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Contemporary theory, supported by extensive observation, indicates that most if not all galaxies host a Super Massive Black Hole (SMBH) at their core. While the 2020 Noble prize in physics was awarded jointly “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity" (Penrose) and “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy" (Genzel & Ghez), direct observational mass measurements for SMBHs remain challenging. Our lack of robust assessment of the masses of blackholes hamstrings our efforts to understand the role they play in galaxy formation and star formation feedback.

With this project we will be using the newly automated ANU 2.3m telescope and the powerful WiFeS optical spectrograph to perform a time-series measurement of luminous active galaxies (AGN) using the technique of Quasar Reverberation Mapping. This will allow us to weigh their black holes and establish the high-mass end of the SMBH radius-Luminosity relation. A careful calibration of this relation enables the reliable inference of black hole masses across the full catalogue of Active Galaxies across cosmic time from single epoch spectral measurements.

Suggested reading

Malik, Sharp, Penton et al., 2023, MNRAS, 520, 2009, "OzDES Reverberation Mapping Program: H-beta lags from the 6-yr survey”, https://arxiv.org/abs/2210.03977

Yu, et al., 2023, MNRAS, 522, 4132, “OzDES Reverberation Mapping Programme: MgII lags and Radius-Luminosity relation”, https://arxiv.org/abs/2208.05491