The Roles of the Mid-infrared and Surveys in The Life and Times of Quasars
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Sch of Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
Black holes are intriguing objects. These regions of the Universe where mass is so dense, and gravity so strong, that even light cannot escape, were once thought mere oddities due to their extreme properties. Today, however, black holes are now thought to be vital in the formation and lives of galaxies, including our own Milky Way.
Observations, including those from the Hubble Space Telescope, have discovered black holes with masses a million or more times that of the Sun lurking at the centres of nearby galaxies. However, upon analysing these data further, there are two very surprising findings. First, these aptly named "Supermassive Black Holes" are ubiquitous at the centres of galaxies, and second, there is a relationship between the mass of the black hole and the properties of the galaxy.
Thus, the question arises, do black holes have an intimate relationship with their host galaxy? Do they inform, limit and influence how a galaxy - including its constituent stars and gas - forms and evolves? One possible line of evidence supporting the idea that black holes "regulate" their host galaxies is when one considers the energy liberated by mass falling into the black holes potential well.
As gas and dust fall towards a black hole, but before it gets "swallowed", an accretion disk can form which swirls around the black hole, feeding it. However, due to the intense gravitational fields, the large amounts of angular momentum, and friction between the infalling layers of gas, the accretion disk can heat-up to tremendous temperatures, in the process emitting optical, ultra-violet and X-ray light. If a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy is actively accreting, then this "active galactic nucleus" is termed a quasar.
The broad aim of my research is to discover and study quasars; to find out how they are fueled, how they generate their energy and how they can influence the host galaxies they live in.
I use several telescopes across a range of wavelengths, including data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Hubble Space Telescope in the optical, and the Spitzer Space Telescope and the WISE satellite in the infrared. The infrared is important since quasars emit a considerable amount of their energy at these wavelengths, and one goal is to make sure we account fully for the entire energy production from supermassive black holes.
It is with the data from these great observatories that I will discover and examine quasars, test theoretical and computer models of how quasars are fueled, and gain new insights into how the galaxy-quasar symbiosis is achieved.
This research has potential impact and wider benefits to society in two flavours. First, the direct technological spin-offs that are associated with e.g. space-based telescopes and detector technology. Second, and less tangible, but more importantly, this type of research, keeps the "awe" factor high. And it is this resource, from which "improving natural knowledge" subsequently flows.
Observations, including those from the Hubble Space Telescope, have discovered black holes with masses a million or more times that of the Sun lurking at the centres of nearby galaxies. However, upon analysing these data further, there are two very surprising findings. First, these aptly named "Supermassive Black Holes" are ubiquitous at the centres of galaxies, and second, there is a relationship between the mass of the black hole and the properties of the galaxy.
Thus, the question arises, do black holes have an intimate relationship with their host galaxy? Do they inform, limit and influence how a galaxy - including its constituent stars and gas - forms and evolves? One possible line of evidence supporting the idea that black holes "regulate" their host galaxies is when one considers the energy liberated by mass falling into the black holes potential well.
As gas and dust fall towards a black hole, but before it gets "swallowed", an accretion disk can form which swirls around the black hole, feeding it. However, due to the intense gravitational fields, the large amounts of angular momentum, and friction between the infalling layers of gas, the accretion disk can heat-up to tremendous temperatures, in the process emitting optical, ultra-violet and X-ray light. If a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy is actively accreting, then this "active galactic nucleus" is termed a quasar.
The broad aim of my research is to discover and study quasars; to find out how they are fueled, how they generate their energy and how they can influence the host galaxies they live in.
I use several telescopes across a range of wavelengths, including data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Hubble Space Telescope in the optical, and the Spitzer Space Telescope and the WISE satellite in the infrared. The infrared is important since quasars emit a considerable amount of their energy at these wavelengths, and one goal is to make sure we account fully for the entire energy production from supermassive black holes.
It is with the data from these great observatories that I will discover and examine quasars, test theoretical and computer models of how quasars are fueled, and gain new insights into how the galaxy-quasar symbiosis is achieved.
This research has potential impact and wider benefits to society in two flavours. First, the direct technological spin-offs that are associated with e.g. space-based telescopes and detector technology. Second, and less tangible, but more importantly, this type of research, keeps the "awe" factor high. And it is this resource, from which "improving natural knowledge" subsequently flows.
