Roger Blandford

I am a professor in the physics department at Stanford University and the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. My past and current research interests include many of the topics that are encompassed by SCEECS and range from the purely theoretical to large observational collaborations. I have also participated in relevant experimental investigations. 

For neutron stars, I have collaborated on papers on antenna and maser emission mechanisms, pulsar timing, magnetic field growth and evolution within the star and the properties and fates of their electromagnetic winds. Currently, I am most interested in the proposed association of magnetars with Fast Radio Bursts, and trying to account for their radio emission in the language of continuum classical electrodynamics, much like an oceanographer describes a tsunami.

For black holes, my collaborators and I have considered their role as electromagnetic power sources - directly employing their spins, and indirectly through their surrounding magnetospheres and orbiting disks. I have also worked on models for the formation, collimation and dissipation of relativistic jets and for powerful MHD disk outflows, in the context of galactic nuclei and Gamma Ray Bursts. My current research, much of it joint with team members, is centered on confronting relativistic electromagnetic models with observations, the possible acceleration of the highest energy electrons and nuclei by relativistic jets and the electromagnetic features of black hole binaries. 

I am honored to direct SCEECS and enjoying learning new perspectives and techniques from my colleagues.

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Five recent relevant references

Globus, N. & Blandford, R. 2023, “Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray Source Models: Successes, Challenges and General Predictions” Proc UHECR 2022 283

Blandford, R. & Globus, N. 2022 "Jets, Disks and Winds from Spinning Black Holes: Nature or Nurture?” Galaxies 10 89

Blandford, R. & Globus, N. 2022 “Ergomagnetosphere, ejection disk, magnetopause in M87 - 1, Global flow of mass, angular momentum, energy and current.” MNRAS 514 5141

Yuan, Y. Spitkovsky, A., Blandford, R, & Wilkins, D. 2019 "Black hole magnetosphere with small-scale flux tubes - II. Stability and dynamics” MNRAS 487 4114

Blandford, R., Meier, D. & Readhead, A. 2019 “Relativistic Jets from Active Glactic Nuclei” ARAA 57 467

Contact

rdb3 at stanford.edu