Lorentz factor distribution of blazars from the optical Fundamental plane of black hole activity

Understand

Blazar radiation is dominated by a relativistic jet which can be modeled at first approximation using just two intrinsic parameters - the Lorentz factor $\Gamma$ and the viewing angle $\theta$.

• Blazar jet observations are often beamed due to relativistic effects, complicating the understanding of these intrinsic properties.
• The most common way to estimate blazar Lorentz factors needs the estimation of apparent jet speeds and Doppler beaming factors.
• We present a new and independent method of constructing the blazar Lorentz factor distribution, using the optical fundamental plane of black hole activity.