Colloquium on Apr. 2, 2026

The Tianguan Mission and New Progress in the Study of Massive Black Holes

Speaker: Chichuan Jin (NAOC)

Venue: SWIFAR Building 2111

Time: 16:00 PM, Thursday, Apr. 2, 2026

Abstract:

The Tianguan (also known as Einstein Probe, EP) Mission is a major space astronomy mission led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and jointly developed with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), and the French Space Agency (CNES), EP combines a unique wide-field, high-sensitivity soft X-ray survey capability with rapid-response follow-up observations. It is therefore exceptionally well suited to discovering and characterizing a broad range of high-energy transient phenomena. Since its successful launch in 2024, EP has detected a large number of X-ray transients and has initiated extensive multiwavelength follow-up campaigns with facilities worldwide. In this talk, I will briefly introduce the mission status of EP, and then focus on the important results in the field of massive black holes. These include the discovery of rare candidate TDEs such as IMBH TDEs, jetted TDEs, AGN flares, opening a new observational window to study massive black holes. I will conclude by discussing the future scientific promise of EP and its synergy with other telescopes.