Infrared Observations of GRO J1655-40: Constraints on the Black Hole Mass

My initial foray into astronomy research centered on the study of compact objects, in particular black holes.

Working with Dr. Paul Callanan of the Physics Department of the National University of Ireland, Cork, I used the first high signal-to-noise K-band spectrum of a black hole transient system (GRO J1655-40 ) to constrain the contribution of the accretion disk in this system to the overall luminosity. I modelled this soft X-ray transient using the Eclipsing Light Curve (ELC) code of Jerome A. Orosz. Knowing the disk contribution, I was able to determine the mass of the black hole in this binary from the model binary inclination.

This work evolved into my Masters thesis in Astrophysics, entitled Infrared Observations of GRO J1655-40: Constraints on the Black Hole Mass. I later gave a presentation on this work.