Related papers: Blazar Gamma-Rays, Shock Acceleration, and the Ext…
The absorption of TeV $\gamma$-ray photons produced in relativistic jets by surrounding soft photon fields is a long-standing problem of jet physics. In some cases the most likely emission site close to the central black hole is ruled out…
We have recently proposed a simplified scenario for blazars in which these sources are classified as flat-spectrum radio quasars or BL Lacs according to the prescriptions of unified schemes, and to a varying combination of Doppler boosted…
We show that there is no universal law describing how the spectra and luminosity of synchrotron and inverse Compton radiation from relativistic jets change with increasing observation angle. Instead, the physics of particle acceleration…
The extragalactic background light (EBL) in the IR to UV bands partly absorbs very high energy (VHE, $E \geq$ 100GeV) $\gamma-$ray photons travelling over cosmological distances via pair production. In this paper, to get stronger…
We study the gamma-ray emissions from an outer-magnetospheric potential gap around a rotating neutron star. Migratory electrons and positrons are accelerated by the electric field in the gap to radiate copious gamma-rays via curvature…
Blazars are the most common sources of $\gamma$-ray photons in the extragalactic sky. Their $\gamma$-ray light curves are characterized by bright flaring episodes, similarly to what is observed at longer wavelengths. These gamma-ray bursts…
Blazars constitute the most enigmatic class of extragalactic gamma-ray sources, and their observational features have been ascribed to a relativistic jet closely aligned to the line of sight. They are generally divided in two main classes:…
Blazars and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) are the fastest objects known so far. The radiation we see from these sources originates in a jet of similar aperture angle, and we think it is the result of the conversion of some of the jet kinetic…
We investigate potential $\gamma-\gamma$ absorption of gamma-ray emission from blazars arising from inhomogeneities along the line of sight, beyond the diffuse Extragalactic Background Light (EBL). As plausible sources of excess…
More than a dozen blazars are known to be emitters of multi-TeV gamma rays, often with strong and rapid flaring activity. By interacting with photons of the cosmic microwave and infrared backgrounds, these gamma rays inevitably produce…
Blazars are potential candidates of cosmic-ray acceleration up to ultrahigh energies ($E\gtrsim10^{18}$ eV). For an efficient cosmic-ray injection from blazars, $p\gamma$ collisions with the extragalactic background light (EBL) and cosmic…
The present status of the blazar spectral sequence is discussed, including new findings about blazars selected with different criteria than the original complete radio-samples. Despite extensive searches of blazars "breaking" the sequence,…
The study of the Extragalactic Background Light (EBL) is crucial to understand many astrophysical problems (as the formation of first stars, the evolution of galaxies and the role of dust emission). At present, one of the most powerful ways…
Blazars are high-energy engines providing us natural laboratories to study particle acceleration, relativistic plasma processes, magnetic field dynamics, black hole physics. Key informations are provided by observations at high-energy (in…
High-energy gamma rays are a valuable tool for studying particle acceleration and radiation in the magnetospheres of energetic pulsars. The six or more pulsars seen by CGRO/EGRET show that: the light curves usually have double-peak…
The latest determination of the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB) radiation by Fermi is compared with the theoretical prediction of the blazar component by Inoue & Totani (2009; hereafter IT09). The Fermi EGRB spectrum is in…
The development of techniques whereby gamma rays of energy 100 GeV and above can be studied from the ground, using indirect, but sensitive, techniques has opened up a new area of high energy photon astronomy. The most exciting result that…
The rapid variability of the VHE emission reported for some TeV blazars implies Doppler factors well in excess of those inferred from superluminal motions and unification schemes. We propose that those extreme flares may result from…
The extragalactic background light (EBL) is the second-most-intense form of cosmic background light (the first being the cosmic microwave background) and contains the redshifted optical radiation, from infra-red to ultraviolet, emitted…
We present new theoretical estimates of the relative contributions of unresolved blazars and star-forming galaxies to the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) and discuss constraints on the contributions from alternative mechanisms such…