PGI Virtual Seminar Series | Chris White, PU "Misaligned Accretion Flows and Their Impact on Black Hole Observations"

Date
Mar 22, 2021, 12:30 pm12:30 pm
Location
via Zoom

Details

Event Description

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. The combination of such misalignment with differential torques from the black hole results in rich dynamics that have not been fully explored in the literature, though they may well impact interpretations of existing and future data. I will discuss the consequences of having a tilted accretion disk, including how it affects the global properties of the accretion flow, how it can alter EHT and GRAVITY images, and how it can manifest in time variability.