Events on Friday, September 25th, 2026
- Physics Department Colloquium
- New Horizons in Black Hole Imaging
- Time: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- Place: Chamberlin 2241
- Speaker: Charles Gammie, University of Illinois
- Abstract: Abstract: The Event Horizon Telescope has produced the first horizon-scale images of black holes at millimeter wavelengths. These images probe how black holes interact with their surroundings, how plasmas behave under extreme conditions, and how spacetime shapes the appearance of matter near an event horizon. I will review existing images, summarize what we have learned from them, and discuss the main theoretical challenges in interpreting them. I will then look ahead to black hole movies that trace the dynamics of the emitting near-horizon plasma, multi-frequency imaging, and the higher angular resolution that could be accessed with a space-based antenna.
- Host: Vladimir Zhdankin