Institute for Advanced Study / Princeton University Joint Astrophysics Colloquium

Over the last decade, large optical time-domain surveys have systematized the discovery of transient flares of emission associated with the tidal disruptions of stars by supermassive black holes. These tidal disruption events (TDEs) are rare events, but they are signposts for the presence of otherwise quiescent SMBHs and are exquisite probes of accretion physics. I will describe our ongoing work within the Zwicky Transient Facility to increase the discovery rate of TDEs. This has enabled searches for MBHs in new environments, such as dwarf galaxies and non-central locations within their host galaxies. I will highlight our recent discovery and characterization of the TDE AT 2024tvd, which revealed the presence of a wandering SMBH located 0.8 kiloparsecs from its host galaxy nucleus. I will conclude by looking forward to how we can apply lessons learned from the current generation of surveys to the imminent Legacy Survey of Space and Time with the Rubin Observatory.