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12/5/24 - Haunted Black Holes





Topic:

Haunted Black Holes: Neutrino ghost particles born in some of the most extreme regions of space have a story to tell.


Date:

12/5/24


Where:

Zoom


Speaker:

Fe Mcbride, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Bowdoin College.


Abstract:

Multimessenger Astrophysics is tackling a century-old mystery: the origin of cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are high-energy particles that arrive at Earth, but tracing them back to their sources has been a challenge. Instead, we turn to neutrinos — often called "ghost particles"— to help us identify where these cosmic rays are created and which mechanisms accelerate them to ultra-high energies (vastly exceeding any acceleration on Earth, including the Large Hadron Collider, by factors of a few million). Early evidence suggests that they are produced near supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies. However, detecting these elusive particles is particularly challenging. To capture them, scientists must operate detectors in the extreme environment of the Antarctic or the bottom of the ocean. In this talk, I will present recent findings from the search for the origins of cosmic rays and delve into the processes surrounding supermassive black holes and their powerful "jets".


Bio:

Fe McBride is an observational astrophysicist at Bowdoin College, specializing in high-energy astronomy (X-rays & gamma-rays) and astroparticle physics, with a particular focus on particle acceleration near supermassive black holes.


Originally from Germany, she completed both her undergraduate and graduate studies there, culminating in research at the historic Dr. Karl Remeis Observatory in Bamberg, which dates back to 1889. McBride thoroughly enjoyed her time at the observatory, where she also shared the site with public visitors.


After earning her PhD, McBride relocated to the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where she spent three years working on the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA), doing black hole research, and seeing as many windmills as possible.


In 2019, just before the onset of the pandemic, she moved to Penn State University to continue her research and teaching, though much of her time there involved working from home. During this period, Fe fostered and eventually adopted a cat, who occasionally disrupted her research by occupying the keyboard.





In the summer of 2022, McBride joined Bowdoin College, driven by a desire to reinvigorate the Astronomy program and its observatory at the institution.



Additional Items:

• Member observing reports.

• Russ Pinozzotto's Constellation Tour

• Pre-meeting social time starts at 6:30pm.


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