Description:

Title: Tidal Disruption Events: Observational signatures of quiescent black holes

Speaker: Ashley Zauderer, Harvard

Host: Raffaella Margutti

Abstract: I will present a brief overview of theoretical predictions for observational signatures of the tidal disruption of stars by supermassive black holes. In 2011, the Swift satellite observed a source, J1644+57, which arguably is the most clear-cut case for a tidal disruption event. This event is unique because it deviates from the simple predictions: strong radio emission was observed starting at early times, providing evidence for a collimated, mildly-relativistic jet. I will outline the utility of radio observations to monitor the expansion and energy scale of the relativistic outflow and to probe the parsec-scale environment around a supermassive black hole that may have been previously dormant. I will conclude with a summary of interpretations for this event and open theoretical questions.

Keywords: Physics, Astronomy, Astrophysics