Polarization Properties of Thomson-Scattering Triaxial Ellipsoids
Abstract
Polarimetry is a powerful tool for constraining the geometry of distant astrophysical objects. Continuum polarization induced by Thomson scattering can probe the photospheric geometry of transients and provide insight into their explosion mechanisms. We systematically study continuum polarization from spheroids over a broader range of deformations and viewing angles than considered previously, and generalize the calculation to triaxial ellipsoids. We find that strongly deformed spheroids exhibit a non-monotonic dependence of polarization on viewing angle, a behavior overlooked in previous studies. Triaxial ellipsoids show more diverse polarization signatures, but their qualitative behavior can be understood from the area of surface elements viewed nearly edge-on, where the local polarization is strongest. Our results provide a simple physical understanding of the dependence of polarization on photospheric geometry and help constrain the geometry of astrophysical transients through polarimetric observations. The computational results of this study will be made publicly available for use in future research.
Related
- Bayesian inference of non-Maxwellian distribution functions from collective Thomson scattering spectra
- 3D radiative transfer modeling of scattering polarization with partial frequency redistribution. I. Verification and disk-center results for the solar Ca i line at 4227,Å
- Inelastic scattering effects on polarization predictions for cold and warm atmospheres in the X-rays
- Validity of the CRD limit for modeling scattering polarization in the photospheric Sr I 4607 Å line
- VAPOLA -- A multiyear, multiband polarization survey of AGNs and Sgr A* at millimeter wavelengths with ALMA. II. Spectropolarimetric properties and their evolution from 2017 to 2023
BibTeX
@misc{hachisu2026polarization,
title = {{Polarization Properties of Thomson-Scattering Triaxial Ellipsoids}},
author = {Naoki Hachisu and Tatsuya Matsumoto and Tomonori Totani},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.21499},
eprint = {2610.21499},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21499},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Polarization Properties of Thomson-Scattering Triaxial Ellipsoids
AU - Naoki Hachisu
AU - Tatsuya Matsumoto
AU - Tomonori Totani
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.21499
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.21499
AB - Polarimetry is a powerful tool for constraining the geometry of distant astrophysical objects. Continuum polarization induced by Thomson scattering can probe the photospheric geometry of transients and provide insight into their explosion mechanisms. We systematically study continuum polarization from spheroids over a broader range of deformations and viewing angles than considered previously, and generalize the calculation to triaxial ellipsoids. We find that strongly deformed spheroids exhibit a non-monotonic dependence of polarization on viewing angle, a behavior overlooked in previous studies. Triaxial ellipsoids show more diverse polarization signatures, but their qualitative behavior can be understood from the area of surface elements viewed nearly edge-on, where the local polarization is strongest. Our results provide a simple physical understanding of the dependence of polarization on photospheric geometry and help constrain the geometry of astrophysical transients through polarimetric observations. The computational results of this study will be made publicly available for use in future research.
ER -