Dr. Farhad Yusef-Zadeh is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University, which he joined in 1989. He studies the center of the Milky Way, including its supermassive black hole, using radio, infrared, and X-ray telescopes such as ALMA and JWST. He co-discovered the Galaxy’s mysterious magnetized radio filaments and has spoken to the NAA many times since 2005.
Monthly Meeting
Public
Flares, Flickers, and Filaments: Mysteries at the Heart of the Milky Way
Presenter: Dr. Farhad Yusef-Zadeh
The center of the Milky Way is one of the most remarkable regions in the Universe. It hosts a supermassive black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), with a mass more than four million times that of the Sun, as well as a mysterious population of long, magnetized filaments that thread through the inner few hundred light-years of our Galaxy. Despite decades of study, fundamental questions remain about both the origin of the black hole’s variable emission and the nature of these striking filamentary structures.
In this talk, I will present highlights from recent observations obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). JWST observations reveal that the black hole is far from quiet, exhibiting a continuous pattern of flickering punctuated by powerful flares. I will discuss what these observations tell us about the physical processes operating in the immediate vicinity of the black hole. I will also describe a particularly intriguing filament discovered near Sgr A*. If this filament is physically associated with the black hole, it may provide evidence for a jet emerging from Sgr A*, as predicted by numerical simulations. Time permitting, I will conclude with a discussion of the enigmatic population of radio filaments that permeate the Galactic center and continue to challenge our understanding of the Milky Way’s magnetic environment.
Short Bio:
This event is open to the public and free of charge.
Directions
Please enter the building from the south parking lot. We meet in Fellowship Hall, on the lower floor of the building. The door is on a timer.
Meetings in Room 254 use the north lot and the Activity Center door: see Room 254.
