Jeudi 11 octobre 2007 11h00 Astrophysical jets launched from an accretion disc seem to occur in nearly all types of accreting objects: from young stellar objects to active galaxies. I will present a unified model for the coupled accretion disc/jet system applicable to accreting systems of all mass, power and size. The validity of the unified model will be tested with empirical connections between X-ray binaries (XRBs) and active galactic nuclei (AGN). Besides these relativistic jet sources I will extend the model to cataclysmic variables, i.e. accreting white dwarfs. New evidence will be presented that these sources do show jets – unlike previous claims – and the jets behave similar to those seen in XRBs. I will conclude by applying the developed model to the problem of AGN feedback on their surrounding galaxies and clusters.
(University of Southampton, UK)