Speaker: Matt Selwood (Bristol)

Date: Wednesday 13 March 2024

Time: 15:00

Location: 3.29

Exploring the evolution of active galactic nuclei in the next-generation of astronomical surveys

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are some of the most luminous persistent objects in the Universe, emitting across the electromagnetic spectrum. AGN signify a phase of luminous accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH), indicating periods of growth for the massive compact objects. Empirical scaling relations (such as MBH - σ) tell us that the evolution of SMBHs (marked by AGN) and the galaxies that host them are intimately linked. The evolution of one aspect cannot be explored without considering the other. Next-generation surveys such as Euclid, DESI and those conducted with JWST are probing the extragalactic sky in unprecedented resolution and depth, generating rich data sets ready to be exploited for AGN science. In this talk I will share results from throughout my Ph.D. research on the topic of AGN and their evolution at University of Bristol. First I will show how studying rare classes of AGN spectra (e.g., AGN with dual-peaked emission lines, changing look AGN) can give us insight into the interaction of AGN and their host galaxies, and the evolution of an AGN within a single accretion episode. I will then focus on the methods and results of forecasting how the data from a next-generation astronomical survey, Euclid, can be leveraged for the study of AGN.