Distinguished Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics

Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics
525 Davey Lab
The Pennsylvania State University

A Good Hard Look at Growing Supermassive Black Holes in the
Distant Universe

Sensitive cosmic X-ray surveys with the Chandra, XMM-Newton, and
NuSTAR observatories have revolutionized our ability to find and
study distant active galactic nuclei (AGNs), the main sites
of supermassive black hole growth in the Universe. I will describe
some of the resulting discoveries about the demography, physics,
and ecology of AGNs. Topics covered will include the utility of
deep X-ray plus multiwavelength surveys for investigating distant
AGNs; evolution constraints for the typical AGNs of the distant
Universe; the cosmic balance of power between supermassive black
holes and stars; interactions between AGNs and their hosting
galaxies; and the AGN content of newly forming galaxies. I will
end by discussing some key outstanding questions and new
observations and missions that aim to answer them.