Retrospective of Research with Reinhard Schlickeiser

TL;DR

This paper reviews research from the 1990s on gamma-ray emissions from active galactic nuclei, highlighting the development of the external Compton scattering model for blazars and its significance in understanding gamma-ray sources.

Contribution

It introduces the pioneering external Compton scattering model for blazars, expanding understanding of gamma-ray production in AGN jets.

Findings

External Compton scattering is the primary gamma-ray source in flat spectrum radio quasars.

The model was extended from accretion disk photons to various external photon sources.

The work contributed to the understanding of gamma-ray emission mechanisms in AGN.

Abstract

I give a summary of my research with Prof. Dr. Reinhard Schlickeiser. It mainly took place in the 1990s, when the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was giving a startling new view of the gamma-ray sky. Our work focused on particle acceleration and radiation processes in the jets of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We pioneered the external Compton scattering model of blazars, where photons from outside the jet are intercepted and scattered to high energies by the radio-emitting electrons within the jet. Although we originally focused on external photons from the accretion disks of AGN, this process has been extended to include a range of external photon sources, and is now established as the primary source of gamma rays from flat spectrum radio quasars.