Toward the event horizon with Astro-H

与 Astro-H 一起走向事件视界

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-03639
• 负责人: Gallo, Luigi
• 金额: $ 3.86万
• 依托单位: Saint Mary's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=612473
• 关键词: Toward; event; horizon; Astro

A supermassive black hole that is millions or even billions of times more massive than the Sun resides at the centres of most galaxies. Some of these monsters are so active that they can make the surrounding material shine brighter than all the stars in its host galaxy. The material closest to the black hole, just as it is about to plunge beyond the event horizon, is subjected to the most violent conditions in the Universe. The extreme gravity of the black hole can tear stars apart and fling matter around at velocities close to the speed of light before it is finally ingested. Sometimes this material can be thrown out so violently that it is completely ejected from the black hole region and hurled back into the galactic neighbourhood where it may have a resounding effect on the conditions in the host galaxy. The matter closest to the black hole is heated to millions of degrees or even hotter, and it radiates at X-ray energies. X-ray observations of these active galactic nuclei (AGN) may be the only way to study the exotic physics at work in the black hole environment. What does the environment look like? Is the black hole growing? Is it spinning? What is the material that is falling into the black hole made of? How does gravity distort this material? What effects does the black hole have on its host galaxy that is made up of normal stars and planets? These are only a few of the questions that my team will be tackling over the course of this work. Canada has invested $8M to develop technology, the Canadian Astro-H Metrology System (CAMS), for the next generation international X-ray mission called Astro-H. The space mission will launch in Winter 2015 and will carry with it the most innovative instruments for studying AGN. Astro-H will have the most superior energy resolution available in X-rays providing the means to determine the composition of the material around black holes, and the direction and velocity at which it is moving. Astro-H will have the potential to simultaneously collect the lowest- and the highest-energy X-rays. This capability will be utilised to determine the geometry in the black hole environment and even establish if the black hole is spinning. For Canada’s technical contribution, our students will have proprietary access to new black hole data from Astro-H. Our Canadian students will be the ones answering the fundamental questions posed by this research programme. We are building capacity and knowledge in a new area of research for Canada – one that requires technology development to confront Nature’s most exotic creatures.

大多数星系的中心都有一个比太阳大数百万甚至数十亿倍的超大质量黑洞，其中一些黑洞非常活跃，可以使周围的物质发出比其宿主星系中所有恒星更亮的光芒。最接近黑洞的物质，就在它即将冲出事件视界时，受到了宇宙中最剧烈的条件的影响，黑洞的极端引力可以撕裂恒星，并以接近的速度将物质抛向四周。的速度有时，这种物质会被猛烈地抛出，以至于完全从黑洞区域被抛回银河系附近，在那里它可能会对宿主星系的状况产生巨大的影响。最靠近黑洞的物体被加热到数百万度甚至更高，并以 X 射线能量辐射。 对这些活动星系核 (AGN) 的 X 射线观测可能是研究黑洞环境中的奇异物理现象的唯一方法。黑洞在旋转吗？落入黑洞的物质是如何形成的？引力如何扭曲这种物质？黑洞对由正常恒星和行星组成的宿主星系有什么影响？这些只是我的团队提出的一些问题。将在这项工作过程中进行谈判。 加拿大已投资 800 万美元开发技术，即加拿大 Astro-H 计量系统 (CAMS)，用于名为 Astro-H 的下一代国际 X 射线任务。该太空任务将于 2015 年冬季发射，并将带来最具创新性的技术。研究活动星系核的仪器将拥有 X 射线中最出色的能量分辨率，从而提供确定黑洞周围物质的成分及其移动方向和速度的方法。同时收集最低的潜力最高能量的 X 射线将用于确定黑洞环境中的几何形状，甚至确定黑洞是否在旋转。 对于加拿大的技术贡献，我们的学生将获得 Astro-H 的新黑洞数据的专有访问权，我们的加拿大学生将回答该研究计划提出的基本问题，我们正在建立新领域的能力和知识。​加拿大的研究——一项需要技术发展来对抗大自然中最奇异的生物的研究。