HEP - ASTRO SEMINAR | Observations of Black Hole Accretion Flows

Accretion is a process of fundamental astrophysical importance, taking place on scales as small as the formation of planets to the feeding of supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies. Utilizing observations from the NASA/Swift mission, we have constructed a unique multi-wavelength dataset in an effort to constrain the behavior of the accretion disk and its relationship with the diverse spectral shapes observed from accreting stellar mass black holes. In this talk, I will discuss our modeling of these data and the new insights it provides on the nature of the accretion flow, with an emphasis on the role of the accretion disk. These results will be discussed in the context of their relationship to the accretion flow onto supermassive black holes residing in the center of galaxies.

HEP-Astro Seminars listings for Winter 2014.