Related papers: Tracing the AGN-Merger Connection: insights from c…
We use stripped-down versions of three semi-analytic galaxy formation models to study the influence of different assumptions about gas cooling and galaxy mergers. By running the three models on identical sets of merger trees extracted from…
Simulations of nearby (0.015 < z < 0.025) SDSS galaxies have been used to reproduce as accurately as possible the appearance that they would have on COSMOS ACS images if they had been observed at z ~ 0.7 and z ~ 1.2. By adding the SDSS…
The concurrent growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and their host galaxies remains to be fully explored, especially at high redshift. While often understood as a consequence of self-regulation via AGN feedback, it can also be…
There is some weak evidence that the black hole merger named GW190521 had a non-zero eccentricity. In addition, the component black holes' masses exceeded the limit predicted by stellar evolution. The large masses can be explained by…
We describe techniques for incorporating feedback from star formation and black hole accretion into simulations of isolated and merging galaxies. At present, the details of these processes cannot be resolved in simulations on galactic…
We examine the processes triggering star formation and Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) activity in a sample of 25 low redshift ($z<0.13$) gas-rich galaxy mergers observed at milli-arcsecond resolution with Very Long Baseline Interferometry as…
Motivated by the increasing number of detections of merging black holes by LIGO-VIRGO-KAGRA, black hole (BH) binary mergers in the discs of active galactic nuclei (AGN) is investigated as a possible merger channel. In this pathway, BH…
We use a novel method to predict the contribution of normal star-forming galaxies, merger-induced bursts, and obscured AGN, to IR luminosity functions (LFs) and global SFR densities. We use empirical halo occupation constraints to populate…
We study supermassive black holes (BHs) in merging galaxies, using a suite of hydrodynamical simulations with very high spatial (~10 pc) and temporal (~1 Myr) resolution, where we vary the initial mass ratio, the orbital configuration, and…
The existence of massive quiescent galaxies at high redshift seems to require rapid quenching, but it is unclear whether all quiescent galaxies have gone through this phase and what physical mechanisms are involved. To study rapid…
Stellar-mass binary black hole mergers are poised to represent the majority of gravitational-wave (GW) observations by Advanced LIGO and Virgo. Probing their origin will be difficult due to the expected lack of electromagnetic emission and…
We measure the merger fraction of Type 2 radio-loud and radio-quiet active galactic nuclei at z>1 using new samples. The objects have HST images taken with WFC3 in the IR channel. These samples are compared to the 3CR sample of radio…
Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are a promising source of the binary black hole (BBH) mergers observed in gravitational waves with LIGO-Virgo-Kagra (LVK). Constraining the AGN channel allows us to limit AGN parameter space (disk density, size,…
Due to the co-evolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, understanding the mechanisms that trigger active galactic nuclei (AGN) are imperative to understanding galaxy evolution and the formation of massive galaxies. It…
We study the effects of feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) on emission from molecular gas in galaxy mergers by combining hydrodynamic simulations which include black holes with a three-dimensional, non-local thermodynamic…
Dual supermassive black holes (SMBHs) with kiloparsec scale separations in merger-remnant galaxies are informative tracers of galaxy evolution, but the avenue for identifying them in large numbers for such studies is not yet clear. One…
We present general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations of merging equal-mass, spinning black holes embedded in an equatorial thin slab of magnetized gas. We evolve black holes either non-spinning, with spins aligned to the orbital…
Galaxy mergers play a critical role in driving galaxy evolution, especially by transforming galaxy morphology, redistributing gas around galaxies, triggering active galactic nuclei (AGN), and stimulating star formation. We present the…
We examine the hypothesis that mergers and close encounters between galaxies can fuel AGNs by increasing the rate at which gas accretes towards the central black hole. We compare the clustering of galaxies around radio-loud AGNs with the…
In order to investigate the effects of galaxy mergers throughout the interaction sequence, we present a study of 10,800 galaxies in close pairs and a smaller sample of 97 post-mergers identified in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find that…