A Universal Scaling for the Energetics of Relativistic Jets from Black Hole Systems

Black holes generate collimated, relativistic jets, which have been observed in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), microquasars, and at the center of some galaxies [active galactic nuclei (AGN)]. How jet physics scales from stellar black holes in GRBs to the supermassive ones in AGN is still unknown. Here, we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2012-12, Vol.338 (6113), p.1445-1448
Main Authors:	Nemmen, R. S., Georganopoulos, M., Guiriec, S., Meyer, E. T., Gehrels, N., Sambruna, R. M.
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Active galactic nuclei Astronomy Black holes Blazars Characteristics and properties of external galaxies and extragalactic objects Earth, ocean, space Exact sciences and technology Gamma rays Gamma-ray sources gamma-ray bursts Jets and bursts. Galactic winds and fountains Kinetics Late stages of stellar evolution (including black holes) Luminosity Physics Relativistic jets Stars Stellar systems. Galactic and extragalactic objects and systems. The universe Telescopes Tidal disruption Unidentified sources and radiation outside the solar system
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Summary:	Black holes generate collimated, relativistic jets, which have been observed in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), microquasars, and at the center of some galaxies [active galactic nuclei (AGN)]. How jet physics scales from stellar black holes in GRBs to the supermassive ones in AGN is still unknown. Here, we show that jets produced by AGN and GRBs exhibit the same correlation between the kinetic power carried by accelerated particles and the gamma-ray luminosity, with AGN and GRBs lying at the low- and high-luminosity ends, respectively, of the correlation. This result implies that the efficiency of energy dissipation in jets produced in black hole systems is similar over 10 orders of magnitude in jet power, establishing a physical analogy between AGN and GRBs.
ISSN:	0036-8075 1095-9203