Direct Imaging of a Toroidal Magnetic Field in the Inner Jet of NRAO 150

Abstract

Most formation models and numerical simulations cause a helical magnetic field to form, accelerate and collimate jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN). For this reason, observational direct evidence for the existence of these helical magnetic fields is of special relevance. In this work, we present ultra- high-resolution observations of the innermost regions of the jet in the quasar NRAO150. We study the polarization structure and report evidence of a helical magnetic field.

Keywords

• jets
• active galactic nuclei
• galaxies
• Very Long Baseline Interferometry