Astronomy & Astrophysics Seminar: A Brief Stroll Through Tidal Disruption Events

Zoom: https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/87185167411?pwd=FpTUyIgXaOturzOFSetA6pPVYQilen.1

Abstract:

When stars pass very close to a supermassive black hole, they can be torn apart by the black hole's tidal gravity.  The result is a bright flare lasting a few months or more, usually most easily observable in the optical or UV, but sometimes in X-rays or the radio band.  The basic theory of these events was sketched out in the 1980s, roughly 20 years before the first events were observed.   There are now ~100 cases that are almost certainly events of this sort, and the Rubin Observatory is likely to see thousands more.  In this talk, I will review the original theory, compare its predictions to observations, and present new ideas about how these events actually work, many of these ideas overturning widely-held previous expectations.

Seminar Organizer: Dr. Jonathan Stern