Series: Astronomy Colloquium
Date: Wednesday 31-Jan-2018
Time: 16:05-17:00 (4:05-5:00 pm)
Location: ATL 2400
Speaker: Dr. Niel Brandt (Penn State)
Title: A Good Hard Look at Cosmic Supermassive Black Hole Growth
The Chandra exposure on the Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-S) has recently been increased to 7 Ms, making it the most sensitive extragalactic X-ray survey by a wide margin. About 1050 X-ray sources have been detected, primarily distant active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and starburst/normal galaxies. The unmatched deep multiwavelength coverage for these sources allows superb follow-up investigations, revealing the details of supermassive black hole growth over most of cosmic time. I will briefly describe the sources in the 7 Ms CDF-S and some exciting first science results. The latter will include (1) relations between black-hole growth and host stellar mass; (2) constraints on supermassive black hole growth in the first galaxies as revealed by direct detection and stacking; and (3) the discovery of a representative of a new population of faint, fast X-ray transient sources. Finally, I will discuss some future prospects for X-ray surveys of AGNs in the distant universe.
Colloquia are usually preceded by espresso and ice cream at 1:45 pm outside room PSC 1150 and are followed by an informal reception at 5:15 pm in that room. Anyone interested in talking with the speaker, or being added to the colloquium announcement email list, should contact the colloquium organizer. Lunch will normally be reserved for the speaker to talk to graduate students.
Colloquium Organizer:
Prof. L. Drake Deming
Special accommodations for individuals with disabilities can be made by calling (301) 405-3001. It would be appreciated if we are notified at least one week in advance.
