Relativistic Jets and Blazars

Our research group is focussed on the study of relativistic jets, highly collimated fluids containing relativistic particles moving at velocities close to that of the speed of light that are present in multiple astrophysical sites, from active galactic nuclei, to gamma-ray bursts and microquasars. They are powered by the accretion of material onto very compact objects, like neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes in the case of microquasars and gamma-ray bursts, or billion solar masses black holes in the case of active galaxies.

Multi-wavelength monitoring observations, and their comparison with computer numerical simulations, are used to obtain a better understanding of the nature of these objects, with emphasis on jets in active galactic nuclei (in general) and blazars (in particular).

The small size of our group is compensated with strong international collaborations and a well-balanced expertise in observations and theory.