Institute for Advanced Study / Princeton University Joint Astrophysics Colloquium

Relativistic Jets emanating from Black Holes (BH) of active galaxies are believed to be among the most extreme particle accelerators and very high energy (VHE) emitters in the universe. Only lately, combining theory, numerical simulations and observations, we have started to understand the potential physical processes that prevail in the surrounds of these BHs in order to explain major puzzles like the origin of the VHE gamma-ray flares and ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs). In those inner regions, magnetic fields are dynamically dominating and particle acceleration driven by magnetic reconnection is expected. In this talk, I will discuss particle acceleration by magnetic reconnection in turbulent flows and present recent results that combine three-dimensional global magnetohydrodynamic relativistic simulations with the injection of test particles, showing how particles can be stochastically accelerated in the relativistic jets and the accretion flows around BHs by magnetic reconnection up to ultra-high energies. Finally, I will show that these accelerated particles could explain the gamma-ray flares and associated neutrino emission observed in these sources.