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Postgraduate research project

Understanding how supermassive black holes become active: the case of changing-look Active Galactic Nuclei

Funding
Competition funded View fees and funding
Type of degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Entry requirements
2:1 honours degree View full entry requirements
Faculty graduate school
Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Closing date

About the project

Only a small fraction of supermassive black holes is currently actively accreting gas and emitting energy into their surroundings. The active states are called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) but most supermassive black holes are inactive or accreting gas at an extremely low rate. We still do not know what physical processes control if black holes are active or inactive.

In this project the student will investigate a new class of AGN that may shed light on the process of black hole activation. These are called Changing-Look AGN and are observed to transition between active and inactive states in a matter of years or decades. The student will use multi-wavelength observations to study the properties of Changing-Look AGN and determine how they differ from other AGN. The student will also have the chance to propose new observations of recently discovered Changing-Look AGN using ground-based and space-based telescopes.

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