarios: scattering of photons from an accretion disk, scattering of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons, and synchrotron self-Comptonization (SSC) within the jet. For Comptonization of thermal disk photons or CMB photons the maximum linear polarization attained is slightly over 20% at viewing angles close to 90 degrees. The value decreases with the viewing inclination. For SSC, the maximum value may exceed 80%. The angle dependence is complicated, and it varies with the photon injection sites. Our study demonstrates that X-ray polarization, in addition to multi-wavelength spectra, can distinguish certain models for emission and particle acceleration in relativistic jets.

@article{McNamara2009, abstract = { We investigate the polarization of Compton scattered X-rays from relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei using Monte Carlo simulations. We consider three scenarios: scattering of photons from an accretion disk, scattering of cosmic microwave background (CMB) photons, and synchrotron self-Comptonization (SSC) within the jet. For Comptonization of thermal disk photons or CMB photons the maximum linear polarization attained is slightly over 20% at viewing angles close to 90 degrees. The value decreases with the viewing inclination. For SSC, the maximum value may exceed 80%. The angle dependence is complicated, and it varies with the photon injection sites. Our study demonstrates that X-ray polarization, in addition to multi-wavelength spectra, can distinguish certain models for emission and particle acceleration in relativistic jets. }, added-at = {2009-06-13T02:36:23.000+0200}, author = {McNamara, Aimee and Kuncic, Zdenka and Wu, Kinwah}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/279ca0693ae367703e723ba10b58ce04c/astravinsky}, description = {Polarization of Compton X-rays from Jets in AGN}, interhash = {04f379a66a024023010aaf492aee41a3}, intrahash = {79ca0693ae367703e723ba10b58ce04c}, keywords = {AGN Jets Polarization X-rays}, note = {cite arxiv:0906.2096 Comment: to appear in "X-ray Polarimetry: A New Window in Astrophysics", edited by R. Bellazzini, E. Costa, G. Matt and G. Tagliaferri}, timestamp = {2009-06-13T02:36:23.000+0200}, title = {Polarization of Compton X-rays from Jets in AGN}, url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/0906.2096}, year = 2009 }