1999/03/18 by A. Mastichiadis, Mastichiadis, A., J. G. Kirk +1
Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9903280
12 pages, 6 figures. To appear in "Frontier objects in astrophysics", (Vulcano workshop 1998) eds F. Giovanelli, G. Mannocchi
arxiv created 1999/03/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We present the expected variability features in the context of the Synchro- Self-Compton (SSC) model of emission from Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) and show that the homogeneous SSC model describes well the observed multi- wavelength spectrum and variability of objects such as Mkn 421 and Mkn 501; however in order to explain the very fast flaring timescales occasionally observed from these objects one should use a laminar, rather than spherical, source geometry. This picture leads naturally to a shock-in- jet model which we approach as a site of diffusive particle acceleration. We show that this acceleration scheme can explain certain characteristic features of AGN X-ray spectra and provides us with further observational tests.