Invited talk of Dr. Wen Sixiang (Radboud University) on Feb. 10
We are delighted to invite Dr. Wen Sixiang (Radboud University) to give us a talk on Measuring Black Hole Mass and Spin with X-ray spectra of Tidal Disruption Events on Friday afternoon (Feb. 10), starting at 3:00 p.m. The talk will be given online via Tencent meeting.
Title: Measuring Black Hole Mass and Spin with X-ray spectra of Tidal Disruption Events
Speaker: Wen Sixiang (Radboud University)
Abstract: Measuring black hole mass and spin is a critical test of how supermassive black holes form, evolve, and affect the star formation histories of their host galaxies. Yet mass constraints have only been placed on black holes in certain types of galaxies, and spin measurements have proven even more challenging. We have developed a different approach using the X-ray spectral evolution of a star that has been tidally-disrupted by an otherwise dormant massive black hole. By modeling the accretion disk that forms in the encounter with a General Relativistic slim disk model adapted for this purpose, we successfully fit the evolving X-ray (UV) emission and constrain both the black hole mass and spin. In this talk, I'll first review the importance of measuring BH mass and spin. Second, I'll talk about our model and why it is new and effective. Third, I'll describe the application of our model to some TDEs and the results. Finally, I'll talk about the constraining power of thermal X-ray spectra on black hole mass and spin.
CV: Dr. Wen Sixiang completed his PhD from Sun Yat-sen University in 2018. In the last year of his PhD study, he joined Professor Ann Zabludoff's team and started conducting his research in the University of Arizona as a visiting student. In 2019, he continued working as a member of Ann's team and finished his first Postdoc there in 2021. Now he is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Radboud University with his primary research interest in contributing to the modeling accretion of tidal disruption event.
