Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 135, 571-577

Linear polarization measurements of extragalactic radio
sources at $\lambda$6.3 cm

E.L.H. Zukowski¹ - P.P. Kronberg¹ - T. Forkert² - R. Wielebinski³

Send offprint request: P.P. Kronberg

1 - Department of Astronomy, University of Toronto, 60 St. George St., Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A7, Canada
2 - DLR, Center for Simulationsoftware, Linder Höhe, D-51147 Köln, Germany
3 - Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn, Germany

Received November 5, 1997; accepted July 21, 1998

Abstract:

We present linear polarization measurements of 154 extragalactic radio sources at $\lambda6.3$ cm, as part of a continuing effort to expand and improve our Faraday rotation determinations of radio galaxies and quasars. The excellent telescope optics of the Effelsberg 100 m telescope at this wavelength, combined with a matrix method we applied for calibrating out all components of the instrumental polarization enables us to achieve better than average accuracy in the determinations of linear polarization degree and position angle. In the absence of thermal noise errors, these are repeatable to better than 0.2% and $0\hbox{$.\!\!^\circ$}1$ respectively, for the prime calibrator, 3C 286.

A very brief overview of the results is also included.

Key words: linear polarization -- radio galaxies -- radio sources: extragalactic