Project Description: Tidal disruption events (TDEs), in which a star is disrupted by a tidal encounter with a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy, preferentially occur in galaxies that have experienced recent mergers with other galaxies. It is not clear why. Inferring the properties of the central black hole---mass, spin---from the evolving X-ray spectra is now possible. This project aims to compare the inferred black hole properties with the large-scale and nuclear characteristics of the TDE host galaxies to reveal what about the black hole and the black hole's galactic environment might drive up the probability of a tidal disruption event.
Work Description: The intern will finish applying a new galaxy image fitting tool to detect single or double nuclei in tidal disruption event (TDE) host galaxies, comparing the nuclear properties to the mass and spin of the black hole or evidence for a black hole binary, as determined by our previous fits the TDE X-ray spectra. The intern will learn what characterizes the best fit as well as a good fit to the photometric data. The intern will also conduct a controlled experiment comparing the nuclear characteristics of known TDE hosts with galaxies with similar star formation histories that are not known to have hosted a TDE.
Open or Reserved Project: 1 position reserved, but will consider new student if requested student not awarded.