
arXiv: astro-ph/0509559
We present images showing the first detections of polarization on parsec scales in the nuclei of four Fanaroff-Riley type I (low-luminosity) radio galaxies. Observations with Very Long Baseline Interferometry at λ3.6cm reveal the presence of ordered magnetic fields within ~1650 Schwarzchild radii of the putative central supermassive black hole. The relatively high fractional polarization in the pc-scale jets of these galaxies is consistent with the standard scheme unifying low-luminosity radio galaxies with BL Lac objects. This result also suggests that these radio galaxies lack the obscuring tori that apparently depolarize the nuclear emission in the more powerful FRII radio galaxies, and that their supermassive blackholes are poorly fed and/or inefficient radiators.
10 pages, 4 figures, to be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters
Astrophysics (astro-ph), FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics
Astrophysics (astro-ph), FOS: Physical sciences, Astrophysics
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