Imaging VLBI polarimetry data from Active Galactic Nuclei using the Maximum Entropy Method

Abstract

Mapping the relativistic jets emanating from AGN requires the use of a deconvolution algorithm to account for the effects of missing baseline spacings. The CLEAN algorithm is the most commonly used algorithm in VLBI imaging today and is suitable for imaging polarisation data. The Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) is presented as an alternative with some advantages over the CLEAN algorithm, including better spatial resolution and a more rigorous and unbiased approach to deconvolution. We have developed a MEM code suitable for deconvolving VLBI polarisation data. Monte Carlo simulations investigating the performance of CLEAN and the MEM code on a variety of source types are being carried out. Real polarisation (VLBA) data taken at multiple wavelengths have also been deconvolved using MEM, and several of the resulting polarisation and Faraday rotation maps are presented and discussed.