Polarization of radiation from a strongly magnetized accretion disk: The asymptotic spectral distribution |
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| Authors: | Yu N Gnedin N A Silant’ev P S Shternin |
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| Institution: | (1) Pulkovo Observatory, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pulkovskoe shosse 65, St. Petersburg, 196140, Russia;(2) Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, óptica y Electrónica, Luis Enrique Erro No. 1, Apdo Postal 51 y 216, 72840 Tonantzintla, Puebla, México;(3) St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University, ul. Politekhnicheskaya 29, St. Petersburg, 195251, Russia |
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| Abstract: | We calculate the polarization of the radiation from an optically thick accretion disk with a vertical averaged magnetic field.
The polarization arises from the scattering of light by free electrons in a magnetized disk plasma. The Faraday rotation of
the polarization plane during the propagation of a photon in a medium with a magnetic field is considered as the main effect.
We discuss various models of optically thick accretion disks with a vertical averaged magnetic field. Our main goal is to
derive simple asymptotic formulas for the polarization of radiation in the case where the Faraday rotation angle Ψ ≫ 1 at
the Thomson optical depth τ = 1. The results of our calculations allow the magnetic field strength in the region of the marginally
stable orbit near a black hole to be estimated from polarimetric observations, including X-ray observations expected in the
future. Since the polarization spectrum of the radiation strongly depends on the accretion disk model, a realistic physical
model of the accretion disk can be determined from data on the polarization of its radiation. |
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