Braden Gail

I am a PhD student at the University of Toronto, working under the supervision of Professor Bart Ripperda. My research focuses on the dynamics of accreting black holes, with particular emphasis on magnetic flux tubes and their role in shaping accretion flows. I investigate the motion of these flux tubes, as well as their magnetic field properties, density, temperature, and other plasma parameters. I also explore how these flux tubes interact with turbulence and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, and how such interactions may drive flare events. To connect my theoretical simulations with observational data, I use ray tracing techniques to model the emission from these flux tubes and compare it with observations of Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way. By combining numerical simulations, instability analysis, and observational comparisons, I aim to deepen our understanding of the extreme electrodynamics governing compact astrophysical sources.