Special Colloquium: Thurs. Feb. 5 @ 11:00 in the Auditorium

[Gaps]

Hi GAPS members,

We would like to point out a special colloquium that is happening this week on Thursday at 11:00 am in the Auditorium and online. Please see the abstract attached below. The speaker, Dr. Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo from U de Montréal, will talk about her work on black holes and galaxy clusters, as well as her work on advancing gender parity in STEM through Parité Sciences<https://www.paritesciences.ca/en>, an organization that she co-founded.

Hope to see you there!
GAPS Committee

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New Frontiers: How Black Holes Shape the Largest Structures in the Universe

Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitational structures in the Universe—vast cities of hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity. At their centers often reside supermassive black holes that, despite their small size, play a decisive role in shaping both their host galaxies and the surrounding cluster environment.

In this talk, I will show how these black holes influence galaxy clusters through powerful, jet-driven outflows that heat the surrounding gas, generate shock fronts and cosmic “sound waves,” and stir gas on enormous scales. Rather than simply disrupting their surroundings, this energy regulates how gas cools and flows, controls galaxy growth, and redistributes material and chemical elements across the cluster. In this sense, black holes act as the beating hearts of galaxies and clusters.

I will then present recent breakthroughs, including the first observations from the XRISM X-ray space telescope. XRISM enables, for the first time, direct measurements of the motions and turbulence of hot gas in clusters, opening a new window onto how black hole energy propagates through the intracluster medium. Finally, I will connect these observations to state-of-the-art cosmological simulations that recreate entire galaxy clusters, revealing how black holes have shaped the cosmic landscape over billions of years.

Lastly, I will introduce Parité sciences, a bold and game-changing initiative advancing gender parity in STEM by equipping educators with research-based tools to foster inclusive learning environments.

Zoom:

https://ubc.zoom.us/j/62452933197?pwd=tsW3pDdkmD6yQyErZTi3oPVemuuaIw.1

Meeting ID: 624 5293 3197

Passcode: 051773

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