Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

<p>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.<br /> <br /> X-ray observations of these <em>active galactic nuclei</em> (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.<br /> <br /> Canada has invested $8M to develop technology, the <em>Canadian Astro-H Metrology System</em> (CAMS), for the next generation international X-ray mission called <em>Astro-H</em>. The space mission will launch in Winter 2015 and will carry with it the most innovative instruments for studying AGN. <em>Astro-H</em> 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. <em>Astro-H</em> will have the potential to <em>simultaneously</em> 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.<br /> <br /> For Canada's technical contribution, our students will have proprietary access to new black hole data from <em>Astro-H</em>. 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.</p>