The redshifts of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) can help us piece together the universe’s evolutionary timeline. Unfortunately, measuring these redshifts can be pretty tricky. In today’s astrobite, we look at a trick for estimating and constraining the redshifts of AGNs that are – ironically enough – partially obscured from our view.
What role did quasars play in reionizing the early universe?
Some galaxies live peaceful lives, calmly making stars at a sedate pace, with supermassive black holes that don’t vomit jets of material. Other galaxies… not so much. Come to Professor Julie Comerford’s upcoming #AAS232 talk to learn more about the weird and wonderful world of active galactic nuclei!
Using super high resolution data from ALMA and the VLA, the authors of this paper resolve star formation in active galaxies — and find that active galactic nuclei are embedded inside central star-forming regions.
The most distant quasar yet discovered illuminates the early universe…
Though black holes may start as strangers, interactions between several of them — not just the two component masses — can lead to LIGO-esque mergers.