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Session 85 - Cataclysmic Variables and Accretion Disks.
Oral session, Wednesday, January 15
Harbour A,
Magnetic fields and absorption can play an important role in modifying the optical/UV continuum polarization of AGN accretion disks. Magnetic fields depolarize, while absorption can decrease or increase the polarization relative to an electron scattering atmosphere. I present results from stellar atmosphere calculations including faraday rotation, bound-free opacity, and free-free opacity giving the polarization and spectrum of accretion disk atmospheres. The results may help explain the lack of optical polarization seen in radio quiet QSO's and the steep rise in polarization blueward of the Lyman edge seen in several HST observations of radio quiet QSO's.
