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We introduce a new theoretical model to describe the emitting region in a blazar jet. We assume a one-zone leptonic picture, and construct the particle transport equation for a plasma blob experiencing low-energy, monoenergetic particle…
Collapsing magnetic traps (CMTs) are one proposed mechanism for generating non-thermal particle populations in solar flares. CMTs occur if an initially stretched magnetic field structure relaxes rapidly into a lower-energy configuration,…
A plasma velocity shear layer and/or a tangential flow discontinuity provide conditions allowing for energetic particle acceleration. We review such acceleration processes acting both in non-relativistic and in relativistic flows. In…
Jets in blazars are an excellent forum for studying acceleration at relativistic shocks using the highly-variable emission seen across the electromagnetic spectrum. Our recent work on combining multi-wavelength leptonic emission models with…
The acceleration mechanism of EUV/X-ray jets is still unclear. For the most part, there are two candidates for the mechanism. One is magnetic reconnection, and the other is chromospheric evaporation. We observed a relatively compact X-ray…
We describe a scenario to explain blazar periodicities with timescales of $\sim$ few years. The scenario is based on a binary super-massive black hole (SMBH) system in which one of the two SMBH carries a jet. We discuss the various…
The development of instabilities leading to the formation of internal shocks is expected in the relativistic outflows of both gamma-ray bursts and blazars. The shocks heat the expanding ejecta, generate a tangled magnetic field and…
The first laboratory astrophysics experiments to produce a radiatively cooled plasma jet with dynamically significant angular momentum are discussed. A new configuration of wire array z-pinch, the twisted conical wire array, is used to…
Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are…
The wealth of high quality data now available on the M87 jet inspired us to carry out a detailed analysis of the plasma physical conditions in the jet. In a companion paper (Lobanov, Hardee & Eilek, this proceedings) we identify a…
High-resolution observations of high-redshift ($z>4$) radio quasars offer a unique insight into jet kinematics at early cosmological epochs, as well as constraints on cosmological model parameters. Due to the general weakness of extremely…
Blazars emit across all electromagnetic wavelengths. While the so-called one-zone model has described well both quiescent and flaring states, it cannot explain the radio emission and fails in more complex data sets, such as AP Librae. In…
Shear particle acceleration is a promising candidate for the origin of extended high-energy emission in extra-galactic jets. In this paper, we explore the applicability of a shear model to 24 X-ray knots in the large-scale jets of FR II…
We consider particle acceleration to high energy via diffusive shock acceleration in a simple, self-consistent shock in jet model for blazars. Electrons are assumed to be accelerated at a shock front in relativistic jets and radiate…
Plasma-based positron acceleration is still an open question, as the most efficient regimes for electron acceleration (quasi-linear and blowout) are not directly applicable to positrons. Nevertheless, positron acceleration is a stepping…
The theory of particle acceleration at shock fronts is briefly reviewed, with special emphasis on the production of the particles responsible for the nonthermal emission from blazars. The flat radio/IR spectra of these sources cannot be…
We calculate the optically thin synchrotron emission of fast electrons and positrons in a spiral stationary magnetic field and a radial electric field of a rotating relativistic strongly magnetized force-free jet consisting of…
Shock acceleration is an ubiquitous phenomenon in astrophysical plasmas. Plasma waves and their associated instabilities (e.g., the Buneman instability, two-streaming instability, and the Weibel instability) created in the shocks are…
Strong observational evidence indicates that all extragalactic jets associated with AGNs move at relativistic speed up to 100 pc - 1 kpc scales from the nucleus. At larger distances, reflecting the Fanaroff-Riley radio source…
We explore the physics of electron acceleration in a plasma medium in an effective field theory framework. Employing a multiple Compton scattering mechanism, it is found that the acceleration can be sustained in such a medium so as to…