Multi-zone blazar modelling

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Blazars are the most luminous continuous sources in the universe, the most variable of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Their extreme physics, connection to galaxy evolution, their contribution to multi-messenger astronomy in the form of cosmic rays and neutrinos ensure their prominence among high-energy astrophysical sources. The study of blazars is maturing, and the community is set to fully move beyond simplified one-zone modelling of blazar emission in the coming years, made possible in part by increasing computational power and improvement in numerical techniques.Over the course of three years, the PhD student will take advanced one-zone leptonic and hadronic models of the interplay between different particle species that jointly shape the blazar emission spectrum and extend them first analytically to a spatially extended model, then include the effect of irregularity in the flow in the form of shell collisions and eventually full dynamical simulation using a Lagrangian approach in one and two dimensions. Special attention will be paid to implications for the multi-messenger signature and polarization. The project lays the foundations for a long-term collaboration between the high-energy AGN/transients groups at the universities of Bath and Valencia.