Petra Benke

Multiwavelength variability in active galactic nuclei jets and other VLBI studies

Date of defence:  09 September 2024

Advisor: 

Collaborators: F. Eppel, S. Frey, K. É. Gabányi, A. Gokus, L. Gurvits, J. Hessdörfer, M. Kadler, Y. Y. Kovalev, M. Lisakov, R. Ojha, F. Rösch

PhD project
A significant part of my doctoral studies was spent on investigating the connection between AGN properties and variability in the radio and gamma-ray bands. As part of the TANAMI, southern-sky AGN monitoring program I was responsible for the reduction and analysis of the newly started 2.3-GHz monitoring data, investigating the properties of the TeV-emitter objects in the sample. While this was a sample study, I also worked on a multi-frequency VLBI follow-up of a high-redshift blazar, TXS 1508+572, in order to find possible morphological changes, spectral index and opacity variations that could be connected to a bright gamma-ray flare that was detected in 2022 February. The main finding of our study was a variable core shift,  which indicated a plasma disturbance traveling through the core region and possibly giving rise to the high-energy activity observed in the source.

About me
I started working with VLBI data during my BSc thesis project, and I got so interested in the topic that I have been pursuing projects in radio astronomy ever since. While I started my university studies in my home country, Hungary, I moved to Helsinki for my Master’s, then got accepted to MPIfR for my PhD, which I started in September 2021.