Temporal dynamics of blazar 1ES 1959+650 and galaxy cluster interactions of Abell 115
Abstract
The X-ray and g-ray regions of the electromagnetic spectrum are a window into the most energetic processes in the Universe. In this thesis I have studied two extragalactic systems. First, I studied the blazar 1ES 1959+650 with the Whipple 10-m Cherenkov telescope and the RXTE X-ray satellite. The jets and accretion disks in blazars are a rich source of high energy photons, and can shine in the TeV band at several times the intensity of the Crab nebula. Second I have examined the galaxy cluster merger of Abell 115 with the Chandra X-ray telescope. Cluster mergers convert energy on the order of 10 64 ergs of gravitational energy into random kinetic energy of the hot intracluster medium. The observations constrain the non-thermal plasma in the blazar jet and the thermal plasma in the cluster merger.
- Publication:
-
Ph.D. Thesis
- Pub Date:
- November 2005
- Bibcode:
- 2005PhDT.........7G
- Keywords:
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- Blazar;
- Abell 115;
- Galaxy clusters;
- Astronomy, Astrophysics