Black hOle Optical-polarization TimE-domain Survey

Supermassive black holes form the most intriguing astrophysical systems offering countless opportunities to study fundamental physics in regimes not accessible to laboratories on Earth.

Their multimessenger emission manifests in the formation of accretion disks, jets, and the acceleration of extremely energetic particles all of which are still poorly understood.

Optical polarization can provide answers to such long-standing black hole physics questions since optical polarization signatures clearly distinguish between competing theories. However, the optopolarimetric data necessary for such a task are missing.

BOOTES is a unique joint observational and theoretical program that can unify our understanding of transient (tidal disruption events) and steady (active galactic nuclei) supermassive black hole systems using optopolarimetry.

The unprecedented telescope time (109 nights/year) and high-accuracy optical polarimeter available to the proposed work will allow us to produce (1) the first comprehensive optical polarization monitoring of tidal disruption events; (2) the first systematic very-high-cadence optical polarization monitoring of relativistic jets.

Having clear polarization expectations from the state-of-the-art models we will uncover two fundamental black hole processes: the accretion disk formation mechanism; the high-energy particle energization process in relativistic jets – two open questions currently at a precipice of a breakthrough in black hole studies.