Vivienne Baldassare: Measuring the Population of Massive Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies

WSU Physics Colloquium: 29 August 2024
Vivienne Baldassare: Measuring the Population of Massive Black Holes in Dwarf Galaxies
The population of massive black holes in dwarf galaxies offers a window into black hole formation in the early universe. The fraction of dwarf galaxies that host a massive black hole -- and the properties of those black holes -- are thought to depend on the mechanism by which they form. However, black holes in dwarf galaxies can be challenging to find. I will describe my research group's work searching for active massive black holes in dwarf galaxies, particularly using variability and transients. I will also describe our efforts to constrain the overall occupation fraction of black holes in dwarf galaxies.