Spectropolarimetry of PKS 0040-005 and the Orientation of Broad Absorption Line Quasars

Michael S. Brotherton; Carlos De Breuck; Justin J. Schaefer

doi:10.1111/j.1745-3933.2006.00226.x

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Spectropolarimetry of PKS 0040-005 and the Orientation of Broad Absorption Line Quasars

Michael S. Brotherton·Carlos De Breuck·Justin J. Schaefer

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Abstract

We have used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to obtain spectropolarimetry of the radio-loud, double-lobed broad absorption line (BAL) quasar PKS 0040-005. We find that the optical continuum of PKS 0040-005 is intrinsically polarized at 0.7% with an electric vector position angle nearly parallel to that of the large-scale radio axis. This result is naturally explained in terms of an equatorial scattering region seen at a small inclination, building a strong case that the BAL outflow is not equatorial. In conjunction with other recent results concerning radio-loud BAL quasars, the era of simply characterizing these sources as ``edge-on'' is over.

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Michael S. Brotherton, Carlos De Breuck, Justin J. Schaefer. 2006-08-01. Spectropolarimetry of PKS 0040-005 and the Orientation of Broad Absorption Line Quasars. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-3933.2006.00226.x

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