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Electromagnetic observations have been used over the past decades to understand the nature of black holes and the material around them. Our ability to learn about the fundamental physics relies on our understanding of two key ingredients in…
Astrometry covers a parameter space that cannot be reached by RV or transit methods to detect terrestrial planets on wide orbits. In addition, high accuracy astrometric measurements are necessary to measure the inclination of the planet's…
We investigate the effect of black hole spin on warped or misaligned accretion discs - in particular i) whether or not the inner disc edge aligns with the black hole spin and ii) whether the disc can maintain a smooth transition between an…
We have created a general methodology for calculating the wavelength-dependent light curves of close-in extrasolar giant planets (EGPs) as they traverse their orbits. Focussing on the transiting EGPs HD189733b, TrES-1, and HD209458b, we…
This Thesis describes the basic framework and applications of a relativistic ray-tracing code for analyzing accretion processes around Kerr black holes. We begin in Chapter 1 with a brief historical summary of the major advances in black…
The gravitational decoupling method systematically generates hairy modifications to the solutions in general relativity due to new gravitational sources. In view of the recent advances in astronomical observations, these hairy solutions are…
Three-dimensional maps of the Galactic interstellar medium are general astrophysical tools. Reddening maps may be based on the inversion of color excess measurements for individual target stars or on statistical methods using stellar…
The detection of exoplanets through direct imaging has produced numerous new positive identifications in recent years. The technique is biased towards planets at wide separations due to the difficulty in removing the stellar signature at…
Quasar microlensing effects make it possible to measure the accretion disc sizes around distant supermassive black holes that are still well beyond the spatial resolution of contemporary instrumentation. The sizes measured with this…
We discuss technologies for micro-arcsec echo mapping of black hole accretion flows in Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Echo mapping employs time delays, Doppler shifts, and photoionisation physics to map the geometry, kinematics, and physical…
We present Paper II of the Eccentric Debris Disc Morphologies series to explore the effects that significant free and forced eccentricities have on high-resolution millimetre-wavelength observations of debris discs, motivated by recent ALMA…
We describe the use of partially overlapping galaxies to provide direct measurements of the effective absorption in galaxy disks, independent of assumptions about internal disk structure. The non-overlapping parts of the galaxies and…
Using Spitzer Space Telescope photometric observations of the eclipsing, interacting binary WZ Sge, we have discovered that the accretion disk is far more complex than previously believed. Our 4.5 and 8 micron time series observations…
We present an analytic model for computing the luminosity and spectral evolution of flares caused by a supermassive black hole impacting the accretion disc of another supermassive black hole. Our model includes photon diffusion, emission…
Black holes accreting well below the Eddington rate are believed to have geometrically thick, optically thin, rotationally supported accretion discs in which the Coulomb mean free path is large compared to $GM/c^2$. In such an environment,…
In anticipation of future multi-frequency observations of black hole with the Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT), we construct spectral images of a thin accretion disk around a spherically symmetric black hole immersed in cold,…
The problem of steady-state accretion to nonrotating black holes is examined. Advection is included and generalized formulas for the radiation pressure in both the optically thick and thin cases are used. Special attention is devoted to…
We utilize multi-dimensional simulations of varying equatorial jet strength to predict wavelength dependent variations in the eclipse times of gas-giant planets. A displaced hot-spot introduces an asymmetry in the secondary eclipse light…
We study the optical appearance of a thin accretion disk around a Schwarzschild black hole pierced by a cosmic string with a semi-analytic method of Luminet [11]. Direct and secondary images with different parameters observed by a distant…
We present Fe Kalpha line profiles from and images of relativistic discs with finite thickness around a rotating black hole using a novel code. The line is thought to be produced by iron fluorescence of a relatively cold X-ray illuminated…