Unveiling the Mysteries of Blazar Emissions: Scientists Put Controversial Theory to the Test

Researchers at Penn State have characterized over a hundred previously unclassified blazars, which are dynamic galaxies hosting supermassive black holes that emit powerful jets. By studying these dim blazars, the scientists were able to test the controversial "blazar sequence" theory, which predicts that brighter blazars have lower-energy peaks compared to dimmer blazars. The findings contribute to our understanding of black hole expansion, general relativity, and high-energy particle physics. The study was published in the Astrophysical Journal and funded by NASA.