Related papers: Relativistic flows in blazars
We present a model for relativistic jets which generates a particular angular distribution of Lorentz factor and energy per solid angle. We consider a fireball with specific internal energy E/M launched with bulk Lorentz factor \gamma_B.…
The power of a relativistic jet depends on the number of leptons and protons carried by the jet itself. We have reasons to believe that powerful gamma-ray flat spectrum radio sources emit most of their radiation where radiative cooling is…
Growing observational evidence supports the proposition that gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are powered by relativistic jets from massive helium stars whose cores have collapsed to black holes and an accretion disk (collapsars). We model the…
Blazar emission is dominated by non-thermal radiation from a relativistic jet pointing toward us, therefore undergoing Doppler beaming. This is responsible for flux enhancement and contraction of the variability time scales, so that most…
The blazar 3C 279 is well known for its rapid and large-amplitude variability. On 20 December 2013, the source exhibited an orphan {\gamma}-ray flare characterized by a flux-doubling timescale of a few hours, a very hard spectrum, a…
In our review of the blazar phenomenon, we discuss blazar models, with a focus on the following issues: sub-parsec jets and their environment; energy dissipation and particle acceleration; and radiative processes.
We examine a model for the observed temporal variability of powerful blazars in the $\gamma$-ray band in which the dynamics is described in terms of a stochastic differential equation, including the contribution of a deterministic drift and…
We are leading a comprehensive multi-waveband monitoring program of 34 gamma-ray bright blazars designed to locate the emission regions of blazars from radio to gamma-ray frequencies. The "maps" are anchored by sequences of images in both…
We provide estimates for the flux and maximum frequency of radiation produced when the magnetic field in a relativistic, highly magnetized, jet is dissipated and particles are accelerated using general considerations. We also provide limits…
In the collapsar scenario, gamma ray bursts are caused by relativistic jets expelled along the rotation axis of a collapsing stellar core. We discuss how the structure and time-dependence of such jets depends on the stellar envelope and…
The formation of relativistic astrophysical jets is presumably mediated by magnetic fields threading accretion disks and central, rapidly rotating objects. As it is accelerated by magnetic stresses, the jet's kinetic energy flux grows at…
Context.Blazars, a sub-category of Active Galactic Nuclei, are characterized by their non-thermal variable emission. This emission extends over the whole electromagnetic spectrum and is a consequence of particle acceleration inside their…
Theoretical models for the production of relativistic jets from active galactic nuclei predict that jet power arises from the spin and mass of the central black hole, as well as the magnetic field near the event horizon. The physical…
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…
Beppo}SAX contributed substantially to our understanding of the physics of blazars. This has been made possible mainly by its wide energy range and especially by its high energy detector. Together with the information coming from still…
Radiative transfer in a relativistic accretion disk wind is examined under the plane-parallel approximation in the fully special relativistic treatment. For an equilibrium flow, where the flow speed and the source function are constant, the…
For a sample of 51 blazars with extensive optical polarization data, we used circular statistics to calculate the scatter among the polarization position angles for each object. We found that this scatter is correlated with the radio core…
We present a formalism of the dynamics of internal shocks in relativistic jets where the source has a time-dependent injection velocity and mass-loss rate. The variation of the injection velocity produces a two-shock wave structure, the…
While observations in the radio band are providing essential information on the innermost structures of relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN), the recent detection by Fermi of gamma-ray emission from many hundreds of blazars…
The standard blazar paradigm consists of a supermassive black hole that expels relativistic jets of magnetized plasma in our direction. This plasma entrains nonthermal synchrotron-emitting electrons that furthermore scatter…