First Detection of Faraday Rotation in a Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglow: Low Polarization and High Rotation Measure in GRB 260310A Reveal the Jet's Magnetic Structure and Environment

We report the detection of linear polarization in the radio afterglow of GRB 260310A, representing the first centimeter-wavelength polarization detection of a gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglow and the first measurement of Faraday rotation in a GRB environment. We detect linearly polarized emission across 11–25 GHz, with a polarization fraction decreasing monotonically from (3.18 ± 0.18)% at 25 GHz to (0.69 ± 0.22)% at 11 GHz. We model the multiwavelength data as emission from a refreshed forward shock (FS) that dominates in the optical and X-rays and a reverse shock (RS) in a structured, relativistic jet that dominates at radio wavelengths. The observed depolarization toward the lower radio frequencies is consistent with suppression by RS synchrotron self-absorption, while the low observed polarization at high frequencies relative to the theoretical maximum suggests a patchy magnetic field in the jet with a coherence scale, θ_B ≈ 10⁻² rad. We identify a frequency-dependent rotation of the polarization angle consistent with Faraday rotation, with a rotation measure (RM) of RM = −(8300 ± 90) rad m⁻² at the GRB redshift. The magnitude of the RM is consistent with propagation through a dense, magnetized environment, such as a progenitor H II region. These findings demonstrate that GRB afterglows exhibit measurable linear polarization at centimeter wavelengths, and that their polarimetric properties probe both intrinsic jet magnetization and the surrounding medium. Future multifrequency polarimetric monitoring over timescales of days to weeks will enable detailed studies of the evolution of magnetic field structure and provide new constraints on the role of magnetic fields in GRB afterglows.