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Aims and Scope of the WorkshopThe nature of ultra-luminous X-ray sources (ULXs), those objects more luminous than the Eddington ratio from the most massive black hole predicted from stellar evolution, has remained a mystery since their discovery over 25 years ago. These objects have unique X-ray spectral and temporal properties and several have associated luminous optical and radio nebulae, indicating that they may be a distinct class. However there are strong theoretical problems with how to form them and produce their luminosity if they are indeed middle weight black holes.On the other hand it has become increasingly clear that there exist black holes in the centers of galaxies with masses less than 106 Msun whose properties seem rather different from those of classical AGN. The connection between these two classes of objects is not understood at present. In this workshop we will explore the physical nature of ULXs: are they a special class of object, are they black holes of more than 30 solar masses, are they accreting in a special way and their possible connection to ‘low mass’ black holes in the centres of galaxies, models for formation of black hole seeds, accretion and early growth of low-mass black holes, mergers, and observational searches for intermediate mass black holes (IMBHs) in nearby galaxies and star clusters. The goal of this workshop is to bring together theorists and observers from the cosmology, X-ray, stellar dynamics, and AGN communities to explore topics of common interest, review new and recent results, and discuss the impact of upcoming observatories and space missions for black hole research. Scientific Organising Committee (in preparation)
Local Organising Committee (in preparation)María Diaz TrigoMatthias Ehle ContactMore information including details on registration and abstract submission will follow soon. |
