An article in the February 18th issue Nature reports on the direct association of gamma ray flares with the changes of optical polarization. Researchers in Tuorla Observatory, using the remotely-operated KVA telescope on La Palma, the Canary Islands, measured the optical polarization of the flat spectrum radio quasar 3C 279. They measured a change of sign in the polarization angle exactly when a gamma ray flare occured. The change in sign, and the flare happened at the same, with no time-lag. This means that the source of optical polarization and the gamma ray flare is one and the same. |