Roger Blandford

Stanford University, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

Research field

Theoretical astrophysics, black holes and relativistic jets

Roger Blandford's theoretical work explains how black holes power jets. With Roman Znajek he showed in 1977 that magnetic fields can extract the rotational energy of a spinning black hole, and his 2019 review with David Meier and Anthony Readhead presents the evidence that jets form when the black hole spins and its accretion disk is strongly magnetized. The unit uses this picture to explain the jets of radio galaxies and quasars.

In the masterclass

Section 5.1 on jets and apparent superluminal motion ends with his account of how jets are launched.

The research is presented in Unit 12: Active Galaxies and Supermassive Black Holes, in a research spotlight box that explains the result at the level of the unit and links it to the physics you have just learned.

The paper

Relativistic Jets from Active Galactic Nuclei