The Use of Faraday Rotation Sign Maps as a Diagnostic for Helical Jet Magnetic Fields

Abstract. We present maps of the sign of the Faraday Rotation measure obtained from multi-frequency radio observations made with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). The Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) considered have B-field structures with a central “spine ” of B-field orthogonal to the jet and/or a longitudinal B-field near one or both edges of the jet. This structure can plausibly be interpreted as being caused by a helical/toroidal jet magnetic field. Faraday Rotation is a rotation of the plane of polarization that occurs when the polarized radiation passes through a magnetized plasma. The sign of the RM is determined by the direction of the line-of-sight B-field in the region causing the Faraday Rotation, and an ordered toroidal or helical magnetic field associated with an AGN jet will thus produce a distinctive bilateral distribution of the RMs across the jet. We present and discuss RM-sign maps and their possible interpretation regarding the magnetic field geometries for several sources. 1