The Blazar Envelope and the Relativistic Jet Dichotomy: Unification of Radio-Loud AGN

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dc.contributor.advisorFossati, Giovannien_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberHartigan, Patrick M.en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMemberCox, Dennis D.en_US
dc.creatorMeyer, Eileenen_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-07-24T19:39:19Zen_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-07-24T19:39:25Zen_US
dc.date.available2013-07-24T19:39:19Zen_US
dc.date.available2013-07-24T19:39:25Zen_US
dc.date.created2012-12en_US
dc.date.issued2013-07-24en_US
dc.date.submittedDecember 2012en_US
dc.date.updated2013-07-24T19:39:25Zen_US
dc.description.abstractMotivated by recent successes in linking the kinetic power of relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei (AGN) to the low-frequency, isotropic lobe emission, I have re-examined the blazar and radio-loud AGN unification scheme through careful analysis of the four parameters we believe to be fundamental in producing a particular jet spectral energy distribution (SED): the kinetic power, accretion power, accretion mode, and orientation. In particular, I have compiled a multi-wavelength database for hundreds of jet SEDs in order to characterize the jet spectrum by the synchrotron peak output, and have conducted an analysis of the steep lobe emission in blazars in order to determine the intrinsic jet power. This study of the link between power and isotropic emission is likely to have a wider applicability to other types or relativistic jet phenomena, such as microquasars. Based on a well-characterized sample of over 200 sources, I suggest a new unification scheme for radio-loud AGN (Meyer et al. 2011) which compliments evidence that a transition in jet power at a few percent of the Eddington luminosity produces two types of relativistic jet (Ghisellini, et al., 2009). The `broken power sequence' addresses a series of recent findings severely at odds with the previous unification scheme. This scheme makes many testable predictions which will can be addressed with a larger body of data, including a way to determine whether the coupling between accretion and jet power is the currently presumed one-to-one correspondence, or whether accretion power forms an upper bound, as very recent observations suggest (Fernandes et al. 2011). This work is a first step toward a unified understanding of the relativistic jets found in radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their connection to accretion onto the super-massive black holes from which they emanate.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationMeyer, Eileen. "The Blazar Envelope and the Relativistic Jet Dichotomy: Unification of Radio-Loud AGN." (2013) Diss., Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/71676">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/71676</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.slug123456789/ETD-2012-12-236en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/71676en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectRadio-loud active galactic nucleien_US
dc.subjectAGN unificationen_US
dc.subjectBlazar population studiesen_US
dc.subjectAccretionen_US
dc.subjectJet poweren_US
dc.titleThe Blazar Envelope and the Relativistic Jet Dichotomy: Unification of Radio-Loud AGNen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentPhysics and Astronomyen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineNatural Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
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