Jacob Schimp
MIT Department: Physics
Faculty Mentor: Prof. Erin Kara
Research Supervisor: Kevin Burdge
Undergraduate Institution: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
Website: LinkedIn
Biography
Jacob Schimp is a rising graduating senior at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign studying Physics. His research interests are primarily in black holes and observational astrophysics. At MIT, under the supervision of Dr. Erin Kara and Dr. Kevin Burdge, his research project is on black hole X-ray Binaries (BHXBs) and finding more systematic ways to identify these compact objects while using optical data from ATLAS. He plans to continue his education by pursuing a PhD in Physics or Astronomy to become an astrophysicist. He is passionate about diversifying physics and STEM, particularly increasing African American enrollment in physics. He is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers and National Society of Black Physicists. In his free time, he listens to music, collects vinyls, tries out different coffee shops around the city, and hangs out with friends.
Abstract
Timing Analysis of Black Hole X-Ray Binaries
Jacob Schimp1, Erin Kara2, Kevin Burdge2
1Department of Physics, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
2Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) consist of a stellar-mass black hole and a companion star,
with material from the star accreting onto the black hole, resulting in X-ray emissions from
regions near the event horizon. These systems provide a unique opportunity to study strong
gravitational fields and accretion processes. Our research aims to perform a spectral analysis of
BHXBs and investigate the dynamics of accretion during the quiescence state of black holes.
Utilizing optical data from ATLAS, we analyzed candidate BHXBs to understand their
transient status and identify orbital periods using Lomb-Scargle periodograms. Our results demonstrate that ATLAS optical data can effectively reveal ellipsoidal variations and match orbital periods with existing literature, confirming its utility in studying black hole transients. This research advances our understanding of BHXB dynamics, as well as improves our
systematic identification methods for black holes in quiescence.
