Excess |RRM| at small impact parameters to the foreground galaxies. Left panel: |RRM| as a function of impact parameter for inclined galaxies (i ≥ 55°) where the background polarised source lies near the minor axis (|ϕ|< 45°). Data points are coloured according to the stellar mass of the foreground galaxy. Blue stars show the median |RRM| binned in 100 kpc intervals; the standard deviation is 0.57 ± 0.13 rad m⁻² (b > 100 kpc) and 1.1 rad m⁻² (b < 100 kpc). The solid blue line shows the running median of 29 binned data points, and the vertical dashed line is at b = 100 kpc. Right panel: cumulative distribution function of the |RRM| for sightlines binned into 100 kpc intervals. The solid blue line shows sightlines with b < 100 kpc, whereas the dashed coloured lines show them for b > 100 kpc.