Scattered synchrotron emission and a giant torus revealed in the polarized light of Centaurus A

Centaurus A (Cen A) is the closest radio galaxy and a prime example of a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus (AGN), exhibiting complex emissions across the electromagnetic spectrum. The nature of its continuum emission, particularly the mechanisms powering it, has been a subject of considerable debate due to the fact that the AGN is deeply buried in dust and therefore not directly observable. Using spectropolarimetric data of Cen A obtained with the VLT/FORS2, we explored its total and polarized fluxes, in order to find signatures of the AGN in scattered light. Our analysis demonstrated that a beamed synchrotron jet, scattering onto the narrow line region (NLR) best fits all the observational properties. In this model, the base of the NLR is obscured by an unusually large circumnuclear region and can only become visible through perpendicular scattering onto the outermost part of the NLR, naturally producing high polarization degrees and polarization angles perpendicular to the radio structure. In this Presentation, I will show the evidences that Cen A defines a new class of hidden-NLR AGNs in which two other objects naturally find their place (NGC 4258 and 3C 270), also supporting old predictions that beamed synchrotron jets can be observed in reflection.