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SEQUENCE:1
UID:UW-Physics-Event-9482
DTSTART:20251030T203000Z
DTEND:20251030T213000Z
DTSTAMP:20260413T083855Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251027T192634Z
LOCATION:4421 Sterling Hall
SUMMARY:Black Hole Mergers in AGN Disks: Dynamics\, Electromagnetic Co
 unterparts\, and Multimessenger Signatures\, Astronomy Colloquium\, Dr
 . Yihan Wang\, UW-Madison
DESCRIPTION:The coalescence of stellar-mass black holes embedded in ac
 tive galactic nucleus (AGN) disks offers a unique channel for compact 
 binary formation and a promising site for multimessenger astrophysics.
  Gas torques\, migration traps\, and disk-driven accretion can dramati
 cally alter binary evolution\, potentially enhancing merger rates rela
 tive to the field population. In this talk\, I will discuss recent pro
 gress on the dynamical and hydrodynamical processes that govern black 
 hole pairing and coalescence in AGN disks\, emphasizing how disk envir
 onments shape mass ratios\, spin alignments\, and merger timescales. I
  will also explore potential electromagnetic (EM) counterparts arising
  from gas interactions before\, during\, and after merger\, ranging fr
 om prompt flares to long lived afterglows. By connecting theoretical m
 odels with gravitational wave observations from LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA a
 nd forthcoming detections by LISA\, I will highlight how AGN-assisted 
 mergers could serve as key laboratories for studying black hole growth
 \, accretion physics\, and galaxy evolution.
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=9482
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