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Resolving the Structure at the Heart of BAL Quasars Through Microlensing Induced Polarisation Variability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2013

Christopher A. Hales  and
Geraint F. Lewis
Christopher A. Hales*
Affiliation:
Institute of Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
Geraint F. Lewis
Affiliation:
Institute of Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006, Australia
*
BCorresponding author. Email: chales@physics.usyd.edu.au
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Abstract

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While amongst the most luminous objects in the universe, many details regarding the inner structure of quasars remain unknown. One such area is the mechanism promoting increased polarisation in the broad absorption line troughs of certain quasars. This study shows how microlensing can be used to differentiate between two popular models that explain such polarisation through a realistic computational analysis. By examining a statistical ensemble of correlation data between two observables (namely image brightness and polarisation of the flux coming from the quasar), it was found that through spectropolarimetric monitoring it would be possible to discern between a model with an external scattering region and a model without one.

Keywords

galaxies: structuregravitational lensingpolarisationquasars: individual (H1413+1143)
Type
Research Article
Information
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , 2007 , pp. 30 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 2007

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