Skip to main content
European Commission logo
español español
CORDIS - Resultados de investigaciones de la UE
CORDIS
CORDIS Web 30th anniversary CORDIS Web 30th anniversary

Launching, propagation and emission of relativistic jets from binary mergers and across mass scales

Descripción del proyecto

Tras la pista de las partículas más rápidas del Universo

Los chorros relativistas, o «jets», son potentes chorros de radiación y partículas que viajan a una velocidad cercana a la de la luz. A menudo se asocian con materia muy densa, incluidos los agujeros negros supermasivos y las estrellas de neutrones. Estos potentes chorros podrían ser las fuentes de los rayos cósmicos, las partículas que viajan más rápido en el Universo, y no está claro qué los produce. El proyecto JETSET, financiado con fondos europeos, tiene previsto investigar el origen y la propagación de los chorros relativistas asociados a las fusiones de dos estrellas de neutrones superdensas y determinar si los mismos mecanismos se aplican a los agujeros negros supermasivos más grandes.

Objetivo

Relativistic jets are marvellous astrophysical phenomena and formidable tools in multi-messenger astronomy. Revealed by uncountable examples, their existence has been the subject of observations for decades across a variety of length and timescales. They are associated with some of the most energetic phenomena in the universe, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), microquasars, and active galactic nuclei (AGNs). As particle accelerators in GRBs, or as regulators of galaxy evolution in AGNs, relativistic jets represent a cornerstone in our understanding of the universe. Yet, relativistic jets raise far more questions than answers: Do rotating black holes provide the enormous energy powering relativistic jets? How can jets propagate stably across huge scales when plagued by a number of instabilities? What produces their emission during propagation and at breakout? Building on the first pioneering calculations in which I showed that merging magnetised neutron stars produce jet-like structures, and on the tremendous success in obtaining and interpreting the first image of a supermassive black hole, I am in a unique position to offer a complete set of answers to these long-standing questions. JETSET proposes to construct a new and organic comprehension of the mechanisms behind the launching, propagation and emission of relativistic jets from merging binaries. It will also clarify if the same physical processes are responsible for the jet phenomenology across eight orders of magnitude in the mass scale, going from stellar-mass to the largest supermassive black holes. To achieve this goal, JETSET will combine a computational infrastructure employing the most advanced numerical methods with accurate observations from electromagnetic bands, neutrinos and gravitational waves. In this way, a novel and comprehensive view will be built of one of the most fascinating and puzzling astrophysical phenomena, linking the deepest fabric of spacetime with the nonlinear dynamics of plasmas.

Régimen de financiación

ERC-ADG - Advanced Grant

Institución de acogida

JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE-UNIVERSITAET FRANKFURT AM MAIN
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 2 875 000,00
Dirección
THEODOR W ADORNO PLATZ 1
60323 Frankfurt Am Main
Alemania

Ver en el mapa

Región
Nordrhein-Westfalen Arnsberg Siegen-Wittgenstein
Tipo de actividad
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 2 875 000,00

Beneficiarios (1)