| Massive black hole demographics with tidal disruption events |
| Andrew Mummery, Institute for Advanced Study |
| Event Type: Astro Seminar |
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| Time: 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM |
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| Location: 726 Broadway, 940, CCPP Seminar |
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| Abstract: Tidal disruption events — where an unfortunate star is destroyed by a previously quiescent supermassive black hole — offer a unique probe of the low mass end of the supermassive black hole population. Recent observational advances have lead to the discovery of ~100 such events, many of which are comprehensively followed up across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. I will discuss how time-dependent relativistic accretion theory can be used to understand this multi wavelength emission from optical through X-ray energies, and how this theory allows tidal disruption events to act as probes of the massive black hole population. I will present current constraints on the occupation fraction of intermediate mass black holes, and look forward to what can be expected in the LSST era. |