New Prospects in High Energy Astrophysics

Recent discoveries using TeV, X-ray and radio telescopes as well as Ultra High Energy Cosmic Ray arrays are leading to new insights into longstanding puzzles in high energy astrophysics. Many of these insights come from combining observations throughout the electromagnetic and other spectra as well as evidence assembled from different types of source to propose general principles. Issues discussed in this general overview include methods of accelerating relativistic particles, and amplifying magnetic field, the dynamics of relativistic outflows and the nature of the prime movers that power them. Observational approaches to distinguishing hadronic, leptonic and electromagnetic outflows and emission mechanisms are discussed along with probes of the velocity field and the confinement mechanisms. Observations with GLAST promise to be very prescriptive for addressing these problems.