- Graduate Student
Biography
Baldassare Group
A tidal disruption event (TDE) occurs when a star travels within a black hole’s (BH) tidal radius and is ripped apart by strong gravitational forces. Such forces disrupt stars so that the stars’ masses are accreted and signature bright flares are emitted. These flares are luminous enough to be observed over great distances, which can then be measured up to several years past the peak date to track the decrease in luminosity. The resulting data allows for the modeling and measurements of both the BH and disrupted stars’ masses.
Only about a hundred TDEs have been detected thus far, so there is much to be learned about them. It is crucial to keep searching for and observing TDEs in order to understand more about the populations of BHs and host galaxies that prefer these events. My work focuses on exploring and uncovering more about these elusive events.
Education
- BS in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Research Interests
- tidal disruption events