Colloquium:Dr. Melanie Habouzit|MPIA &GLIESE Postdoc Fellow
In-Person PHYS 401
Location
Physics : 401
Date & Time
March 1, 2023, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Description
TITLE: Constraining the origins of massive black holes
ABSTRACT: The population of massive black holes (MBHs) is diverse and encompasses MBHs hosted by dwarf galaxies to the largest ellipticals in the local Universe, active MBHs through cosmic times, and extremely powerful quasars observed less than 700 Myr after the Big Bang. Yet, we do not know how and when MBH seeds appeared in the early Universe and what made some of them blossom to become galaxies' central engines. In this talk, I will start by reviewing our theoretical understanding of MBH origins. Large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulations became indispensable to face the challenge of MBH assembly and co-evolution with their host galaxies. I will present my work comparing most of the simulations of the field, how their subgrid modeling strongly impact their populations of MBHs and AGN, and what we have learned from their agreement and differences with current observations. The coming multi-messenger era will be pivotal to detect MBHs closest to the redshifts of their formation. Decades after the discovery of MBHs, we finally foresee the possibility of unraveling their avenues of formation. I will present my effort to help in the preparation of the missions that will revolutionize the field (e.g., James Webb, Athena, LISA).
ABSTRACT: The population of massive black holes (MBHs) is diverse and encompasses MBHs hosted by dwarf galaxies to the largest ellipticals in the local Universe, active MBHs through cosmic times, and extremely powerful quasars observed less than 700 Myr after the Big Bang. Yet, we do not know how and when MBH seeds appeared in the early Universe and what made some of them blossom to become galaxies' central engines. In this talk, I will start by reviewing our theoretical understanding of MBH origins. Large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulations became indispensable to face the challenge of MBH assembly and co-evolution with their host galaxies. I will present my work comparing most of the simulations of the field, how their subgrid modeling strongly impact their populations of MBHs and AGN, and what we have learned from their agreement and differences with current observations. The coming multi-messenger era will be pivotal to detect MBHs closest to the redshifts of their formation. Decades after the discovery of MBHs, we finally foresee the possibility of unraveling their avenues of formation. I will present my effort to help in the preparation of the missions that will revolutionize the field (e.g., James Webb, Athena, LISA).
