Postdoctoral Fellowship: MPS-Ascend: Unveiling Recoiling Black Holes with Stellar Dynamics and Tidal Disruption Events

Jane Bright is awarded an NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to carry out a program of research and education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The merger of binary black holes produces gravitational waves that carry energy and momentum. In the final stages of this merger, the gravitational waves impart a kick onto the remnant black hole. Dr. Bright will investigate the effects of these gravitational wave recoil kicks on the orbital dynamics of the surrounding star cluster though simulations and models. She will develop an interactive Hertzsprung-Russel diagram simulation designed for student learning. Bright will leverage the distinctive stellar distribution around recoiling black holes and the enhancement of both the early and sustained tidal disruption event rate to uncover these elusive objects. This work will have strong implications for understanding the sources of TDEs, with the Rubin Observatory poised to revolutionize our observational capabilities in this field. Additionally, early TDEs from recoiling black holes can inform multimessenger astronomy as possible delayed electromagnetic signatures to accompany gravitational wave events from merging supermassive black holes. These gravitational waves will be detected with upcoming detectors such as LISA in the next decade, making this work incredibly timely for informing upcoming observations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.