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BL Lacertae objects represent a large fraction (22%) of γ-ray sources in the Third Fermi Large Area Telescope catalog (3FGL). Nearly half of the BL Lac object population remains without a redshift because of their featureless optical spectra. We aim to increase the number of BL Lac objects with a redshift measurement by using the photometric technique. For this work, we have used six Swift-UVOT filters and SDSS g′, r′, i′, and z′ optical filters mounted on the 0.65 m SARA–CTIO located in Chile and the 1.0 m SARA–ORM in the Canary Islands. A sample of 45 sources was selected from the 3FGL catalog for which photometry was performed in 10 optical and UV filters to obtain redshift measurements. We found three sources with z > 1.3, while reliable upper limits have been provided for 17 sources. The results presented here bring the total number of high-z (z > 1.3) BL Lac objects to 29. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have investigated magnetic field generation in velocity shears via the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) using a relativistic plasma jet core and stationary plasma sheath. Our three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations consider plasma jet cores with Lorentz factors of 1.5, 5, and 15 for both electron-proton and electron-positron plasmas. For electron-proton plasmas, we find generation of strong large-scale DC currents and magnetic fields that extend over the entire shear surface and reach thicknesses of a few tens of electron skin depths. For electron-positron plasmas, we find generation of alternating currents and magnetic fields. Jet and sheath plasmas are accelerated across the shear surface in the strong magnetic fields generated by the kKHI. The mixing of jet and sheath plasmas generates a transverse structure similar to that produced by the Weibel instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]