About the project
Our census of supermassive black hole growth is incomplete. Powerful black holes enshrouded in dust have been difficult to detect until now but appear to be numerous in the early Universe. This project will combine new imaging and spectroscopic survey data to further our understanding of obscured black hole growth across cosmic time.
Supermassive black holes are fundamental components of galaxies. Large surveys tracing ultraviolet and optical emission from accreting black holes, have shown that black holes are ubiquitous in massive galaxies. However, recent developments in infrared survey capability reveal that many of the most luminous accreting black holes are shrouded in dust, which dims their visible light so strongly that optical surveys can entirely miss the population.
This project builds on the rapidly emerging large statistical samples of a population of dust-obscured quasars known as Heavily Reddened Quasars (HRQs) discovered with SPHEREx. Exploiting our proprietary access to data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Euclid mission, and spectroscopic surveys with 4MOST you will build a coherent understanding of these obscured quasars for the first time and establish how they fit into our current understanding of galaxy and black hole formation.
Potential directions include:
- studying their variability signatures utilising time-domain data from Rubin LSST
- understanding their host galaxy properties exploiting high-angular resolution imaging from Euclid and Roman
- characterising their accretion and outflow properties using spectroscopic data from Euclid, 4MOST and VLT-MOONS
The project has enormous discovery potential as many of the telescopes and survey facilities named above are just starting operations, opening up entirely new regions of discovery space in astronomy. You will have the opportunity to work on the new survey data and join teams within large international collaborations in exploiting the latest statistical and machine-learning techniques to make the most of this data deluge. You will also be able to shape the direction of the project based on your own interests.
The School of Physics and Astronomy is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.
