Project name: Super-Eddington Accretion: Wind, INflow and Disk

Project acronym: SEAWIND

Principal Investigator: Prof. Paolo Esposito - https://www.iusspavia.it/it/rubrica/paolo-esposito 

CUP: I53D23000770006

Description: At the centers of most galaxies lie black holes weighing billions of suns, and the matter falling into them burns and shines enormously. Their masses are correlated with those of their host galaxies, but it's unclear how these black holes reached these masses so quickly. The fastest way is through super-Eddington accretion.

In this case, black holes swallow (accrue) matter from nearby stars or the interstellar medium at extreme velocities, exceeding the theoretical Eddington limit. This is the luminosity at which gravitational and radiation forces are opposed

and in equilibrium; it scales proportionally to the mass of the compact object.

The project focuses on X-ray analysis techniques, with the addition of crucial observations at multiple wavelengths. X-rays offer two advantages: 1) access to the innermost regions close to black holes and 2) unmistakable indicators of super-Eddington accretion

Funding Institution: MUR - Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca

Project starting date: 28/09/2023

Project end date: 28/02/2026