Uncovering the Galactic Black Hole Population with Gravitational Microlensing
Location
Virtual
Description
There are expected to be 100 million black holes (BHs) in the Milky Way, although until recently mass measurements existed for only two dozen or so in X-ray binary systems. However, a substantial fraction of the Milky Way's BHs are expected to be isolated. Only by detecting these isolated BHs can we characterize the full Galactic BH population and understand their formation. In this talk I will discuss the search for isolated BHs via gravitational microlensing. I will first present recent progress on this question, then discuss Roman's potential to be a BH finding machine.
Speaker: Casey Lam (Berkeley)
Notes
The Roman Lecture Series is a monthly virtual lecture series focused on the scientific capabilities and technology of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, organized by Roman Mission partners.
The NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed by NASA/GSFC with participation of STScI, Caltech/IPAC, and NASA/JPL
Contact the Roman Team