McGill Space Institute 3550 University Street Montreal, QC, H3A 2A7 Phone: (514) 398-6497 Fax: (514) 398-8434 Email: daryl.haggard@mcgill.ca Web: http://www.physics.mcgill.ca/~dhaggard/ |
Research field: Black holes and neutron stars; galaxies; active galaxies; gravitational radiation; multi-wavelength and time domain surveys.
Description of the research project:
Daryl Haggard is an observational astronomer. She and her group study Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy. Sgr A* is 4 million times the mass of the Sun and 100 times closer than any other supermassive black hole. Its proximity allows us to see hot (100 million °C) material falling towards the event horizon. Daryl Haggard's team uses radio, submillimeter, near infrared, and X-ray telescopes to probe Sgr A*'s exotic environment, where strong gravity plays a key role. Her team also studies the interplay between distant growing supermassive black holes, or active galactic nuclei, and their host galaxies. And when opportunity knocks, she and her group search for X-ray flashes emitted from neutron stars and black holes when they collide. These collisions send ripples through space-time, gravitational waves, now being detected by LIGO and Virgo.
Prix et distinctions: