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R. Blandford (KIPAC, Stanford)
It is commonly assumed that relativistic jets, in AGN, Galactic superluminal sources, Gamma ray burst and pulsar wind nebulae are launched by accretion disks orbiting black holes and neutron stars. Magnetic fields are also commonly supposed to be involved. However the details remain controversial. In this talk I will review some of the recent observational evidence from jet observations throughout the electromagnetic spectrum and some recent theoretical investigations that have transformed qualitative ideas into quantitative models. In particular I shall develop the idea that the central source is responsible for driving a large scale current flow that extends all along the jet. In addition, I suggest that accretion disks may carry a net radial field which changes the efficiency of energy extraction from the curved space time surrounding the central black hole when present. These hypotheses have observable implications which will be outlined.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #2
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.