NASA Insignia
MeV Astronomy: Unlocking the Multi-Messenger Universe

AGNs and their jets through a sensitive MeV eye

Ms. Lea Marcotulli

Clemson University

Active center of galaxies (AGN) are powered by supermassive black holes accreting matter from their surroundings. About 10% of them is also found to launch extreme jets. These AGNs and their jets have been studied for decades, from radio up to gamma-rays. However, many open questions still remain about the processes powering these powerful monsters and a missing piece of the puzzle lies in the MeV band. When, in the history of time, were the most luminous jets and their black holes more numerous? Are the radiating particles leptons or hadrons? Where along the jet does most of the emission come from? And how much do these outflows influence the host galaxy and the surrounding environment? A sensitive, all-sky MeV instrument will be the key to answer many of these questions. Like Fermi has been to EGRET, AMEGO will be to COMPTEL. It will enable us to discover >1000 closely aligned jetted AGN (i.e. blazars) and to trace the evolution of these jets and their black holes through cosmic time. Thanks to its polarization capabilities, AMEGO will also allow us to unveil the physics behind these particle accelerators. Moreover, other AGN types whose emission peaks in the MeV range will be unveiled in great numbers for the first time by AMEGO. In this talk, I will review some of the AGN science questions that AMEGO will be able to address for these powerful cosmic accelerators.