Seminars

Maximilian Häberle 

ESO

INAF OAPD - Sala Jappelli, 5th February 11:30

oMEGACat and the intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri≤

The massive globular cluster Omega Centauri is likely the stripped nucleus of an accreted dwarf galaxy and, therefore, provides a unique opportunity to study the central region of a galaxy whose evolution halted billions of years ago.

In recent years, we have created oMEGACat, the largest astrometric and spectroscopic dataset for any star cluster, with the goal to decipher both the formation history and the dynamics of Omega Centauri.

I will give an overview of this project and then focus on the exciting discovery of several fast-moving stars in the very center of the cluster. These stars provide the potentially best evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH) we have to date.

These elusive IMBHs have masses between the stellar mass black holes and supermassive black holes and may provide a missing link in our understanding of the formation of supermassive black holes.

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Join Zoom Meeting

https://unipd.zoom.us/j/82482883288?pwd=MVvmMWSGaiVrGMyAFOdyQG61OAcI7D.1

Meeting ID: 824 8288 3288

Passcode: 072472