RSAA Colloquia / Seminars / Feast-of-Facts: Thursday, 23 February 2017, 11:00-12:00; Duffield Lecture Theatre


Prajval Shastri

"The Environments of the Launch-sites of Relativistic Jets in AGN: Clues from the Blazar Divide"

Observations at gamma-ray and radio frequencies suggest that the parsec-scale environment of the launch sites of relativistic jets from AGN leaves imprints on the Doppler-beamed emission from the jets. We use these trends to test the hypothesis that the blazar divide constitutes a dichotomy. Obtaining a handle on the Doppler factor can play a key role in building a consistent picture of the jets and their relationship with the central supermassive black hole accretion system, especially in the framework of unification schemes. We will present some work in progress from such an investigation.