Linear Polarization of Synchrotron Radiation from Very-small-pitch-angle Electrons

Abstract

For synchrotron radiation with pitch angle $α\ll 1/γ$ where $γ$ is the electron Lorentz factor, referred to as very-small-pitch-angle synchrotron radiation, the polarization properties differ significantly from those of conventional synchrotron radiation ($α\gg 1/γ$). In this work, we investigate the linear polarization characteristics of very-small-pitch-angle synchrotron radiation from relativistic thermal and nonthermal electrons. We calculate the linear polarization by applying power-law and Maxwellian electron energy distributions. Moreover, some synchrotron sources exhibit a hybrid distribution of nonthermal and thermal electrons, and we also calculate the polarization degree for a hybrid electron energy distribution. The calculations are performed in the radio, optical, X-ray, and $γ$-ray bands. Our results show that the linear polarization degree of very-small-pitch-angle synchrotron radiation is generally lower than that of conventional synchrotron radiation. Very-small-pitch-angle synchrotron radiation from both nonthermal and thermal electrons can produce significant linear polarization. However, the polarization exhibits diverse behaviors across different physical parameters. The general scenario provided in this work can be considered for the application to all kinds of synchrotron sources, as we suggest that the very-small-pitch-angle case is crucial for the study of synchrotron polarization.