Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Physics
Modelling Continuum Optical And Ultraviolet Polarization Of Active Galactic Nuclei, René W. Goosmann, C. Martin Gaskell
Modelling Continuum Optical And Ultraviolet Polarization Of Active Galactic Nuclei, René W. Goosmann, C. Martin Gaskell
Department of Physics and Astronomy: Faculty Publications
We present results from a new Monte Carlo radiative transfer computer code, STOKES, developed to model polarization induced by scattering off free electrons and dust grains. STOKES is freely available on the web and can be used to model scattering in a wide variety of astrophysical situations. For edge-on (type-2) viewing positions, the polarization produced by a dusty torus alone is largely wavelength-independent.
This is because the torus is optically thick and the change in albedo with wavelength is slight. Wavelength-independent polarization therefore does not necessarily imply electron scattering. We are able to fully explain wavelength independent type-2 polarization without …