Imaging polarimetry of the galaxy NGC 4151: further constraints on the geometry of the narrow emission line region.

NGC 4151 shows structure in the levels and pattern of polarization on all size-scales. On the large scale the polarization pattern tends to follow the spiral structure of the galaxy which can be traced to within ~20 arcsec of the nucleus in the I waveband. In the V and Hα wavebands there is a jet-like structure of polarized (scattered) light at position angle 230^deg^ which coincides with the ENLR while the nuclear polarization is orthogonal to the arcsec-scale radio jets at position angles of ~80^deg^. The results show that there are polarization features, arising from the scattering of light from the central nucleus, allied to both the radio and ENLR collimation axes. We suggest that there are anisotropic distributions of dust associated with both the radio plasma and UV outflows which are themselves misaligned by ~20^deg^ and create the radio and the narrow-line regions.