Princeton University Thunch Talk - Start Time 1 pm!

Magnetic reconnection has been invoked to explained high energy non-thermal radiation from a myriad of astrophysical objects varying from blazar jets and black hole accretion disks, to pulsar magnetospheres and solar flares. Although the fundamentals of this process have been intensively studied over the past two decades using various computational techniques, there are still many open questions regarding the particle acceleration mechanisms. In this talk I will briefly cover what we already know about the properties of the relativistic magnetic reconnection. Followed by that I will present our recent results in studying the previously undiscussed long-term (secondary) acceleration process and the formation of the power-law distribution function. This novel particle energization channel can be important in certain astrophysical systems, such as blazar jets, where a broken power-law distribution of leptons is required to explain the observed radiation.