Spine-sheath polarization structures in four active galactic nuclei jets

Abstract

We present the results of multifrequency (15 + 8 + 5 GHz) polarization Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) observations of the three BL Lacertae objects 0745 + 241, 1418 + 546 and 1652 + 398 together with 5-GHz VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) observations of 1418 + 546 and 1.6- and 5-GHz VSOP observations of the blazar 1055 + 018. The jets of all these sources have polarization structure transverse to the jet axis, with the polarization E vectors aligned with the jet along the jet spine and 'sheaths' of orthogonal E vectors at one or both edges of the jet. The presence of polarization aligned with the jet near the 'spine' may indicate that the jets are associated with helical B fields that propogate outward with the jet flow; the presence of orthogonal polarization near the edges of the jet may likewise be a consequence of a helical jet B field, or may be owing to an interaction with the ambient medium on parsec scales. We have tentatively detected interknot polarization in 1055 + 018 with E aligned with the local jet direction, consistent with the possibility that the jet of this source is associated with a helical B field.