Related papers: The AGN phenomenon: open issues
In this paper we give a brief review of the astrophysics of active galactic nuclei (AGN). After a general introduction motivating the study of AGNs, we discuss our present understanding of the inner workings of the central engines, most…
The nuclei of most normal galaxies contain supermassive black holes, which can accrete gas through a disk and become active. These Active Galactic Nuclei, AGN, can form jets which are observed on scales from AU to Mpc and from meter…
Recent advances in general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic modeling of jets offer unprecedented insights into the inner workings of accreting black holes that power the jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) and other accretion systems. I…
Jets associated with Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) have been observed for almost a century, initially at optical and radio wavelengths. They are now widely accepted as "exhausts" produced electromagnetically by the central, spinning, massive…
According to the currently favored picture, relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are launched in the vicinity of the black hole by magnetic fields extracting energy from the spinning black hole or the accretion disk. In the…
The colossal power output of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is believed to be fueled by the accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole. This central accreting region of AGN has hitherto been spatially unresolved and its structure…
We propose a novel mechanism for powering the central engines of Active Galactic Nuclei through super-critical (type II) black hole collapse. In this picture, ~$10^3 M_\odot$ of material collapsing at relativistic speeds can trigger a…
The UV continuum spectrum of quasars and AGN is assumed to originate from an accreting disk surrounding a massive rotating black hole. We discuss the structure and emission spectra of a disk which drives a powerful jet. Due to the large…
Compact relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei offer an effective tool for investigating the physics of nuclear regions in galaxies. The emission properties, dynamics, and evolution of jets in AGN are closely connected to the…
Accreting black holes produce collimated outflows, or jets, that traverse many orders of magnitude in distance, accelerate to relativistic velocities, and collimate into tight opening angles. Of these, perhaps the least understood is jet…
We show that it is possible to explain the physical origin of jet precession in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) through the misalignment between the rotation axes of the accretion disk and of the Kerr black hole. We apply this scenario to…
We explore the formation, energetics, and geometry of relativistic jets along with the variability of their central engine. We study both fast and slowly rotating black holes and address our simulations to active galaxy (AGN) centers and…
Analysis of spectral absorption features has led to the identification of several distinct outflow components in AGNs. The outflowing gas is evidently photoionized by the nuclear continuum source and originates in the accretion flow toward…
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) with relativistic jets, powered by gas accretion onto their central supermassive black hole (SMBH), are unique laboratories for studying the physics of matter and elementary particles in extreme conditions that…
We use a sample of radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with measured black hole masses to explore the jet formation mechanisms in these sources. Based on the K\"{o}nigl's inhomogeneous jet model, the jet parameters, such as the bulk…
An accreting supermassive blackhole, the central engine of active galactic nucleus (AGN), is capable of exciting extreme amplitude Alfven waves whose wavelength (wave packet) size is characterized by its clumpiness. The pondermotive force…
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are highly energetic astrophysical sources powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes in galaxies, which present unique observational signatures covering the full electromagnetic spectrum (and more) over…
Jets launched by active galactic nuclei (AGN) are believed to play a significant role in shaping the properties of galaxies and provide an energetically viable mechanism through which galaxies can become quenched. Here we present a novel…
The current popular model for launching, accelerating and collimating astrophysical jets is based on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). AGN jets are most probably powered by energy extracted from either an accretion disk or a rapidly rotating…
Active Galactic Nuclei are fueled from material (gas or stars) that are in general far away from the gravitational influence of the central black hole, the engine thought to be responsible for their activity. The required material has a lot…