"Astrophysical Jets as a Plasma Laboratory"

ABSTRACT: 

Powerful jets from supermassive black holes have fascinated astronomers and physicists for more than half a century. As more observations become available, it is generally recognized that plasma physics holds the key to understanding the formation and propagation of jets as awell as the dissipation processes within jets (sometimes with extreme parameters). We will describe the key observations that help us to determine the physical parameters and what we believe the key processes are. Progress has benefited from extensive knowledge in fusion research and collaboration with plasma physicists. Furthermore, dedicated laboratory plasma experiments to study jets have begun to offer new insights into various aspects of jet research.