Millarcsecond Polarization Studies of Compact Extragalactic Radio Sources

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This research will be devoted to a study of powerful extragalactic radio sources. These sources are associated with the nuclei of quasars and active galaxies, where enormous amounts of energy are generated on very short timescales, probably due to the infall of material onto a supermassive black hole. At radio wavelengths we see very compact (a few light-years) 'cores' and 'jet-like' features, that vary rapidly in total intensity and polarization. In many sources, bright 'knots' of emission appear to move down the jets at several times the speed of light. The main part of the research will involve imaging the polarized radiation from these radio sources at milliarcsecond resolution. The underlying goal is to elucidate the relationships between different classes of radio sources and to understand the physical processes occurring in the vicinity of massive black holes. The Principal Investigator is regarded as an outstanding theoretical astrophysicist.