Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Study of Polarized Emission from Black Hole Accretion Disks463 views
Author
Pitts, Dirk, Astronomy, University of Virginia
Advisors
Skrutskie, Michael, AS, University of Virginia
Davis, Shane, AS, University of Virginia
Abstract
Using the established Athena++ Monte Carlo radiation transfer code package, we build upon it to incorporate polarized scattering and evolution of a photon as it is emitted from a black hole accretion disk and propagates to an observer far from the black hole. This is of particular interest in relation to the upcoming Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Ecplorer (IXPE) mission currently planned by NASA to launch in April 2021. This telescope focuses on observing the polarization of x-ray objects such as active galactic nuclei, pulsars, and black holes to better understand the production of x-rays in these objects. This thesis hopes to create predictions of how the evolution of the Stokes vector, which quantizes the polarization, evolves as a high energy photon follows a geodesic away from a black hole after being emitted from the disk.
Degree
BS (Bachelor of Science)
Keywords
black hole physics; polarization; radiation transfer
Pitts, Dirk. Study of Polarized Emission from Black Hole Accretion Disks. University of Virginia, Astronomy, BS (Bachelor of Science), 2020-05-08, https://doi.org/10.18130/v3-b9v8-3361.