Abstract

Some recent developments in the study of relativistic jets in active galactic nuclei and microquasars are reviewed. While it has been well established for some time that extragalactic jets found in radio galaxies, quasars, and BL Lac objects are the site of ultrarelativistic particle acceleration, the recent identification of the Galactic jet source and microquasar LS 5039 as a source of very-high-energy gamma-ray emission has underlined the striking similarity between the two types of astrophysical jet sources. In this paper, I will present an overview of the dominant radiation and particle acceleration processes and observational tests to distinguish between such processes. The wide-ranging analogies between Galactic and extragalactic jets, but also their distinct differences, in particular those caused by the presence of the companion star in Galactic microquasar systems, will be exposed.

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