INWARD BOUND: HORIZON-SCALE MODELING OF BLACK HOLE ACCRETION

Eliot Quataert – Princeton University

Observations with the GRAVITY interferometer on the VLT and the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) are revealing the structure and dynamics of plasma near the event horizon of supermassive black holes. In this talk I will describe theoretical models of black hole accretion that are critical for interpreting these remarkable observational advances. I will also highlight some of the uncertainties that limit how predictive models are and what impact these uncertainties have on the interpretation of GRAVITY and EHT results.