Speaker
Markus Boettcher
(North-West University)
Description
This talk reviews recent progress in our understanding of the multiwavelength spectral and polarization signatures of relativistic shocks in the relativistic jets of active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts. Spectral signatures are based on a self-consistent coupling of Monte-Carlo simulations of diffusive shock acceleration with radiation-transfer simulations. Our results indicate that, in order to reproduce the spectral energy distributions of blazars, the pitch-angle scattering mean free path of electrons has to be strongly energy dependent. Polarization signatures of relativistic shocks are based on polarization-dependent radiation transfer simulations, indicating that large polarization-angle rotations result naturally in a straight jet pervaded by a helical magnetic field. Simultaneous fits to the SEDs, multiwavelength light curves, and time-dependent synchrotron polarization signatures from the prominent polarization-angle swing event in 3C279 are presented.
Primary author
Markus Boettcher
(North-West University)
Co-authors
Dr
Errol Summerlin
(Goddard Space Flight Center)
Mr
Haocheng Zhang
(Los Alamos National Lab)
Prof.
Matthew Baring
(Rice University)
