Role of Reconnection in AGN Jets

Abstract

We discuss the possible role of reconnection in electro-magnetically dominated cores of relativistic AGN jets. We suggest that reconnection may proceed in a two-fold fashion: initial explosive collapse on the Alfven time-scale of a current-carrying jet (which is of the order of the light crossing time) and subsequent slow quasi-steady reconnection. Sites of explosive collapse are associated with bright knots, while steady-state reconnection re-energizes particles in the ``bridges'' between the knots. Ohmic dissipation in reconnection layers leads to particle acceleration either by inductive electric fields or by stochastic particle acceleration in the ensuing electro-magnetic turbulence.

4 pages, Proceedings of the conference "The Physics of Relativistic Jets in the CHANDRA and XMM Era", 23-27 September 2002, Bologna

References in corpus (2)

• Dynamics of relativistic reconnection
• Lepton Acceleration by Relativistic Collisionless Magnetic Reconnection

Cited by in corpus (32)

• Polarization and structure of relativistic parsec-scale AGN jets
• A Multi-wavelength View of the TeV Blazar Markarian 421: Correlated Variability, Flaring, and Spectral Evolution
• Helical Magnetic Fields Associated with the Relativistic Jets of Four BL Lac Objects
• Physics of Gamma-Ray Bursts Prompt Emission
• Magnetic Reconnection in Extreme Astrophysical Environments
• X-ray Flaring Activity of Mrk 421
• Bulk Comptonization spectra in blazars
• Radiation from relativistic jets in blazars and the efficient dissipation of their bulk energy via photon breeding
• Particle acceleration in explosive relativistic reconnection events and Crab Nebula gamma-ray flares
• Particle acceleration in explosive relativistic reconnection events and Crab Nebula gamma-ray flares
• Polarization swings in blazars
• X-ray Flares from Markarian 501
• Radiative Magnetic Reconnection in Astrophysics
• Very High Energy outburst of Markarian 501 in May 2009
• Chandra & HST Imaging of the Quasars PKS B0106+013 & 3C345: Inverse Compton X-rays and Magnetized Jets
• Electron heating and acceleration by magnetic reconnection in hot accretion flows
• Constraining the Physical Conditions in the Jets of Gamma-Ray Flaring Blazars using Centimeter-Band Polarimetry and Radiative Transfer Simulations. I. Data and Models for 0420-014, OJ 287, and 1156+295
• Energetic and Broad Band Spectral Distribution of Emission from Astronomical Jets
• Core shift effect in blazars
• Signature of Inverse Compton emission from blazars
• Imaging and variability studies of CTA~102 during the 2016 January $\gamma$-ray flare
• Systematic investigation of X-ray spectral variability of TeV blazars during flares in the $RXTE$ era
• A Suzaku X-Ray Study of the Particle Acceleration Processes in the Relativistic Jet of Blazar Mrk 421
• X-ray Spectral Variability of TeV Blazars during Rapid Flares
• TeV Gamma Ray Astronomy
• ALMA polarimetry of radio-quiet AGNs
• Study of the High Energy Gamma-ray Emission from the Crab Pulsar with the MAGIC telescope and Fermi-LAT
• Extragalactic jets on subpc and large scales
• High energy neutrinos produced in the accretion disks by neutrons from nuclei disintegrated in the AGN jets
• Plasmas in Gamma-Ray Bursts: particle acceleration, magnetic fields, radiative Processes and environments
• Photon breeding mechanism in relativistic jets: astrophysical implications
• Shock corrugation to the rescue of the internal shock model in microquasars: The single-scale MHD view