Speaker
Takamitsu Tanaka
(MPA Garching)
Description
Supermassive black hole binaries are inevitable byproducts of hierarchical structure formation. I will discuss several variable electromagnetic emission signatures predicted for such binaries when they accrete as luminous active galactic nuclei, including a class of transients that may masquerade as tidal disruption events. The predicted variable signatures should be observed by forthcoming surveys such as LSST, with or without gravitational wave detections.
Observing such systems would offer unique insights on cosmic expansion, accretion physics, and how supermassive black holes co-evolve with their host galaxies.
Author
Takamitsu Tanaka
(MPA Garching)