Speaker
Description
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) power relativistic outflows that remain collimated over kiloparsec scales. These outflows, known as jets, accelerate cosmic rays (CRs) to high energies, exceeding the PeV regime, and potentially contribute significantly to the observed CR spectrum on Earth. As CRs interact with their surrounding medium, they produce multiwavelength (MW) emission spanning over ten orders of magnitude in photon energy, from radio waves to TeV gamma rays. Leptonic CRs contribute to the entire MW flux through synchrotron radiation and inverse Compton scattering. Hadronic CRs, through inelastic collisions with the ambient gas and photon fields, initiate particle cascades that lead to gamma rays and neutrinos. Markarian 421 (Mkn 421), one of the most well-studied AGN in the non-thermal Universe, launches a jet along the line of sight, making it one of the brightest gamma-ray objects in the sky. In this work, we present a new multizone jet model that can explain both the steady-state MW spectrum and the flaring states of Mkn 421. Using Monte Carlo statistical analysis, we compare the jet dynamics of a MW spectrum of leptonic nature to one of hadronic nature. Finally, we discuss the radiative signature emerging from the interaction between the jets and a dark matter halo surrounding the emitting jet regions.
