CAREER: Multiwavelength Studies of Microquasars

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AST-9983830EIKENBERRYMultiwavelength studies of the Galactic relativistic jet sources -- the "microquasars" will be carried out. The overall goal of the research is to understand the origin, formation, and evolution of relativistic jets in black hole X-ray binaries. The knowledge gained by these studies will be used to understand black-hole/relativistic-jet systems in our Galaxy and their larger analogs in active galactic nuclei. This research builds on previous work on X-ray and infrared (IR,) studies of the microquasar GRS +105 and other microquasar candidates. Highlights of the scientific work to be carried out include:Coordinated X-ray, IR, and radio observations of relativistic jet formation in the microquasar GRS 1915-105: The previous coordinated X-ray/IR/radio observations of this object provided the first direct, tine-resolved observations of relativistic jet formation in any system. These and other observations have also shown that GRS 1915+105 exhibits many different states of jet-producing and non-jet-producing behaviors. The observational campaigns will help to classify these states and understand the physical conditions necessary for the formation of relativistic jets.Coordinated x-ray, optical, IR, and radio observations of other Galactic rela-tivistic jet sources: These observations will include the astronomical sources GRO J1655-40, Cyg X-3, XTE J1748-288, SS 433, CI Cam, and LSI +61 303. The comparison of the observational data between these objects and with GRS 1915+105 will provide insights into the origin and nature of relativistic jets in Galactic X-ray binaries.Long-term IR monitoring of microquasars using Cornell's 0.6-m telescope and a new IR array camera: This type of monitoring, which has not been possible previously, will allow measurement of binary periods and recurrence timescales of IR flaring. Undergraduate students will carry out this work in the summer months and results of the research will be incorporated into the existing undergraduate astronomy laboratory classes during the academic year.Development and implementation of strategies for identifying new microquasar systems: This effort will include the study of candidate IR counterparts for the microquasars lE 1740-29 and GRS 1758-258, which were discovered using deep IR images from the Keck 10-m telescopes.The educational effort will include the training of undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, a laboratory curriculum will be developed and implemented for 5th-7th grade students, which emphasizes the fundamental importance of measurement to the scientific process. Key features include:Collaboration with the Ithaca City School District (ICSD) to develop basic hands- on experiments with links to current astronomical research. The goal is to help answer the question "How do we know what we know about the Universe?" The ICSD teachers will "field-test" the experiments and the results will be used to refine the experiments.Collaboration with the Cambridge Public Schools to develop a Spanish-language version of the laboratory and Web materials for use in bilingual classrooms. Field-testing of the Spanish version in Cambridge will also be used to refine the experiments. This component will provide an important means for outreach to historically underrepresented Spanish-speaking children.Development of Web-based resources which will allow students/teachers to explore the relationship between the results of their experiments and those of researchers working at the forefront of astrophysics. In the future, the resources will be made available nationwide to both English- and Spanish-speaking classrooms via the Internet.The Division of Astronomical Sciences provides support for this project.***