People |
ORCID iD |
Nicholas Ross (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Ruan J
(2016)
THE TIME-DOMAIN SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY: UNDERSTANDING THE OPTICALLY VARIABLE SKY WITH SEQUELS IN SDSS-III
in The Astrophysical Journal
Stern D
(2018)
A Mid-IR Selected Changing-look Quasar and Physical Scenarios for Abrupt AGN Fading
in The Astrophysical Journal
Timlin J
(2018)
The Clustering of High-redshift (2.9 = z = 5.1) Quasars in SDSS Stripe 82
in The Astrophysical Journal
Timlin J
(2016)
SpIES: THE SPITZER IRAC EQUATORIAL SURVEY
in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
Timlin John
(2016)
SpIES: The Spitzer IRAC Equatorial Survey
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #227
Timlin John
(2018)
The Clustering of High-Redshift (2.9 < z < 5.4) Quasars in SDSS Stripe 82
in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #231
Wang F
(2017)
First Discoveries of z > 6 Quasars with the DECam Legacy Survey and UKIRT Hemisphere Survey
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wang L
(2015)
Co-evolution of black hole growth and star formation from a cross-correlation analysis between quasars and the cosmic infrared background
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Zakamska N
(2016)
Discovery of extreme [O iii] ?5007 Å outflows in high-redshift red quasars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Description | New analysis techniques for studying astronomical infrared data. |
Exploitation Route | Our analysis could be adapted and used for other applications that image manipulating large amounts of imaging data, or understanding the infrared properties of (non-astronomical) objects. |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Agriculture Food and Drink Chemicals Communities and Social Services/Policy Construction Creative Economy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Electronics Energy Environment Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice Culture Heritage Museums and Collections Transport Other |
URL | http://www.roe.ac.uk/~npross/ |
Description | Scots for Science |
Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | LBNL Observing |
Amount | $2,000 (USD) |
Organisation | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
Sector | Public |
Country | United States |
Start | 12/2015 |
End | 01/2016 |
Description | LSST:UK Travel Scheme |
Amount | £2,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | LSST Corporation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United States |
Start | 02/2019 |
End | 02/2019 |
Title | My Research Tools & Methods |
Description | https://github.com/d80b2t |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2016 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | https://github.com/d80b2t |
URL | https://github.com/d80b2t |
Description | Revolutionary Quasar Science with the JWST |
Organisation | JWST-MIRI European Consortium |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | I start the "Revolutionary Quasar Science with the JWST" programme and collaboration. |
Collaborator Contribution | All contributions are documented here: https://github.com/d80b2t/JWST_ERS |
Impact | All outputs are documented here: https://github.com/d80b2t/JWST_ERS |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | The 2dF-Spitzer Quasar Redshift Survey |
Organisation | Drexel University |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We/I P.I.'ed the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Initial proposal writing; travel to take data; data analysis; experimental log keeping; publication of results and interpretation. |
Impact | Academic peer-reviewed journals. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | The 2dF-Spitzer Quasar Redshift Survey |
Organisation | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | We/I P.I.'ed the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Initial proposal writing; travel to take data; data analysis; experimental log keeping; publication of results and interpretation. |
Impact | Academic peer-reviewed journals. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | The 2dF-Spitzer Quasar Redshift Survey |
Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We/I P.I.'ed the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Initial proposal writing; travel to take data; data analysis; experimental log keeping; publication of results and interpretation. |
Impact | Academic peer-reviewed journals. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | The 2dF-Spitzer Quasar Redshift Survey |
Organisation | University of Wyoming |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We/I P.I.'ed the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Initial proposal writing; travel to take data; data analysis; experimental log keeping; publication of results and interpretation. |
Impact | Academic peer-reviewed journals. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Title | My Analysis Code |
Description | My Analysis Code. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2016 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Multiple research papers. |
URL | https://github.com/d80b2t/ |
Description | ROE Open DAy |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | 2015 ROE Open Days "Weird New Worlds" The ROE Open Days for 2015 took place over the weekend of the 26th and 27th of September. The theme this year was Weird New Worlds We had over 3000 visitors over the weekend. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
URL | http://www.stfc.ac.uk/news-events-and-publications/events/stfc-events/royal-observatory-edinburgh-op... |
Description | ROE Open Day Sep 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Help at the ROE Open Day. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |