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Black Hole

Lensing of space time around a black hole. At Oxford we study black holes observationally and theoretically on all size and time scales - it is some of our core work.

Credit: ALAIN RIAZUELO, IAP/UPMC/CNRS. CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE IMAGES.

Dr Lauren Rhodes

TSI Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Research theme

  • Astronomy and astrophysics

Sub department

  • Astrophysics

Research groups

  • MeerKAT
  • Pulsars, transients and relativistic astrophysics
  • The Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
  • Gamma-ray astronomy
lauren.rhodes@physics.ox.ac.uk
laurenrhodes.github.io
  • About
  • Publications

Late-time Radio Brightening and Emergence of a Radio Jet in the Changing-look AGN 1ES 1927+654

The Astrophysical Journal Letters American Astronomical Society 979:1 (2025) L2

Authors:

Eileen T Meyer, Sibasish Laha, Onic I Shuvo, Agniva Roychowdhury, David A Green, Lauren Rhodes, Amelia M Hankla, Alexander Philippov, Rostom Mbarek, Ari laor, Mitchell C Begelman, Dev R Sadaula, Ritesh Ghosh, Gabriele Bruni, Francesca Panessa, Matteo Guainazzi, Ehud Behar, Megan Masterson, Haocheng Zhang, Xiaolong Yang, Mark A Gurwell, Garrett K Keating, David Williams-Baldwin, Justin D Bray

Abstract:

We present multifrequency (5–345 GHz) and multiresolution radio observations of 1ES 1927+654, widely considered one of the most unusual and extreme changing-look active galactic nuclei (CL-AGNs). The source was first designated a CL-AGN after an optical outburst in late 2017 and has since displayed considerable changes in X-ray emission, including the destruction and rebuilding of the X-ray corona in 2019–2020. Radio observations prior to 2023 show a faint and compact radio source typical of a radio-quiet AGN. Starting in 2023 February, 1ES 1927+654 began exhibiting a radio flare with a steep exponential rise, reaching a peak 60 times previous flux levels, and has maintained this higher level of radio emission for over a year to date. The 5–23 GHz spectrum is broadly similar to gigahertz-peaked radio sources, which are understood to be young radio jets less than ∼1000 yr old. Recent high-resolution Very Long Baseline Array observations at 23.5 GHz now show resolved extensions on either side of the core, with a separation of ∼0.15 pc, consistent with a new and mildly relativistic bipolar outflow. A steady increase in the soft X-ray band (0.3–2 keV) concurrent with the radio may be consistent with jet-driven shocked gas, though further observations are needed to test alternate scenarios. This source joins a growing number of CL-AGNs and tidal disruption events that show late-time radio activity, years after the initial outburst.
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Identification of the Optical Counterpart of the Fast X-Ray Transient EP240414a

The Astrophysical Journal Letters American Astronomical Society 978:2 (2025) L21

Authors:

S Srivastav, T-W Chen, JH Gillanders, L Rhodes, SJ Smartt, ME Huber, A Aryan, S Yang, A Beri, AJ Cooper, M Nicholl, KW Smith, HF Stevance, F Carotenuto, KC Chambers, A Aamer, CR Angus, MD Fulton, T Moore, IA Smith, DR Young, T de Boer, H Gao, C-C Lin

Abstract:

Fast X-ray transients (FXTs) are extragalactic bursts of X-rays first identified in archival X-ray data and are now routinely discovered in real time by the Einstein Probe, which is continuously surveying the night sky in the soft (0.5–4 keV) X-ray regime. In this Letter, we report the discovery of the second optical counterpart (AT 2024gsa) to an FXT (EP 240414a). EP 240414a is located at a projected radial separation of 27 kpc from its likely host galaxy at z = 0.4018 ± 0.0010. The optical light curve of AT 2024gsa displays three distinct components. The initial decay from our first observation is followed by a rebrightening episode, displaying a rapid rise in luminosity to an absolute magnitude Mr ∼ −21 after two rest-frame days. While the early optical luminosity and decline rate are similar to those of luminous fast blue optical transients, the color temperature of AT 2024gsa is distinctly red and we show that the peak flux is inconsistent with a thermal origin. The third component peaks at Mi ∼ −19 at ≳16 rest-frame days post-FXT, and is compatible with an emerging supernova. We fit the riz-band data with a series of power laws and find that the decaying components are in agreement with gamma-ray burst afterglow models, and that the rebrightening may originate from refreshed shocks. By considering EP 240414a in context with all previously reported known-redshift FXT events, we propose that Einstein Probe FXT discoveries may predominantly result from (high-redshift) gamma-ray bursts, and thus appear to be distinct from the previously discovered lower-redshift, lower-luminosity population of FXTs.
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Long-term optical variations in Swift J1858.6–0814: evidence for ablation and comparisons to radio properties

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Oxford University Press (OUP) 536:4 (2025) 3421-3430

Authors:

L Rhodes, DM Russell, P Saikia, K Alabarta, J van den Eijnden, AH Knight, MC Baglio, F Lewis
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Long term optical variations in Swift J1858.6-0814: evidence for ablation and comparisons to radio properties

ArXiv 2412.09347 (2024)

Authors:

L Rhodes, DM Russell, P Saikia, K Alabarta, J van den Eijnden, AH Knight, MC Baglio, F Lewis
Details from ArXiV

Simultaneous optical and X-ray detection of a Thermonuclear Burst in the 2024 outburst of EXO 0748–676

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters Oxford University Press (OUP) (2024) slae103

Authors:

Amy H Knight, Lauren Rhodes, Douglas JK Buisson, James H Matthews, Noel Castro Segura, Adam Ingram, Matthew Middleton, Timothy P Roberts
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