NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2013A-0130
|
NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2013A-0130 |
|
PI: Suvi Gezari, University of Maryland, suvi@astro.umd.edu
Address: Astronomy Department, Stadium Dr., CSS Building, Rm. 1204, College Park, MD 20742-2421, USA
CoI: Martin Elvis, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
CoI: Andrew Lawrence, Royal Observatory of Edinburgh
CoI: Martin Ward, Durham University
Title: Transient Spectroscopic Signatures of Tidal Disruption Events
Abstract:
Theorists first surmised that massive black holes (MBHs) will
inevitably tidally disrupt and consume stars in their vicinity, and that
the resulting flare of radiation could be used as a signpost for a
dormant MBH lurking otherwise undetectable in the center of a galaxy.
In the last decade, major progress has been made in the discovery of
candidates using surveys across the electromagnetic spectrum, from the X-
rays to the optical. This Gemini-N TOO program builds upon the two
recent paradigm shifts in the observational hunt for tidal disruption
events (TDEs): the successful detection of the low-energy tail of hot
emission from TDEs with optical surveys, and 2) the first detection of
transient broad emission lines from the photoionized tidal debris in a
TDE. We propose for TOO spectroscopy with GMOS-N of TDE candidates from
the Pan-STARRS1 Medium Deep Survey in order to catch their transient
emission-line signatures.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360
|
NOAO > Observing Info > Approved Programs > 2013A-0130 |
|