Understanding how the brightest objects in the Universe shine.
Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University
Blazars are the most persistently bright objects in the observable Universe. They host the most massive black holes that power extreme relativistic jets. This makes them great objects to study a variety of phenomena related to astrophysics, general relativity, particle physics, plasma physics and more, providing unique opportunities to study regimes not accessible to laboratories on Earth. Despite countless efforts to understand these peculiar and intriguing objects, we still lack a consensus regarding their intrinsic properties. I will discuss our recent efforts to understand the origin of the γ-rays in the jets as well as what the future brings in understanding the high-energy emission processes in blazars with large scale surveys and NASA's first ever X-ray polarization mission, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).