Blog #21

Exit Interview

What is your essential question, and what are your answers?  What is your best answer and why?

My essential question is, "What is the most effective way to identify a primordial black hole?"  My first answer is, "...to use gamma ray telescopes to detect their Hawking radiation." My second answer is, "...to use radio astronomy to detect the acoustic waves due to thermal expansion from their radiation." My final answer is, "...to use optical astronomy to detect a gravitational lensing effect due to their passing in front of a light source."

The best answer is my first. This is because the most research has been conducted on this method, resulting in a sound reference. Every method requires a reference. My second answer would require astrophysicists to reference a certain pattern which the acoustic waves would follow. For my third answer, a specific pattern would need to be referenced to identify the gravitational lensing effect of a primordial black hole. The data which is referenced for the first method has been verified by a multitude of scientists. 

Also, the first method id already in process. There are already research teams pursuing the search for primordial black holes. The last two answers are purely hypothetical.  

What process did you take to arrive at this answer?

My first answer was always my best answer. For my mentorship, I did research on the first method, so I am well versed in that method. However, though independent research I came to find my other two answers.

What problems did you face?  How did you resolve them?

The second and third answer came from extensive, and gruesome, research on my own. There is very little research on my last two answers. I pieced together concepts such as thermal expansion, radio telescopes, optical telescopes, relativity, classical and contemporary theories, and much more to look at the search for primordial black holes in a new light. Thankfully, there were clues that lead me from article to article, until I finally found solid answers. For example, by learning about the radiation that primordial black holes emit, I knew that radiation should create some noise. So further researching about noise from astronomical objects, I learned a lot about radio astronomy. That process repeated itself up until this point.
Through that process I learned two important skills astrophysicists need: problem solving and creativity. Astrophysics is a vast field. It is rare to find two astrophysicists with the same objective of research. There are a few theories and concepts, and those theories and concepts have tens of problems, and for this problems there are a limitless amount of possibilities.

What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?

Most of my information came from the journal article, "Gamma rays and energetic particles from primordial black holes." This article speaks a lot about the behavior of primordial black holes, how they came about to be, and how they evaporate. My next best source is "A Brief History of Time." In this book, Stephen Hawking, the author, explains a lot the theories surrounding primordial black holes. My version of the book is also illustrated with diagrams and graphs which helped my develop the foundation on which I could further study complex astrophysical concepts.