On the Origin of Radio-loudness in Active Galactic Nuclei Using Far-infrared Polarimetric Observations

The dichotomy between radio-loud (RL) and radio-quiet (RQ) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is thought to be intrinsically related to radio jet production. This difference may be explained by the presence of a strong magnetic field ( B -field) that enhances, or is the cause of, the accretion activity and the jet power. Here we report the first evidence of an intrinsic difference in the polarized dust emission cores of four RL and five RQ obscured AGNs using 89 μ m polarization with SOFIA/HAWC+. We find that the thermal polarized emission increases with the nuclear radio-loudness, R _20 = L _5GHz / L _20 _μ _m . The dust emission cores of RL AGNs are measured to be polarized, ∼5%–11%, while RQ AGNs are unpolarized,