Supermassive & Stellar Mass Black Holes, White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars, Pulsars, Tidal Disruption Events
Image Credit: Aaron Geller/CIERA
Supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies, and dead stars in the form of black holes, neutron stars, or white dwarfs, are the densest objects in the Universe. They are central players in much of modern astrophysics, but we have only been aware of and studying these objects for less than a century. Our observational record is less than five decades long. As such, there are still many unanswered questions about how these systems form and evolve over cosmic time. CIERA is home to a broad group of researchers in theory, simulation, and observation that study these exotic objects.
Research at CIERA
Over the past several decades, astronomers have begun to take a census of the largest black holes in the Universe and discovered that they are strongly associated with galaxies, and connected to some of the most energetic phenomena known, such as quasars and other active galactic nuclei (AGN).
Professor Larson’s group studies how gravitational wave observations of massive black hole binaries with LISA will elucidate not only the properties of the black holes, but also how they are first seeded and grow in the Universe. They use a variety of approaches, simulating LISA detections and analysis, as well as using modern cosmological simulations, like Illustris, to understand the black hole census of the Universe.
Professor Tchekhovskoy’s group numerically simulates the magneto-hydrodynamics of accretion and jets around massive black holes to model their observational properties and the physical mechanics that connect large structures like jets to the central massive black hole engine that drives them.
Professor Faucher-Giguere’s group studies the connection between massive black holes and galaxy evolution, using both numerical simulation and theoretical analysis to understand how physical processes like star formation, outflows, and feedback from the intergalactic medium influence the co-evolution of the galaxy and black hole together.
News
Gallery
Black Hole Accretion Disk
Black Hole Accretion Disk
The massive black hole in M33 X-7 is hidden in the X-ray bright center of the pancake-like accretion disk of matter. The black-hole’s hot (blue) and massive star companion is losing mass in a wind that gets pulled and captured by the black hole. Learn more.
NU Viz and CIERA: Matthew McCrory, Francesca Valsecchi, and Vicky Kalogera
Kilonova Explosions and Magnetars
Kilonova Explosions and Magnetars
Professor Wen-fai Fong is interviewed for The Cosmic Companion and talks about her work studying kilonova explosions and collisions of neutron stars.
- Science
GRB 200522A
GRB 200522A
This image shows the glow from a kilonova caused by the merger of two neutron stars. The kilonova, whose peak brightness reaches up to 10,000 times that of a classical nova, appears as a bright spot (indicated by the arrow) to the upper left of the host galaxy. The merger of the neutron stars is
- Science
Binary Neutron Star Mergers with Gabriel Casabona
Binary Neutron Star Mergers with Gabriel Casabona
Gabriel Casabona, a theoretical astrophysicist who specializes in binary neutron star mergers, gives an interview with Suzette Lyn.
Suzette Lyn
GRB181123B
GRB181123B
The afterglow of GRB181123B, captured by the Gemini North telescope. Learn more: Short gamma ray burst leaves most-distant optical afterglow ever detected
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/K. Paterson & W. Fong (Northwestern University).
Black Hole Accretion Disc
Black Hole Accretion Disc
A detailed simulation of a black hole’s accretion disc created by a global team of computational astrophysicists – including CIERA’s Prof. Sasha Tchekhovskoy – solved a decades-old mystery. The accretion disc is matter that orbits and then falls into a black hole. Researchers discovered how the disc aligns with the hole’s equator, details vital to
People
Core Faculty
Vicky Kalogera
Daniel I. Linzer Distinguished University Professor, Director of CIERA
Shane Larson
Research Professor, Associate Director of CIERA
Associate and Affiliate Faculty
Postdocs
Graduate Students
