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SUMMARY:Getting close to the brightest black holes with NICER - Phil Uttle
 y (Amsterdam)
DTSTART:20190425T150000Z
DTEND:20190425T160000Z
UID:TALK123145@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:28811
DESCRIPTION:The brightest black hole systems we can study are outbursting 
 X-ray binaries\nin our galaxy.  At the peaks of their outbursts\, these sy
 stems show an array\nof phenomena that are linked to strong X-ray spectral
  evolution in the\ninnermost accretion flow\, such as mysterious X-ray qua
 si-periodic\noscillations\, which may be signatures of relativistic frame-
 dragging of\nmaterial close to the black hole.  X-ray observations are key
  to\nunderstanding these phenomena\, but for many years these studies have
  been\nlimited by the technical challenge of observing X-ray sources at hi
 gh count\nrates\, which can overwhelm detectors and significantly degrade 
 the time and\nspectral-resolution of our instruments.  The Neutron star In
 terior\nComposition ExploreR (NICER)\, installed on the International Spac
 e Station\nin 2017\, is a new type of X-ray observatory which is capable o
 f observing\nvery bright X-ray sources with high time resolution and good 
 spectral\nresolution\, to provide a remarkable new view of the brightest b
 lack holes.\nI will present some of the key results on black hole X-ray bi
 naries obtained\nby NICER so far and show how they can transform our view 
 of the structure\nand evolution of accretion flows close to black holes.\n
LOCATION:Sackler Lecture Theatre\, IoA (tea at 3:30 pm)
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