Active galactic nuclei in the era of the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer

Abstract

In about four years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will launch a small explorer mission named the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE). IXPE is a satellite dedicated to the observation of X-ray polarization from bright astronomical sources in the 2-8 keV energy range. Using Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD), the mission will allow for the first time to acquire X-ray polarimetric imaging and spectroscopy of about a hundred of sources during its first two years of operation. Among them are the most powerful sources of light in the Universe: active galactic nuclei (AGN). In this proceedings, we summarize the scientific exploration we aim to achieve in the field of AGN using IXPE, describing the main discoveries that this new generation of X-ray polarimeters will be able to make. Among these discoveries, we expect to detect indisputable signatures of strong gravity, quantifying the amount and importance of scattering on distant cold material onto the iron K_alpha line observed at 6.4 keV. IXPE will also be able to probe the morphology of parsec-scale AGN regions, the magnetic field strength and direction in quasar jets, and, among the most important results, deliver an independent measurement of the spin of black holes.