Related papers: Relativistic Jets of Blazars
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) with relativistic jets are the most powerful persistent astrophysical sources of electromagnetic radiation in the Universe. Blazars are the most extreme subclass of AGN with jets directed along the line of sight…
The broad band sensitivity and flexibility of the BeppoSAX satellite have allowed unprecedented studies of the X-ray emission from blazars. Here we focus on recent results on the SEDs of a group of blazars with emission lines, allowing to…
Blazars are highly variable active galactic nuclei which emit radiation at all wavelengths from radio to gamma-rays. Polarized radiation from blazars is one key piece of evidence for synchrotron radiation at low energies and it also varies…
The discovery of high-energy (E>100 MeV) gamma rays from Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies (gamma-NLS1s) has confirmed the presence of powerful relativistic jets in this class of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Although the jet emission is…
In this review I summarise the status of observational research into relativistic jets from X-ray binaries, highlighting four areas in particular: (i) How relativistic are the jets ?, (ii) The disc : jet coupling, (iii) the nature of the…
The multiwavelength spectra of blazars appear to be dominated by nonthermal emission from a relativistic jet oriented close to the line of sight. The recent detection of many blazars at gamma-ray energies strongly supports this scenario.…
Let's take stock of the situation on one of the most studied astrophysical phenomena during the latest years: the jets escaping from protostars, stellar singularities, GRB and active galactic nuclei.
We have not identified for sure what is the mechanism launching, accelerating and collimating relativistic jets. The two most likely possibilities are the gravitational energy of the accreting matter or the rotational energy of a spinning…
Collimated outflows (jets) appear to be a ubiquitous phenomenon associated with the accretion of material onto a compact object. Despite this ubiquity, many fundamental physics aspects of jets are still poorly understood and constrained.…
Relativistic stellar jets, produced in binary systems called microquasars, propagate through media with different spatial scales releasing their energy in the form of work and radiation from radio to gamma rays. There are several…
BL Lac objects are active nuclei, hosted in massive elliptical galaxies, the emission of which is dominated by a relativistic jet closely aligned with the line of sight. This implies the existence of a parent population of sources with a…
Being dominated by non-thermal emission from aligned relativistic jets, blazars allow us to elucidate the physics of extragalactic jets, and, ultimately, how energy is extracted from the central black hole. Crucial information about jet…
Time-variable polarization is an extremely valuable observational tool to probe the dynamical physical conditions of blazar jets. Since 2008, we have been monitoring the flux and linear polarization of a sample of gamma-ray bright blazars…
A recent progress in the study of $\gamma$-ray jets is reviewed, with a focus on some theoretical interpretations of the VHE emission from M87, and possibly other misaligned blazars; the connection betwe en the GeV breaks exhibited by…
The radiation we observe from blazars is most likely the product of the transformation of bulk kinetic energy into random energy. This process must have a relatively small efficiency (e.g. 10%) if jets are to power the extended…
Being dominated by non-thermal (synchrotron and inverse Compton) emission from a relativistic jet, blazars offer important clues to the structure and radiative processes in extragalactic jets. Crucial information is provided by blazars'…
Most of the electromagnetic output of blazars (BL Lac objects and Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars) comes out in the gamma-ray band, making the Large Area Telescope [0.1-100 GeV] onboard the Fermi satellite and the Cherenkov telescopes crucial…
In 2008, the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has revealed - for the first time - high-energy (E > 100 MeV) gamma rays from a few Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies (NLS1s). Later, in 2009 and 2010, two multifrequency campaigns on one of these…
Blazars are characterized by rapid variability at virtually all wavelengths from radio through TeV gamma-rays. The challenge since their discovery has been to understand the origin of their luminous, apparently nonthermal, nuclear emission.…
Gamma-ray blazars are among the most extreme astrophysical sources, harboring phenomena far more energetic than those attainable by terrestrial accelerators. These galaxies are understood to be active galactic nuclei that are powered by…