Related papers: Probing the central black hole in M87 with gamma-r…
A number of radio galaxies has been detected by Fermi/LAT in the gamma-ray domain. In some cases, like Cen A and M 87, these objects have been seen even in the TeV range by Cherenkov telescopes. Whereas the gamma-ray emission is likely to…
The Center of our Galaxy is a peculiar region where a number of crucial astrophysical phenomena take place, from star formation to SN explosions and accretion onto a massive black hole. The quest for a massive black hole in the Galactic…
The giant radio galaxy M 87 was observed at TeV energies with the Cherenkov telescopes of the H.E.S.S. collaboration (High Energy Stereoscopic System). The observations have been performed in the year 2003 during the comissioning phase and…
Gamma-ray Astronomy studies cosmic accelerators through their electromagnetic radiation in the energy range between ~100 MeV and ~100 TeV. The present most sensitive observations in this energy band are performed, from space, by the Large…
Notwithstanding the big efforts devoted to the investigation of the mechanisms responsible for the high-energy (E>100 MeV) gamma-ray emission in active galactic nuclei (AGN), the definite answer is still missing. The X-ray energy band…
The strongest existing constraints on primordial black holes with masses in the range of $m_{\rm BH} \sim 10^{15}-10^{17} \, {\rm g}$ have been derived from measurements of the local cosmic-ray electron-positron flux by Voyager 1, and…
M87, the active galaxy at the center of the Virgo cluster, is ideal for studying the interaction of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) with a hot, gas-rich environment. A deep Chandra observation of M87 exhibits an approximately circular…
Various types of active galactic nuclei (AGN) are briefly discussed, with an emphasis on the theory of recent X-ray and $\gamma$-ray observations of the subclass, Seyfert 1 galaxies. The large radiation power from AGN is thought to…
We have obtained long-slit observations of the circumnuclear region of M87 at three different locations, with a spatial sampling of 0.028" using the Faint Object Camera f/48 spectrograph on board HST. These data allow us to determine the…
We discuss a "compact source" model of very high energy (VHE) emission from blazars in which the variability time is determined by the blazar central engine. In this model electron or proton acceleration close to the supermassive black hole…
I briefly review magnetic effects in accretion physics, and then go on to discuss a possible central engine for gamma-ray bursts. A rotating black hole immersed in a non-axisymmetric magnetic field experiences a torque trying to align spin…
We have examined a sample of 13 sub-Eddington supermassive black holes hosted by galaxies spanning a variety of morphological classifications to further understand the empirical fundamental plane of black hole activity. This plane describes…
Spurred by the improved measurement sensitivity in the very-high-energy (VHE: >100 GeV) gamma-ray band, we assess the feasibility of detection of the nearby starburst galaxy M82. VHE emission is expected to be predominantly from the decay…
M87 was discovered in the very-high-energy band (VHE, E > 100 GeV) with HEGRA in 2003, long before its emission was detected in the high-energy band (HE, E > 100 MeV) with Fermi-LAT in 2009, opening the window to a new family of…
We motivate how the most recent progress in the understanding the nature of the GeV radiation in most energetic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the binary-driven hypernovae (BdHNe), has led to the solution of a forty years unsolved problem in…
The detection of gamma rays in the very-high-energy (VHE) energy range (100 GeV--100 TeV) provides a direct view of the parent population of ultra-relativistic particles found in astrophysical sources. For this reason, VHE gamma rays are…
M87 is a giant radio galaxy with FR-I morphology. It underwent three episodes of TeV flaring in recent years with the strongest one in April 2010 which was jointly monitored by MAGIC, VERITAS and H.E.S.S. We explain its spectral energy…
We examine the disc--jet connection in stellar mass and supermassive black holes by investigating the properties of their compact emission in the X-ray and radio bands. We compile a sample of ~100 active galactic nuclei with measured mass,…
We discuss the high energy neutrino emission from gamma-ray bursts resulting from the earliest generation (`population III') stars forming in the Universe, whose core collapses into a black hole. These gamma-ray bursts are expected to…
The detection of TeV gamma-rays from LS 5039 and the binary pulsar PSR B1259-63 by HESS, and from LS I +61 303 and the stellar-mass black hole Cygnus X-1 by MAGIC, provides a clear evidence of very efficient acceleration of particles to…