Shedding light on the assembly of binary black hole mergers

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• Ariadna Murguia Berthier (UC Santa Cruz)
• Wednesday 14 March 2018, 14:30-15:30
• Physics West 117.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Sean McGee.

LIGO discovered gravitational waves from a binary black hole merger, marking the beginning of a new era in astrophysics. This revolutionary discovery challenged our understanding of compact objects, especially the formation of these massive binaries. In my talk I will describe how a common envelope phase aids in understanding the assembly of this merger. A common envelope phase occurs when, in a binary, one of the stars evolves and engulfs its companion (in this case a black hole). I will talk about how the flow around the embedded companion affects the inspiral and the fate of the binary. I will discuss the necessary conditions for disk assembly around the companion, and the possible implications for the LIGO binary black hole.

This talk is part of the Astrophysics Talks Series series.

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• Astrophysics Talks Series
• Bham Talks
• Physics West 117
• What's on in Physics?

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