POLARIMETRIC CONSEQUENCES OF LARGE-SCALE STRUCTURE IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF GALAXIES AND QUASARS

The problem of inhomogeneities in the distribution of galaxies and quasars over cosmological distances (cell structure) has been discussed in many papers. Here, in particular, we wish to draw attention to the polarimetric consequences of this structure. We discuss in detail the possibility of a large-scale rotation of the mean position angle of the observed polarization over the scale of the cellular structure. We mainly consider rotation mechanisms associated with polarized radiation from magnetized accretion disks near quasars and black holes. In that case the possible correlation of magnetic fields on cosmological scales will show up as a rotation of the mean position angle ranging from 0 to 45 degrees. Correlations in nonspherical formations of galaxies and quasars over cosmological distances also lead to rotation in the mean position angle over these distances. In principle, these two rotation mechanisms can, together, produce an arbitrary rotation of the mean position angle over distances corresponding to the inhomogeneous structure in the distribution of galaxies and quasars.