2015/10/30 by Damien Hutsemékers, D. Hutsemékers, D. Sluse +3
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Chemistry #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Geometry #Gravitational microlensing #Perpendicular #Physics #Polarization (electrochemistry) #Quasar #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201527243
published as A&A 584, A61 (2015) · Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics; minor changes (language editing)
arxiv created 2015/10/30 · openalex publication_date 2015/11/02 · arxiv updated 2015/11/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We have obtained spectropolarimetric observations of the four images of the gravitationally lensed broad absorption line quasar H1413+117. The polarization of the microlensed image D is significantly different, both in the continuum and in the broad lines, from the polarization of image A, which is essentially unaffected by microlensing. The observations suggest that the continuum is scattered off two regions, spatially separated, and producing roughly perpendicular polarizations. These results are compatible with a model in which the microlensed polarized continuum comes from a compact region located in the equatorial plane close to the accretion disk and the non-microlensed continuum from an extended region located along the polar axis.