An Investigation of Mysterious Oscillations in Black Hole Accretion Disks
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- We give an overview of the physics and observational signatures of accretion disks surrounding black holes. By observing the hot, accreting matter falling into the black hole, astronomers have discovered broad peaks in the X-ray power spectral densities of these objects known as quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs). We detail this phenomenon and discuss various theoretical models proposed to explain it. We also present results on the role of the magnetic fields on normal mode trapping in the disk. Finally, while most QPOs have been observed in stellar mass black hole binaries ($M\sim 1-100 \,M_{\odot}$), we will also elaborate on the observational signatures of super-massive ($M\sim 10^6 - 10^{10} M_{\odot}$) black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGN) and the possibility of using optical power spectra to hunt for QPOs.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | May 2015 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Levine, Adam |
|---|---|
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University, Department of Physics |
| Primary advisor | Wagoner, Robert |
| Advisor | Blandford, Roger |
Subjects
| Subject | black holes - accretion disks |
|---|---|
| Subject | accretion - active galactic nuclei |
| Subject | AGN - quasi-periodic oscillations |
| Subject | QPO - X-rays: binaries |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Levine, Adam. (2015). An Investigation of Mysterious Oscillations in Black Hole Accretion Disks. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/dx144pd2083
Collection
Undergraduate Theses, Department of Physics
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- Contact
- arlevine@stanford.edu
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