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Active Galactic Nuclei are powered by accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole (SMBH) of mass Mbh ~ 10^{5}-10^{9} Msun. The accretion process is indeed the most efficient mechanism for energy release we currently know of, with up…
The cores of active galactic nuclei (AGN) harbor some of the most extreme conditions of matter and energy in the Universe. One of the major goals of high-energy astrophysics is to probe these extreme environments in the vicinity of…
We report the discovery of two sources at z=3.867 and z=3.427 that exhibit powerful starburst and AGN activities. They benefit from data from radio to X rays from the CFHTLS-D1/SWIRE/XMDS surveys. Follow-up optical and near-infrared…
We have developed a model for the variability of gamma ray emission in jets of active galactic nuclei in which the variability arises as a result of photon-photon pair production interactions with X-rays emitted by a hot spot in the inner…
As active galactic nuclei (AGN) `turn on', some stars end up embedded in accretion disks around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) on retrograde orbits. Such stars experience strong headwinds, aerodynamic drag, ablation and orbital evolution…
Accretion disks in active galactic nuclei (AGN) are promising sites for mergers of stellar-mass black holes (BHs) detectable via gravitational waves (GWs). These environments facilitate both in-situ formation and dynamical capture of…
Over the last 12 years, AGN monitoring by RXTE, has revolutionised our understanding of the X-ray variability of AGN, of the relationship between AGN and Galactic black hole X-ray binaries (BHBs) and hence of the accretion process itself,…
Sagittarius~A$^*$, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, exhibits flares across various wavelengths, yet their origins remain elusive. We performed 3D two-temperature General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD)…
The observations and theory of the exciting new class of galactic black hole X-ray transients is reviewed. Seven of these systems have measured mass functions or mass estimates in excess of stable neutron stars, making them excellent black…
We report the serendipitous discovery of a bright point source flare in the Abell cluster 1795 with archival EUVE and Chandra observations. Assuming the EUVE emission is associated with the Chandra source, the X-ray 0.5-7 keV flux declined…
Multiple theories have been proposed to describe the formation of black hole seeds in the early Universe and to explain the emergence of very massive black holes observed in the first billion years after Big Bang. Models consider different…
The structure of the accretion flow onto supermassive black holes (SMBH) is not well understood. Standard disc models match to zeroth order in predicting substantial energy dissipation within optically-thick material producing a…
Collimated relativistic outflows, or jets, are amongst the most energetic and relativistic phenomena in the Universe. They are associated with supermassive black holes in distant active galactic nuclei (AGN), accreting black holes and…
We summarize what large surveys of the contemporary universe have taught us about the physics and phenomenology of the processes that link the formation and evolution of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes. We present a…
Supermassive black holes are found at the centre of massive galaxies. During the growth of these black holes they light up to become visible as active galactic nuclei (AGN) and release extraordinary amounts of energy across the…
Growing supermassive black holes (Active Galactic Nuclei; AGN) release energy with the potential to alter their host galaxies and larger-scale environment; a process named "AGN feedback". Feedback is a required component of galaxy formation…
We discuss a model of X-ray variability of active galactic nuclei (AGN). We consider multiple spots which originate on the surface of an accretion disk following intense irradiation by coronal flares. The spots move with the disk around the…
The impact of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) on star formation has implications for our understanding of the relationships between supermassive black holes and their galaxies, as well as for the growth of galaxies over the history of the…
The tidal disruption of a star by a supermassive black hole is expected to lead to a short bright flare followed by an extended period of low-level emission. Existing models of the late-time accretion of the stellar debris via a thin disk…
During the last decade, wide-angle powerful outflows from AGN, both on parsec and kpc scales, have been detected in many galaxies. These outflows are widely suspected to be responsible for sweeping galaxies clear of their gas. We present…