Many luminous blazars which are associated with quasar-type active galactic nuclei display broadband spectra characterized by a large luminosity ratio of their high-energy (γ -ray) and low-energy (synchrotron) spectral components. This large ratio, reaching values up to 100, challenges the standard synchrotron self-Compton models by means of substantial departures from the minimum power condition. Luminous blazars also typically have very hard X-ray spectra, and those in turn seem to challenge hadronic scenarios for the high-energy blazar emission. As shown in this paper, no such problems are faced by the models which involve Comptonization of radiation provided by a broad-line region, or dusty molecular torus. The lack or weakness of bulk-Compton and KleinNishina features indicated by the presently available data favors the production of γ -rays via upscattering of infrared photons from hot dust. This implies that the blazar emission zone is located at parsec-scale distances from the nucleus, and as such is possibly associated with the extended, quasi-stationary reconfinement shocks formed in relativistic outflows. This scenario predicts characteristic timescales for flux changes in luminous blazars to be days/weeks, consistent with the variability patterns observed in such systems at infrared, optical, and γ -ray frequencies. We also propose that the parsec-scale blazar activity can be occasionally accompanied by dissipative events taking place at sub-parsec distances and powered by internal shocks and/or reconnection of magnetic fields. These could account for the multiwavelength intraday flares occasionally observed in powerful blazar sources.

Using two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, we characterize the energy spectra of particles accelerated by relativistic magnetic reconnection (without guide field) in collisionless electron-positron plasmas, for a wide range of upstream magnetizations σ and system sizes L. The particle spectra are well-represented by a power law γ −α , with a combination of exponential and super-exponential high-energy cutoffs, proportional to σ and L, respectively. For large L and σ, the power-law index α approaches about 1.2.

Magnetic reconnection in relativistic collisionless plasmas can accelerate particles and power high-energy emission in various astrophysical systems. Whereas most previous studies focused on relativistic reconnection in pair plasmas, less attention has been paid to electron-ion plasma reconnection, expected in black hole accretion flows and relativistic jets. We report a comprehensive particle-in-cell numerical investigation of reconnection in an electron-ion plasma, spanning a wide range of ambient ion magnetizations σ i , from the semirelativistic regime (ultrarelativistic electrons but nonrelativistic ions, 10 −3 σ i 1) to the fully relativistic regime (both species are ultrarelativistic, σ i 1). We investigate how the reconnection rate, electron and ion plasma flows, electric and magnetic field structures, electron/ion energy partitioning, and nonthermal particle acceleration depend on σ i . Our key findings are: (1) the reconnection rate is about 0.1 of the Alfvénic rate across all regimes; (2) electrons can form concentrated moderately relativistic outflows even in the semirelativistic, small-σ i regime; (3) while the released magnetic energy is partitioned equally between electrons and ions in the ultrarelativistic limit, the electron energy fraction declines gradually with decreased σ i and asymptotes to about 0.25 in the semirelativistic regime; (4) reconnection leads to efficient nonthermal electron acceleration with a σ i -dependent power-law index, p(σ i ) const + 0.7σ −1/2 i . These findings are important for understanding black hole systems and lend support to semirelativistic reconnection models for powering nonthermal emission in blazar jets, offering a natural explanation for the spectral indices observed in these systems.

We present time-resolved broad-band observations of the quasar 3C 279 obtained from multiwavelength campaigns conducted during the first two years of the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope mission. While investigating the previously reported γ-ray/optical flare accompanied by a change in optical polarization, we found that the optical emission appears delayed with respect to the γ-ray emission by about 10 days. X-ray observations reveal a pair of 'isolated' flares separated by ∼ 90 days, with only weak γ-ray/optical counterparts. The spectral structure measured by Spitzer reveals a synchrotron component peaking in the mid-infrared band with a sharp break at the far-infrared band during the γ-ray flare, while the peak appears in the mm/sub-mm band in the low state. Selected spectral energy distributions are fitted with leptonic models including Comptonization of external radiation produced in a dusty torus or the broad-line region. Adopting the interpretation of the polarization swing involving propagation of the emitting region along a curved trajectory, we can explain the evolution of the broad-band spectra during the γ-ray flaring event by a shift of its location from ∼ 1 pc to ∼ 4 pc from the central black hole. On the other hand, if the γ-ray flare is generated instead at sub-pc distance from the central black hole, the far-infrared break can be explained by synchrotron self-absorption. We also model the low spectral state, dominated by the mm/sub-mm peaking synchrotron component, and suggest that the corresponding inverse-Compton component explains the steady X-ray emission.