Bulletin of the American Physical Society
76th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Section of APS
Volume 54, Number 16
Wednesday–Saturday, November 11–14, 2009; Atlanta, Georgia
Session EB: Extreme Scale Computational Astrophysics |
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Chair: Ignacio Taboada, Georgia Institute of Technology Room: Frankfurt |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 3:45PM - 4:15PM |
EB.00001: Growing Supermassive Black Holes: An N-body Mechanic's Perspective Invited Speaker: Astronomers now know that supermassive black holes are a natural part of nearly every galaxy, but how these black holes form, grow, and interact within the galactic center is still a mystery. I will discuss how computational astrophysicists (aka ``N-body mechanics'') can use N-body simulations to track the interplay between galaxies, dark matter halos, and supermassive black holes. We have discovered that the shape and content of the galaxy influences the evolution of its host black hole, but the effect is not entirely one-sided. Supermassive black holes leave an imprint on the galaxy structure as well, and surprisingly, may even change the structure and kinematics of the intracluster medium where galaxies live. There is more work to be done to uncover how supermassive black holes and galaxies co-exist, and I will talk about what important questions remain. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:15PM - 4:45PM |
EB.00002: Petascale Core-Collapse Supernova Simulation Invited Speaker: The advent of petascale computing brings with it the promise of substantial increases in physical fidelity for a host of scientific problems. However, the realities of computing on these resources are daunting, and the architectural features of petascale machines will require considerable innovation for effective use. Nevertheless, there exists a class of scientific problems whose ultimate answer \emph{requires} the application of petascale (and beyond) computing. One example is ascertaining the core-collapse supernova mechanism and explaining the rich phenomenology associated with these events. These stellar explosions produce and disseminate a dominant fraction of the elements in the Universe; are prodigious sources of neutrinos, gravitational waves, and photons across the electromagnetic spectrum; and lead to the formation of neutron stars and black holes. I will describe our recent multidimensional supernova simulations performed on petascale platforms fielded by the DOE and NSF. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:45PM - 5:15PM |
EB.00003: Numerical Simulations of Wet Black Hole Binaries and their Electromagnetic Signatures Invited Speaker: The detection of electromagnetic signatures from the coalescence of supermassive black hole binaries will have a tremendous impact for our understanding of the growth and evolution of these massive compact objects. Given current uncertainties, a great challenge in this endevour is to uniquely define the gaseous environment surrounding these binaries, in particular during their last inspiral and merger. What is almost certain is that the properties of the gas in the vicinity of the holes are likely to be bracketed between two scenarios: a hot and turbulent gas cloud and a rotationally supported circumbinary disk. I will present results from the first fully general relativistic, hydrodynamical study of the late inspiral and merger of binaries with equal mass and spinning supermassive black holes immersed in a gas cloud. In particular, I will show the potential electromagnetic signatures arising from these merger events. [Preview Abstract] |
Thursday, November 12, 2009 5:15PM - 5:45PM |
EB.00004: Extreme Scale Computational Astrophysics Invited Speaker: We live in extraordinary times. With increasingly sophisticated observatories opening up new vistas on the universe, astrophysics is becoming more complex and data-driven. The success in understanding astrophysical systems that are inherently multi-physical, nonlinear systems demands realism in our models of the phenomena. We cannot hope to advance the realism of these models to match the expected sophistication of future observations without extreme-scale computation. Just one example is the advent of gravitational wave astronomy. Detectors like LIGO are about to make the first ever detection of gravitational waves. The gravitational waves are produced during violent events such as the merger of two black holes. The detection of these waves or ripples in the fabric of spacetime is a formidable undertaking, requiring innovative engineering, powerful data analysis tools and careful theoretical modeling. I will discuss the computational and theoretical challenges ahead in our new understanding of physics and astronomy where gravity exhibits its strongest grip on our spacetime. [Preview Abstract] |
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