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We have studied very long baseline array (VLBA) polarimetric observations of eight sources, including quasars and BL Lacertae objects, at 12, 15, 22, 24 and 43 GHz. We present high-frequency rotation-measure maps. We find typical values for the rotation measure in the very long baseline interferometry core of several thousand rad m−2. These values are higher than the values given in the literature at lower frequencies. Assuming a dependence of the form RM ∝ νa, where RM is the rotation measure, we obtain an average value of a = 3.6 ± 1.3, which is larger than that expected using theoretical considerations. Rotation measures are detected in the jets of only two sources, and we find that only 0906+430 (and possibly 1633+382) show indications of a robust gradient. We discuss the Faraday-corrected polarization properties of the sources. Our interpretation supports the presence of helical magnetic fields with new, unresolved, components affecting the intrinsic direction of polarization close to the base of the jet of some objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Previous research showed that most BL Lac objects and some quasars have aligned very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) core and optical polarizations, although some of the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) also showed no obvious relationship between their VLBI core and optical polarization angles. This may indicate that some AGNs have cospatial regions of optical and radio emission, while others do not. However, another possibility is that some of the VLBI cores had Faraday rotations of the order of several tens of thousands of rad m−2, which were not properly fitted using the three-frequency data due to nπ ambiguities in the observed polarization angles, leading to incorrect subtraction of the effects of the core Faraday rotation, and so incorrect intrinsic radio polarization angles χ0. With this is mind, we obtained additional 12+15+22+24+43 GHz plus optical observations for eight of 40 AGNs previously considered, enabling improved sampling of Faraday effects. Our results indicate that, although some VLBI radio cores have comparatively high rotation measures, this alone cannot explain the misalignments found between the radio core and optical VLBI polarization angles, Δχ= |χopt−χ0|. Comparisons between Δχ and (i) the orientation of χ0 relative to the jet direction, (ii) the degree of polarization of the core, (iii) a depolarization factor, (iv) the core rotation measures and (v) the core magnetic fields 1 pc from the jet base do not yield evidence for any correlations between these properties. There is, however, some evidence that the maximum observed Δχ tends to decrease as the core-region magnetic field increases, suggesting that large misalignments in Δχ could be associated in part with relatively low core magnetic fields. Thus, although the overall distribution of Δχ for all 40 sources in our sample does show a significant peak at Δχ∼ 0, it remains unclear what distinguishes these AGN cores from those showing appreciable misalignment between optical and VLBI core polarization position angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the continua of radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are typically dominated by synchrotron radiation over virtually the entire spectrum, it is not clear whether the radio and higher frequency emission originates in the same or different parts of the jet. In some inhomogeneous synchrotron source models, the radio and ultraviolet-optical-infrared emission may be co-spatial, depending on the model parameters considered. Indeed, several different radio-optical correlations based on polarization data have been found recently, suggesting that the optical and radio polarization may be closely related in some AGNs, and that the corresponding emission regions may be co-spatial. Our joint analysis of optical and GHz Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) polarization data for a sample of about 40 AGNs shows that, after correction for the inferred VLBA core Faraday rotations, about 50-55 per cent of BL Lac objects and high-polarization quasars, and about 65 per cent of high-polarization quasars (LPQs) have aligned VLBA-core and optical polarization angles to within ; a considerable number of objects also show no obvious relationship between their VLBA-core and optical polarization angles. This may indicate that only some AGNs have co-spatial regions of optical and radio emission in their jets. However, another possibility is that some of the 15-43 GHz VLBA cores have Faraday rotations of the order of several tens of thousand of rad m, which were not properly fitted using our three-frequency data due to ambiguities in the observed polarization angles, leading to inaccurate subtraction of the effects of the core Faraday rotation and so incorrect 'zero-wavelength' radio polarization angles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continua of highly active radio-loud AGN are dominated by synchrotron radiation over virtually the entire spectrum. Despite this fact, it has often been thought that no correlation between optical and radio polarization should be observed, based on the idea that the synchrotron radiation at very different wavelengths is emitted at very different regions in the jet. However, a clear correlation between the Faraday-rotation-corrected VLBI core radio polarization angle and the nearly simultaneously measured optical polarization angle was found by Gabuzda et al., suggesting that the optical and compact radio polarizations are more closely related than had been thought. We have obtained new data in order to investigate this question. Our preliminary results show that, although the optical and radio core polarizations of BL Lac objects are usually aligned, the behavior displayed by quasars is more complex, and some may involve additional phenomenology, such as internal or very high core Faraday rotation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of parsec-scale circular-polarization measurements based on Very Long Baseline Array data for a number of radio-bright, core-dominated active galactic nuclei obtained simultaneously at 15, 22 and 43 GHz. The degrees of circular polarization mc for the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) core region at 15 GHz are similar to the values reported earlier at this wavelength, with typical values of a few tenths of a per cent. We find that mc as often rises as falls with increasing frequency between 15 and 22 GHz, while the degree of circular polarization at 43 GHz is in all cases higher than at 22 and 15 GHz. This behaviour seems contrary to expectations, since the degree of circular polarization from both synchrotron radiation and the Faraday conversion of linear to circular polarization – the two main mechanisms considered thus far in the literature – should decrease towards higher frequencies if the source is homogeneous. The increase in mc at 43 GHz may be due to the presence of regions of both positive and negative circular polarization with different frequency dependences (but decreasing with increasing frequency) on small scales within the core region; alternatively, it may be associated with the intrinsic inhomogeneity of a Blandford–Königl like jet. In several objects, the detected circular polarization appears to be near, but not coincident with, the core, although further observations are needed to confirm this. We find several cases of changes in sign with frequency, most often between 22 and 43 GHz. We find tentative evidence for transverse structure in the circular polarization of 1055+018 and 1334−127, that is consistent with their being generated by either the synchrotron mechanism or the Faraday conversion in a helical magnetic field. Our results confirm the earlier finding that the sign of the circular polarization at a given observing frequency is generally consistent across epochs separated by several years or more, suggesting stability of the magnetic-field orientation in the innermost jets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]