Events Archive

A priori it would be surprising if all low-luminosity supermassive black holes, such as those in the centers of M87 and our own galaxy, had accretion disks aligned with their spin.

Abstract: In this talk, I will provide an overview of theoretical models of black hole accretion aimed primarily at non-specialists. I will focus in particular on efforts to understand the dynamics of, and radiation from, plasma in the near-horizon environment, both analytically and using numerical simulations.

Abstract: 

 The observation of gravitational and electromagnetic waves from a binary neutron star (BNS) merger in August 2017 conveyed unique information on the nature of matter at supranuclear densities, on the origin of short-gamma ray burst, on the production site of of heavy elements in the Universe, and on cosmography.

Abstract: A holographic description of physics in Minkowski space is still elusive. A tempting approach is to implement a flat limit from AdS/CFT. Such a limit has not properly been understood, even at the level of the symmetries of the theory; How do BMS symmetries emerge from the flat limit of the asymptotic symmetries of anti-de Sitter space...

Abstract: I will describe a few classes of solutions to the Einstein equations whose metrics are singular or highly oscillatory, and discuss the relation between them. The singular solutions include as special examples impulsive gravitational waves and null dust shell solutions.

Abstract:

We propose a new test of strong-field general relativity (GR) based on the universal interferometric signature of the black hole photon ring. The photon ring is a narrow ring-shaped feature, predicted by GR but not yet observed, that appears on images of sources near a black hole.