Prof. Eli Waxman, Weizmann Institute

Date: Mar. 11, 2007

Title: High energy particles and magnetic fields:
Some open questions in relativistic astrophysics

Abstract:
The most luminous objects in the universe, the luminosity of which
exceeds that of the sun by 14 to 19 orders of magnitude, are powered
by mass accretion onto back holes. Part of the gravitational energy
released by the accretion is harnessed to drive relativistic plasma
outflows, and the radiation that we observe is mostly due to
synchrotron emission of particles accelerated to highly relativistic
energies, exceeding in some cases $10^{11}$~GeV. I will discuss some
of the open questions related to the physics of these extreme objects.