Galaxies and their Supermassive Black Holes in the early Universe

My main scientific interest lies in the to understand the emergence of galaxies in the early Universe. I am particularly interested in the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHS), which we can observe during phases of active growth (mass accretion), when they shine as luminous quasars. My group studies quasars in the first two billion years of the Universe to understand the processes by which SMBHs form, how they grow to their observed masses and how they influence the evolution of their host galaxies. The first massive SMBHs are believed to reside in the most overdense regions of the Cosmic Web and observations of these environments allow us to test large-scale structure formation models. Furthermore, quasars serve as bright beacons to study hydrogen reionization, the last major phase transition of the Universe, in absorption.

You can find more information on my research below or alternatively on my personal webpage.