TITANs

Goals

TITANS aims to improve our understanding of single and binary supermassive black holes. We aim to, for the first time, determine the demographics of innermost structures around single and binary supermassive black holes via Event Horizon Telescope imaging and variabililty studies with the Zwicky Transient Facility. Our simulations aim to understand the growth and emission spectra of single and binary supermassive black holes. With funding of ~2 million US$ over six years (2020-2026) Nucleo Milenio projects target focussed research topics and are funded by Chile’s National Agency for Investigation and Development (ANID).

TITANS will focus on:

• • Black hole demographics via studies of the innermost environments (accretion inflows, jet bases, and black hole shadows) of a sample of black holes using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)
  • Growth of black holes over cosmic time (via observations and simulations), and identification of populations in the extreme limits of current parameter space
  • Binary black holes in their gravitational wave emitting phase, (via theory and simulations followed by EHT observations)

Our technology component is focussed on supporting the next generation upgrade of the EHT, site testing and characterization, atmospheric studies related to water vapor, and high bandwidth satellite communication from Antarctica.

See our research lines