Hello, there! My name is Marqualand Norris, although I typically go by Sora, and I’m an Undergraduate Astrophysics researcher at Swarthmore College’s department of Physics and Astronomy.

My ongoing research is a continuation of my 2025 summer research project at Northwestern’s CIERA (Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics) REU with research advisor Alexander Tchekhovskoy.

My Project:

The capacity of magnetic flux in accretion disks of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is poorly understood. To constrain its maximum value, we must investigate the geometric parameters that entail bending in the magnetic field lines. The bending of initially vertical magnetic field lines forms toroidal loops which, in time, magnetically saturate the accretion disk. We perform a 3D general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) simulation of a spherical cloud of gas around a black hole with an ambient magnetic field. The geometric nature of the bending of magnetic field lines tells us when the Magneto-rotational instability (MRI), initially powering accretion, is suppressed and permits the Magnetically Arrested Disk (MAD) state. Once our disk enters the MAD regime, we not only achieve the most powerful outflows, but the transition also indicates we are approaching the upper limit for magnetic flux in the accretion disk.