Research Research Themes Black hole phenomena toc About Black holes are among the most fascinating objects in astrophysics, and it is now thought that many of the most energetic processes in the universe are related, or attributable to, these enigmatic phenomena. Astrophysicists at RSAA study many aspects of the nature of black holes and the roles that they play in galaxies, including: supermassive black holes in galaxies and the formation of active galactic nuclei as material is accreted by the black hole feedback of mass and energy from the nucleus of galaxies as the black hole accretes matter, and how this affects the galaxies, their surroundings, and the way that they grow and develop radio galaxies and the nature of the relativistic jets that are formed in the active galactic nucleus constructing theoretical and computational models of accretion disks around black holes and jets and outflows associated with these phenomena making detailed observations of galaxies, to understand how the central black hole affects their structure and dynamics, and to measure the black hole mass. investigating the nature of the objects that produce highly energetic 'gamma ray bursts' in the distant universe. Our theoretical astrophysicists develop and run sophisticated computational models to simulate the physical processes at work in these complex systems. They use powerful high-performance computing systems, including the Computational Astrophysics Laboratory (COALA) at RSAA, the ANU Supercomputer Facility (ANUSF), and other supercomputers in Australia. Projects Modeling the inner radio structure of the galaxy Centaurus A This honours research developed numerical models of the inner radio structure of Centaurus A using the FLASH relativistic hydrodynamics code, and compared the predictions with observations of the galaxy. Read more Student intake Open for Honours students People Professor Geoff Bicknell Read more Observing black-hole formation in gravitational-wave events Using ANU's SkyMapper Telescope we follow up on gravitational-wave events from LIGO/Virgo to characterise the ejecta from neutron-star collisions. Read more People Associate Professor Christian Wolf Read more Projects related to Feedback by Jets and Winds in Active Galaxies Feedback by relativistic jets, Gigahertz Peak Spectrum and Compact Steep Spectrum radio galaxies Read more People Professor Geoff Bicknell Read more Radio galaxy environments In this project we will be able to investigate the environmental effect on star formation and galaxy evolution in individual galaxies falling into the cluster through radio observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Read more Read more Radio spectra of galaxies undergoing feedback by relativistic jets The main aim of this project is to parallelise an existing Fortran program to take advantage of the parallel processing environment of the supercomputer raijin, located on the ANU campus. Read more People Professor Geoff Bicknell Read more The link between extended line emission and AGN feedback in brightest cluster galaxies This research project employed the Wide-Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) to study the extended filaments surrounding a sample of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in massive clusters. Integral-field spectroscopy provides the opportunity to measure the distribution, emission properties, and velocities of the emitting gas across the extent of the galaxies. Read more Student intake Open for PhD students Read more Load more Articles Higher Degree Research Information Days Read the article New galaxy survey to precisely measure the expanding Universe ANU will play a major role in the Taipan galaxy survey, which will for the first time measure the current expansion rate of the Universe with one per cent precision. Read the article Monster black hole devouring one sun every day The fastest-growing black hole ever recorded – devouring the equivalent of one sun every day – has been discovered by RSAA researchers at The Australian National University (ANU). Read the article Load More toc