Mapping the X-ray Sky with SRG: First Results from eROSITA and ART-XC

The cosmic X-ray background and the history of the growth of black holes

Mar 16, 2020, 2:25 PM

30m

Garching

Oral Presentation AGN Surveys and the history of accretion

Speaker

Ryan Hickox (Dartmouth College)

Description

The growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) over cosmic time is imprinted in their X-ray luminosity that is emitted from the inner central engine of active galactic nuclei (AGN). Observationally, X-rays from AGN can be probed both through deep and wide X-ray surveys, and also through the integrated emission that makes up the cosmic X-ray background (CXB). I will give an overview of our constraints on SMBH growth from X-ray and multiwavelength surveys and the CXB, focusing on the newest frontiers: AGN at the very dawn of black holes and galaxies (redshift 6 and higher) and AGN that are heavily buried by gas and dust. I will point toward the exciting potential of eROSITA, ART-XC, and future observatories in further uncovering the cosmic growth of SMBHs.