The Physics department colloquia are usually on Friday afternoons at 3 pm in Room 135. Coffee and cookies are served at 2:45 pm in the same room. Anyone is welcome.

New Views of Black Hole Disk Winds
Dr. Jon M. Miller, Dept. of Astronomy, University of Michigan

High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy has been central to revealing the nature of X-ray winds from accreting massive black holes. These winds may ultimately have important effects on the evolution of host galaxies. However, early studies with Chandra may have given a partially skewed view of the radii at which such winds originate, and the mechanisms by which they are driven.

With an eye toward the coming Astro-H era, I will briefly review past results, and then highlight some new and emerging views of black hole disk winds. Where possible, I will draw analogies between parallel investigations in accreting stellar-mass black holes. Overall, new results may suggest that disk winds may originate closer to the black hole, and carry more mass than previously appreciated.