Jermak, Helen

Magnetic Field Structure in Relativistic Jets

Author list: Carole Mundell, Shiho Kobayashi

Relativistic jets are ubiquitous when considering an accreting black hole. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have highly collimated relativistic jets with high Lorentz factors (100-1000). Magnetic fields are thought to play a key role in collimating and accelerating these powerful short-lived jets but until recently, little was known about them - in contrast to spatially resolved jets of AGN. Early time polarisation measurements provide a unique tool for probing GRB jets when the initial magnetic field properties are still encoded in the fading afterglow light. I will present polarisation detections along with theoretical models to provide new insight into GRB jets and their magnetic field structure.