CAPS Seminar: Exploring AGN physics across all scales in the era of large surveys

Event Type

Seminar/Symposium

Sponsor

Center for AstroPhysical Surveys

Location

NCSA - 1205 W Clark St, Urbana - RM 1040

Virtual

Date

May 31, 2024   12:00 - 1:00 pm  

Speaker

Dr. Jennifer LI

Views

20

Originating Calendar

Center for AstroPhysical Surveys

Speaker: Jennifer Li, University of Michigan
Date/Time: May 31, 2024 / 12 noon central.
Location: NCSA, 1040.
Zoom: https://illinois.zoom.us/j/82318062756?pwd=M3g1MFF6cytsOWFEbmU0UW1XWVoxQT09
Title: Exploring AGN physics across all scales in the era of large surveys
Abstract: Active galactic nuclei (AGN), residing at the center of massive galaxies, are the ideal laboratories for studying accretion physics, black hole-galaxy-halo relations, and interstellar/circumgalactic medium (ISM/CGM) evolution. Driven by accretion onto the central supermassive black holes (SMBH), AGN can expel substantial energy into the surrounding environment through radio jets and direct heating of ISM/CGM. Recent deep imaging and spectroscopic surveys have revealed interesting connections between AGN, host galaxies, and their surrounding ISM/CGM. Meanwhile, stochastic quasar variability monitored by time-domain surveys can provide constraints on geometry and dynamics in the innermost region of AGNs. In this talk, I will highlight recent discoveries from the Cosmic Ultraviolet Baryon Survey (CUBS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Reverberation Mapping Project (SDSS-RM). I will also present a flexible inference framework using simulation-based inference and deep learning to constrain accretion disk physics for the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). Finally, I will discuss the importance of leveraging novel methodologies to tackle large datasets in future astronomy surveys.