Modeling the optical/UV polarization while flying around the tilted outflows of NGC 1068

TL;DR

This paper models the optical/UV polarization of NGC 1068 considering inclined ionized outflows, using radiative transfer simulations to reproduce observed polarization features and infer outflow geometry.

Contribution

It presents a complex reprocessing model incorporating scattering effects and outflow inclination, advancing understanding of polarization in Seyfert-2 galaxies.

Findings

Polarization dominated by scattering in polar outflows.

Model reproduces the observed polarization dichotomy.

Outflow tilt angle inferred from polarization data.

Abstract

Recent modeling of multi-waveband spectroscopic and maser observations suggests that the ionized outflows in the nuclear region of the archetypal Seyfert-2 galaxy NGC 1068 are inclined with respect to the vertical axis of the obscuring torus. Based on this suggestion, we build a complex reprocessing model of NGC 1068 for the optical/UV band. We apply the radiative transfer code STOKES to compute polarization spectra and images. The effects of electron and dust scattering and the radiative coupling occurring in the inner regions of the multi-component object are taken into account and evaluated at different polar and azimuthal viewing angles. The observed type-1/type-2 polarization dichotomy of active galactic nuclei is reproduced. At the assumed observer's inclination toward NGC 1068, the polarization is dominated by scattering in the polar outflows and therefore it indicates their tilting angle with respect to the torus axis. While a detailed analysis of our model results is still in progress, we briefly discuss how they relate to existing polarization observations of NGC 1068.