Gravity seminar - Roman Gold Seminar

Accreting black holes (BHs) are at the core of relativistic astrophysics as messengers of the strong-field regime of General Relativity and prime targets of several observational campaigns, including imaging the black hole shadow in SagA* and M87 with the Event Horizon Telescope. Binary Black Holes are one of the most promising gravitational wave sources for adLIGO and Pulsar Timing Arrays and -- if accreting -- can provide a strong electromagnetic counterpart. I will present results from global GRMHD simulations of both single and binary BHs embedded in a hot, magnetized disk, highlighting differences in their observational appearance including their gravitational and electromagnetic radiation. The discussion will include recent results on GR polarized (synchrotron) radiative transfer with a special emphasis on comparisons with current EHT data to further constrain the emission mechanisms at the galactic center.