This project will use the highest resolution radio wavelength observations of the powerful jets seen to shoot out at close to the speed of light from the hearts of active galaxies, to answer fundamental questions about the jets and their central engines. All magneto-hydrodynamic models require the jets to carry enormous electric currents, which are detected via the linear and circular polarization of the radio emission. This work will measure the current in many jets, attempt to measure the true magnetic flux density in the jets, and study their interaction with their surroundings in new ways. This is one of the few projects attempting this very difficult polarization work, and it will push the ability of the Very Long Baseline Array to make circular and linear polarization observations to millimeter wavelengths. A small (undergraduate) study of the nearby microquasar SS433 may shed some light on the much larger jets in distant galaxies.
Data, model fits, and movie visualizations from the previous monitoring campaign are publicly available and a useful teaching tool: these activities will be continued with the current work. Students are always involved in the research of this team, working one-on-one with faculty on projects designed to be particularly appropriate for undergraduate research. In addition, many non-science majors experience research and education through activities with this research team, and graduate with a deeper appreciation of the nature of science and of the scientific enterprise.
