Simulated transverse distribution of polarization properties for parsec-scale jets in active galactic nuclei

Abstract

We present numerical simulations of relativistic jet profiles in total and linear polarization intensity, degree of linear polarization, and direction of the jet’s electric vector position angles (EVPAs) transverse to the local jet axis. We consider the motion of jet segments along a helical path and, as a special case, motion in the radial direction. For these simulations we used various magnetic field configurations: (i) helical, with different twist angles, and (ii) toroidal in the central jet spine and poloidal at the jet sheath. The latter case was calculated for various values of the sheath thickness. We established the parameter sets that generally reproduce the transverse distributions of polarization properties observed with VLBI for the jets of the quasars 0836+710 (4C +71.07) and 1611+343.