Tuning in to Black Hole Burps
The popular conception is that an encounter with a black hole is a one-way trip. But black holes can have complex interactions with their surroundings, sometimes with surprising results. Matter can flow in unexpected ways and there are many mysteries left to solve. A week from Monday, on March 17th, Professor Yvette Cendes will visit us from the University of Oregon and share some of her explorations of these amazing phenomena. She spoke to us once before via Zoom from other side of the country and it's nice to welcome her back as a newly-minted Oregonian. Her description of her presentation is below.
A Tidal Disruption Event (TDE) occurs when a star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole, and is torn apart by tidal forces. Radio observations of these cosmic feasts tell us about the physical environment surrounding these black holes when the TDE occurs, and the presence of any outflows of material when the star is shredded. In this talk, I will cover my recent discovery that up to 40% of all TDEs have an outflow years after the initial event- that is, a black hole "burp" after its stellar meal, which is an unanticipated new phenomenon that we can use to study black holes. I will also discuss details on how the physics around black holes work, and what it is like to study them in radio wavelengths, from the closest black holes to Earth to those in distant galaxies. I will also discuss my efforts to expand astronomy research in Oregon, and current status on our development at UO of the first dedicated astronomy program.
About Professor Yvette Cendes
Yvette Cendes is an assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Oregon, specializing in transient radio astronomy- signals that vary over time, ranging from exoplanets to black holes that shred stars. Prof Cendes was recently recognized as one of the Top 25 Rising Stars in Astronomy, and has written for publications such as Astronomy, Discover, and Scientific American, and is active on Reddit as /u/Andromeda321 where her “astronomer here!” comments are read by millions around the world.