Photon and neutrino emission from active galactic nuclei

• Published in: Nuclear physics. Section B, Proceedings supplement Vol. 217; no. 1; pp. 284 - 286
• Main Authors: Biermann, Peter L., Becker, Julia K., Caramete, Laurenţiu I., Fraschetti, Federico, Kneiske, Tanja, Meli, Athina, Stanev, Todor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.08.2011; North-Holland ; Elsevier [1987-2014, vol. 256-257]
• Subjects: Astrophysics; Physics
• ISSN: 0920-5632; 1873-3832; 0920-5632
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2011.04.121

Supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies are very common. They are known to rotate, accrete, spin down and eject highly relativistic jets; those jets pointed at us all seem to show a spectrum with two strong bumps, one in the TeV photon range, and one in X-rays – ordered by the emission frequency of the first bump this constitutes the blazar sequence. Here we wish to explain this sequence as primary synchrotron emission of energetic electrons and protons, and secondary emission from interactions at the first strong shockwave pattern in the relativistic jet. With two key assumptions on particle scattering, this concept predicts that the two basic maximum peak frequencies ν s y n , e , p scale with the mass of the central black hole as ν e , p ∼ M B H − 1 / 2 , of ν s y n , p / ν s y n , e = ( m p / m e ) 3 , and the luminosities with the mass itself L e , p ∼ M B H . Due to strong losses of the leptons, the peak luminosities are generally the same, but with large variations around equality. This model predicts large fluxes in ultra high energy cosmic rays, and also large neutrino luminosities.