NBIA Colloquium: Sera Markoff

Prof. Sera Markoff

Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Institute of Astronomy & KICC, University of Cambridge, UK
Professor of Theoretical High-Energy Astrophysics, Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy/GRAPPA, University of Amsterdam, NL

Title: Observing the unobservable:  a multi-messenger view of black holes in the Event Horizon Telescope era

Abstract: The last decade has witnessed some spectacular developments in astrophysics and astroparticle physics, including the detection of very high-energy gamma-rays and neutrinos from supermassive black holes, and the direct imaging of supermassive black holes with the global very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) project the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).  How do these very different types of studies connect to broader questions regarding the workings of accreting plasma common to a wide variety of astrophysical phenomena, and how can they enhance each other? After a brief review of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project and the current state-of-the-art, I will describe how the so far mostly single-frequency imaging projects are starting to expand in several directions:  particularly in frequency, size and timescale, but also in particles. I will discuss how combining these different 'axes', including with theoretical modelling, is helping us approach some of the hairiest problems relating to black holes and compact objects in general.  I will end with some perspective on what is (literally) on the horizon in the coming decade, as we move into an era of dynamical imaging and EHT-expansion projects, as well as next-generation facilities like the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory.