| The Final Parsec Problem |
| Tremaine/Phinney, IAS/Caltech |
| Event Type: Big Apple Colloquium |
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| Time: 2:30 PM - 4:45 PM |
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| Location: Columbia, 301 Pupin |
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| Abstract: Can two super-massive black holes in a galactic nucleus merge in a Hubble time? Mini-Symposium by Scott Tremaine (IAS) and Sterl Phinney (Caltech).
Grad student lunch with speakers 1-2 in Pupin Hall 14th floor library.
Big Apple Mini-Symposium: The Final Parsec Problem.
Part I: Theory (2:30 - 3:30 including questions).
Sterl Phinney (15 minutes): Galaxy merger rates and black hole demography.
Scott Tremaine (30 minutes): The physics of what happens in the final parsec.
-- SHORT BREAK --
Part II: Observations (3:45-4:45 including questions).
Scott Tremaine (15 minutes): Optical searches for binary black holes.
Sterl Phinney (30 minutes): Hunts for electromagnetic and gravitational wave signatures of binary supermassive black holes.
Followed by wine and cheese. |