Assoicate Professor, Department of Physics

University of North Texas

Title: "Multiwavelength Diagnostics of Quasar Accretion Power"

Abstract:

Understanding the growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and the assembly of their host galaxies relies critically on obtaining reliable estimates of SMBH mass and accretion rate. Traditional methods of estimating these parameters in quasars, particularly those at high redshifts, suffer from biases and large uncertainties, thus yielding only loose constraints on models of SMBH growth in the early universe. I will describe the development of a prescription for obtaining the most reliable and practical SMBH mass and accretion rate indicators in quasars. The project involves a comprehensive multiwavelength investigation of such sources having wide ranges of redshift and luminosity.

This prescription will be particularly valuable for investigating thousands of quasars at redshifts greater than 6 that will be discovered by next-generation multiwavelength surveys.

*Refreshments will be served prior to the colloquium*