Eliot Quataert
We study accretion from a uniform gas at rest onto equal-mass binaries -- the binary Bondi problem -- as a function of adiabatic index~$\gamma$ and compactness $\xi \equiv R_B/a$, where $R_B$ is the Bondi radius of the binary and $a$ is the…
We revisit the spectral appearance of extended self-gravitating accretion disks surrounding compact central objects such as supermassive black holes. Using dust-poor opacities, we show that all optically thick disk solutions possess a…
We model the absorption of X-rays by gas obscuring the source and photoionized by it. We consider a broad range of column densities, including both Thomson-thin and Thomson-thick media. For the Thomson thin regime, we derive a simple…
Little Red Dots (LRDs) challenge conventional models of active galactic nuclei. At rest-optical-to-near-infrared (IR) wavelengths, these compact extragalactic objects show blackbody-like continuum emission and spectral features reminiscent…
Stellar-mass black holes (BHs) can form from the near-complete collapse of massive stars, causing them to abruptly disappear. The star M31-2014-DS1 in the Andromeda galaxy was reported to exhibit such a disappearance between 2014 and 2022,…
When a massive star reaches the end of its lifetime, its core collapses and releases neutrinos that drive a shock into the outer layers (stellar envelope). A sufficiently strong shock ejects the envelope, producing a supernova. If the shock…
Little red dots (LRDs) are an abundant population of compact high-redshift sources with red rest-frame optical continua, discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Their red colors and power sources have been attributed either to…
We present a quantitative model for the luminous fast blue optical transient AT2018cow in which a shock propagating through an aspherical circumstellar medium (CSM) produces the X-ray and UV/optical/NIR emission. X-rays are emitted from hot…
We analyze the polarization of optically thin, stationary, axisymmetric black hole jets at scales of order the light cylinder radius. Our work generalizes the face-on results of Gelles et al. (2025) to arbitrary viewing inclination. Due to…
X-ray bright cool-core (CC) clusters contain luminous radio sources accelerating cosmic ray (CR) leptons at prodigious rates. Near the acceleration region, high-energy leptons produce synchrotron (mini)halos and sometimes observable gamma…
Observations have argued that Milky Way (MW), Andromeda, and lower-mass galaxies exhibit extended soft X-ray diffuse halos to radii $R\gtrsim100\,$kpc in the circumgalactic medium (CGM). If interpreted as thermal emission, the shallow…
Recent numerical cosmological radiation-magnetohydrodynamic-thermochemical-star formation simulations have resolved the formation of quasar accretion disks with Eddington or super-Eddington accretion rates onto supermassive black holes…
In a companion paper, we reported the self-consistent formation of quasar accretion disks with inflow rates $\sim 10\,{\rm M_{\odot}\,yr^{-1}}$ down to <300 Schwarzschild radii from cosmological…
It has recently become possible to zoom-in from cosmological to sub-pc scales in galaxy simulations to follow accretion onto supermassive black holes (SMBHs). However, at some point the approximations used on ISM scales (e.g. optically-thin…
We present a simple time-dependent model of viscously spreading accretion disks around black holes (BHs) with masses between $10-10^8M_\odot$. We apply the results to observations of late-time emission in tidal disruption events (TDEs) and…
When a star passes within the Roche limit of a supermassive black hole (SMBH), it is pulled apart by the BH's tidal field in a tidal disruption event (TDE). The resulting flare is powered by the circularization and accretion of bound…
We use models of spectrally resolved cosmic ray (CR) transport in TIGRESS MHD simulations of the local ISM to produce synthetic synchrotron emission and to test, on scales from a few kpc down to ~10 pc, the traditional estimate of magnetic…
The physical origin of Little Red Dots (LRDs)--compact extragalactic sources with red rest-optical continua and broad Balmer lines--remains elusive. The redness of LRDs is likely intrinsic, suggesting optically thick gas emitting at a…
We propose a formation pathway linking black holes (BHs) observed in gravitational-wave (GW) mergers, wide BH-stellar systems uncovered by Gaia, and accreting low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs). In this scenario, a stellar-mass BH binary…
The $n=1$ photon ring is a full image of the astrophysical source around a black hole, produced by photons that execute $n\approx1$ half-orbit around the event horizon on their way to an observer. The Black Hole Explorer (BHEX) is a…