On the Method of Searching for Rotations of the Electric Vector Position Angle Using Cross-Correlation Analysis

Abstract

The electric vector position angle exhibits significant changes over time in most blazars. Sometimes these changes occur in an orderly fashion—such events are commonly referred to as rotations. This study examines a method for detecting and analyzing these rotations through cross-correlation analysis. The proposed method is evaluated using a series of model examples, from the most straightforward to those that mimick behaviors observed in real objects. For the simplest models, some analytical results have been obtained. The analysis showed that the proposed method, except for trivial cases, is likely not suitable for effectively detecting and studying rotations.