Heidelberg University

An X-ray view of Active Galactic Nuclei and their cosmological evolution

Andrea Merloni, MPE Garching

Abstract:

In the last decade, a combination of high sensitivity and spatial resolution observations in the nearby Universe, and of X-ray and coordinated multi-wavelength surveys has revolutionized our view of extra-galactic black hole (BH) astrophysics. We now know that supermassive black holes reside in the nuclei of almost every galaxy, grow over cosmological times by accreting matter, interact and merge with each other, and in the process liberate enormous amounts of energy that influence dramatically the evolution of the surrounding gas and stars, providing a powerful self-regulatory mechanism for galaxy formation. The different energetic phenomena associated to growing black holes and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), their cosmological evolution and the observational techniques used to unveil them, are the subject of this course. In particular, I will focus my attention on the major advances made possible in the field thanks to progresses in X-ray astronomy, and on the connection between the theory of high-energy astrophysical processes giving rise to the observed emission in AGN, and the methods used to uncover them in a statistically robust way. I will show how such a combined effort of theorists and observers have led us to unveil most of the SMBH growth over a large fraction of the age of the Universe, but that nagging uncertainties remain, preventing us from fully understating the exact role of black holes in the complex process of galaxy and large-scale structure formation, assembly and evolution.

Topics to be covered:

  • - Observational evidence of Supermassive Black Holes
  • - X-ray surveys and Population synthesis models for AGN evolution
  • - The evolution of SMBH mass function and spin distributions
  • - The first black holes
  • - The fundamental plane of active black holes
  • - Accretion in a cosmological context: AGN feedback models
  • - AGN-galaxy co-evolution: theoretical issues and observational evidences
  • - Shedding light onto AGN/galaxy evolution issues with next-generation of X-ray and multi-wavelength facilities