X-ray polarimetry promises us an unprecedented look at the structure of magnetic fields and on the processes at the base of acceleration of particles up to ultrarelativistic energies in relativistic ...jets. Crucial pieces of information are expected from observations of blazars (that are characterized by the presence of a jet pointing close to the Earth), in particular of the subclass defined by a synchrotron emission extending to the X-ray band (so-called high synchrotron peak blazars, HSP). In this review, I give an account of some of the models and numerical simulations developed to predict the polarimetric properties of HSP at high energy, contrasting the predictions of scenarios assuming particle acceleration at shock fronts with those that are based on magnetic reconnection, and I discuss the prospects for the observations of the upcoming Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) satellite.
Simple one-zone homogeneous synchrotron self-Compton models have severe difficulties in explaining the TeV emission observed in the radio galaxy M87. Also, the site the TeV emission region is ...uncertain: it could be the unresolved jet close to the nucleus, analogously to what is proposed for blazars, or it could be the active knot, called HST-1, tens of parsec away. We explore the possibility that the TeV emission of M87 is produced in the misaligned subparsec-scale jet. We base our modelling on a structured jet, with a fast spine surrounded by a slower layer. In this context the main site responsible for the emission of the TeV radiation is the layer, while the (debeamed) spine accounts for the emission from the radio to the GeV band: therefore we expect a more complex correlation with the TeV component than that expected in one-zone scenarios, in which both components are produced by the same region. Observed from small angles, the spine would dominate the emission, with an overall spectral energy distribution close to those of BL Lac objects with a synchrotron peak located at low energy.
The origin of high-energy neutrinos (0.1 - 1 PeV range) detected by IceCube remains a mystery. In this work, we explore the possibility that efficient neutrino production can occur in structured jets ...of BL Lac objects, characterized by a fast inner spine surrounded by a slower layer. This scenario has been widely discussed in the framework of the high-energy emission models for BL Lac objects and radio galaxies. One of the relevant consequences of a velocity structure is the enhancement of the inverse Compton emission caused by the radiative coupling of the two zones. We show that a similar boosting could occur for the neutrino output of the spine through the photo-meson reaction of high-energy protons scattering off the amplified soft target photon field of the layer. Assuming the local density and the cosmological evolution of gamma-ray BL Lac object derived from Fermi Large Area Telescope data, we calculate the expected diffuse neutrino intensity, which can match the IceCube data for a reasonable choice of parameters.
The idea that photons can convert to axion-like particles (ALPs) γ→a in or around an AGN and reconvert back to photons a→γ in the Milky Way magnetic field has been put forward in 2008 and has ...recently attracted growing interest. Yet, so far nobody has estimated the conversion probability γ→a as carefully as allowed by present-day knowledge. Our aim is to fill this gap. We first remark that AGN which can be detected above 100 GeV are blazars, namely AGN with jets, with one of them pointing towards us. Moreover, blazars fall into two well defined classes: BL Lac objects (BL Lacs) and Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), with drastically different properties. In this Letter we report a preliminary evaluation of the γ→a conversion probability inside these two classes of blazars. Our findings are surprising. Indeed, while in the case of BL Lacs the conversion probability turns out to be totally unpredictable due to the strong dependence on the values of the somewhat uncertain position of the emission region along the jet and strength of the magnetic field therein, for FSRQs we are able to make a clear-cut prediction. Our results are of paramount importance in view of the planned very-high-energy photon detectors like the CTA, HAWK, GAMMA-400 and HISCORE.
High-energy emission (from the X-ray through the γ-ray band) of Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars is widely associated with the inverse Compton (IC) scattering of ambient photons, produced either by the ...accretion disc or the broad-line region (BLR), high-energy electrons in a relativistic jet. In the modelling of the IC spectrum, one usually adopts a simple blackbody approximation for the external radiation field, though the real shape is probably more complex. The knowledge of the detailed spectrum of the external radiation field would allow to better characterize the soft-medium X-ray IC spectrum, which is crucial to address several issues related to the study of these sources. Here, we present a first step in this direction, calculating the IC spectra expected by considering a realistic spectrum for the external radiation energy density produced by the BLR, as calculated with the photoionization code cloudy. We find that under a wide range of the physical parameters characterizing the BLR clouds, the IC spectrum calculated with the blackbody approximation reproduces quite well the exact spectrum for energies above few keV. In the soft-energy band, instead, the IC emission calculated using the BLR emission shows a complex shape, with a moderate excess with respect to the approximate spectrum, which becomes more important for decreasing values of the peak frequency of the photoionizing continuum. We also show that the high-energy spectrum shows a marked steepening, due to the energy dependence of the scattering cross-section, above a characteristic energy of 10–20 GeV, quasi-independent on the Lorentz factor of the jet.
