2006A&A...448..535C

We present new multi-wavelength high resolution VLA polarimetric images of the CSS quasar 3C277.1 and analyze them with older Merlin and HST [OIII] images. These observations were made to test the hypothesis that the [OIII] emission as well as the long wavelength radio opacity arise in shocks that the quasar jet induces in the ISM. The multi-wavelength radio polarimetric images allow the study of the intervening magnetized plasma using Faraday effects. The HST [OIII] image potentially reveals regions of shock that have cooled sufficiently to radiate. We find no compelling evidence that the jet is directly responsible for the majority of the [OIII] emission or that there is significant dense shocked material in the immediate vicinity of most of the jet. There is evidence for jet-induced shocks on the northern edge of the eastern lobe. We find a spectral age of the radio source of ∼4x10⁴yr giving advance speeds of the lobes of 0.15c and 0.06c for the western and eastern lobes. The strong Faraday effects appear to be confined within the inner 3kpc as does the [OIII] emission.