Electron-positron cascade in magnetospheres of supermassive Kerr black holes and the origin of relativistic AGN jets

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Medvedev, Mikhail V., Zdziarski, Andrzej A.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Medvedev, Mikhail V.
Zdziarski, Andrzej A.
author_facet Medvedev, Mikhail V.
Zdziarski, Andrzej A.
contents The avalanche mechanism of plasma production in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is detailed, and constraints on system parameters needed for efficient electron-positron pair cascades are explored. Whether an AGN falls within this favorable parameter range may explain the observed radio-loud versus radio-quiet dichotomy. On the other hand, this study shows that cascades generate orders of magnitude fewer pairs than is necessary to explain the synchrotron emission observed in luminous jets. This fact suggests the existence of either an alternative lepton source, namely pair production of photons from the hot accretion flows around AGN central black holes, or matter loading of the jets from the surrounding medium, or, most likely, both. The case of the radio galaxy 3C 120 is considered in detail.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_00313
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Electron-positron cascade in magnetospheres of supermassive Kerr black holes and the origin of relativistic AGN jets
Medvedev, Mikhail V.
Zdziarski, Andrzej A.
High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
The avalanche mechanism of plasma production in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is detailed, and constraints on system parameters needed for efficient electron-positron pair cascades are explored. Whether an AGN falls within this favorable parameter range may explain the observed radio-loud versus radio-quiet dichotomy. On the other hand, this study shows that cascades generate orders of magnitude fewer pairs than is necessary to explain the synchrotron emission observed in luminous jets. This fact suggests the existence of either an alternative lepton source, namely pair production of photons from the hot accretion flows around AGN central black holes, or matter loading of the jets from the surrounding medium, or, most likely, both. The case of the radio galaxy 3C 120 is considered in detail.
title Electron-positron cascade in magnetospheres of supermassive Kerr black holes and the origin of relativistic AGN jets
topic High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00313