A black hole x-ray binary (XRB) system forms when gas is stripped from a normal star and accretes onto a black hole, which heats the gas sufficiently to emit x-rays. We report a polarimetric ...observation of the XRB Cygnus X-1 using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. The electric field position angle aligns with the outflowing jet, indicating that the jet is launched from the inner x-ray–emitting region. The polarization degree is 4.01 ± 0.20% at 2 to 8 kiloelectronvolts, implying that the accretion disk is viewed closer to edge-on than the binary orbit. These observations reveal that hot x-ray–emitting plasma is spatially extended in a plane perpendicular to, not parallel to, the jet axis.
x-ray polarization of Cygnus X-1
A black hole in a binary system can rip material off of its companion star, which heats up and forms an accretion disk. The disc emits light in the optical and x-ray bands, forming an x-ray binary (XRB) system. Some XRBs also launch a jet of fast-moving material that is visible at radio wavelengths. Krawczynski
et al
. observed the x-ray polarization of Cygnus X-1, a black hole XRB with a radio jet. By comparing the measured polarization properties with several competing XRB models, they eliminated some hypothesized geometries and determined that the x-ray–emitting region extends parallel to the accretion disc. —KTS
x-ray polarization measurements determine the geometric arrangement of hot material accreting onto a black hole.
Most of the light from blazars, active galactic nuclei with jets of magnetized plasma that point nearly along the line of sight, is produced by high-energy particles, up to around 1 TeV. Although the ...jets are known to be ultimately powered by a supermassive black hole, how the particles are accelerated to such high energies has been an unanswered question. The process must be related to the magnetic field, which can be probed by observations of the polarization of light from the jets. Measurements of the radio to optical polarization—the only range available until now—probe extended regions of the jet containing particles that left the acceleration site days to years earlier, and hence do not directly explore the acceleration mechanism, as could X-ray measurements. Here we report the detection of X-ray polarization from the blazar Markarian 501 (Mrk 501). We measure an X-ray linear polarization degree Π_X of around 10%, which is a factor of around 2 higher than the value at optical wavelengths, with a polarization angle parallel to the radio jet. This points to a shock front as the source of particle acceleration and also implies that the plasma becomes increasingly turbulent with distance from the shock.
Polarized x-rays from a magnetar Taverna, Roberto; Turolla, Roberto; Muleri, Fabio ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
11/2022, Volume:
378, Issue:
6620
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Magnetars are neutron stars with ultrastrong magnetic fields, which can be observed in x-rays. Polarization measurements could provide information on their magnetic fields and surface properties. We ...observed polarized x-rays from the magnetar 4U 0142+61 using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer and found a linear polarization degree of 13.5 ± 0.8% averaged over the 2– to 8–kilo–electron volt band. The polarization changes with energy: The degree is 15.0 ± 1.0% at 2 to 4 kilo–electron volts, drops below the instrumental sensitivity ~4 to 5 kilo–electron volts, and rises to 35.2 ± 7.1% at 5.5 to 8 kilo–electron volts. The polarization angle also changes by 90° at ~4 to 5 kilo–electron volts. These results are consistent with a model in which thermal radiation from the magnetar surface is reprocessed by scattering off charged particles in the magnetosphere.
Polarization constrains magnetar emission
Magnetars are young neutron stars with high magnetic fields that are usually observed at x-ray wavelengths. The emission mechanism and geometry of the emitting region have been unclear. Taverna
et al
. measured the x-ray polarization of the magnetar 4U 0142+61. The polarization degree and angle change as a function of x-ray energy, indicating two different emission regions. The authors preferred a model in which most of the x-rays are emitted by an equatorial band on the surface of the neutron star, with some of the photons then being scattered to higher energies by collisions with electrons in the surrounding magnetic field. —KTS
Measurements of a magnetar’s x-ray polarization constrain models of the emission mechanism.
Particle acceleration mechanisms in supermassive black hole jets, such as shock acceleration, magnetic reconnection, and turbulence, are expected to have observable signatures in the multiwavelength ...polarization properties of blazars. The recent launch of the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) enables us, for the first time, to use polarization in the X-ray band (2–8 keV) to probe the properties of the jet synchrotron emission in high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lac objects (HSPs). We report the discovery of X-ray linear polarization (degree Πx = 15% ± 2% and electric vector position angle ψx = 35° ± 4°) from the jet of the HSP Mrk 421 in an average X-ray flux state. At the same time, the degree of polarization at optical, infrared, and millimeter wavelengths was found to be lower by at least a factor of 3. During the IXPE pointing, the X-ray flux of the source increased by a factor of 2.2, while the polarization behavior was consistent with no variability. The higher level of Πx compared to longer wavelengths, and the absence of significant polarization variability, suggest a shock is the most likely X-ray emission site in the jet of Mrk 421 during the observation. The multiwavelength polarization properties are consistent with an energy-stratified electron population, where the particles emitting at longer wavelengths are located farther from the acceleration site, where they experience a more disordered magnetic field.
We revisit the limits of the level of the extragalactic background light (EBL) recently reported by the MAGIC collaboration based on the observed γ-ray spectrum of the quasar 3C 279, considering the ...impact of absorption of high-energy γ-ray photons inside the broad-line region (BLR) of the quasar. We use the photoionization code cloudy to calculate the expected optical–ultraviolet radiation field inside the BLR and the optical depth for a relatively extended set of the parameters. We found that the absorption of γ-ray photons, though important for the estimate of the true radiative output of the source, does not produce an important hardening of the spectrum of 3C 279 in the energy band accessible by MAGIC, supporting the method used to infer the upper limits to the level of the EBL.
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