Topic: supermassive black holes

Laura Blecha’s group recruits a researcher to study supermassive black holes, gravitational-wave and multimessenger source populations, and the cosmic evolution of black holes and galaxies. The preferred start is 16 August 2027. The appointment renews annually for two years, with a possible third year subject to performance and funding. It provides a $60,000 salary, travel funding, benefits and access to the HiPerGator computing cluster. Applications received by 4 December 2026 receive full consideration; the listed closing date is 28 February 2027.

Quasi-periodic eruptions are repeating X-ray transients from supermassive black holes in nearby low-mass galactic nuclei. Their regularity, timescales and energetics suggest stellar companions orbiting at about 100 gravitational radii. They may provide unusually close dynamical probes of black holes and electromagnetic counterparts to extreme mass-ratio inspirals, a target for future space-based gravitational-wave observatories such as LISA. Joheen Chakraborty reviews the thirteen known systems, including the unexpected appearance of several in accretion discs created by tidal disruption even

X-ray variability probes matter accreting onto or being expelled from the supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei. This seminar explains what changing X-ray emission reveals about the immediate black-hole environment and its connection to the evolution of the host galaxy.