Symposium S12  23-24 June 2025

Understanding and Interpreting Massive Black Holes in the Early Universe

Aims and scope

Our understanding of the Early Universe is undergoing rapid change with the advent of JWST and this is particularly true with respect to massive black holes (MBHs), where JWST has revealed an unexpected population which provides new tests for theoretical models on the formation, growth and feedback from MBHs. The goals of this symposium are to 1) provide updates on JWST results related to MBHs and their host galaxies in the Early Universe and the large scale environment and 2) share theoretical models to explain/interpret these new and on-going observations, including implications for SMBH seeding mechanisms and super-Eddington accretion physics.

Image Credit: Carrie Templeton, ESA/NASA/CSA.STScI, Odyssey Traveller, NASA/Dana Berry/SkyWorks Digital

Programme

During this symposium we will hope to address the following topics:

  • Observations of Massive Black Holes and Galaxies at Extreme Redshifts
  • Seeding Massive Black Holes
  • Signatures and Interpretations from the First Galaxies and MBHs

Invited speakers

  • Erini Lambrides (NASA-Goddard)
  • Alessandro Lupi (Università degli Studi dell?Insubria)
  • Piero Madau (University of California Santa Cruz)
  • Roberto Maiolino (University of Cambridge)
  • Raffaella Schneider (Sapienza Università di Roma)
  • Marta Volonteri (Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris)
  • John Wise (Georgia Tech)

Scientific organisers

  • Michael Tremmel (University College Cork; co-Chair)
  • John Regan (Maynooth University; co-Chair)
  • Ricarda Beckmann (University of Edinburgh)
  • Pratika Dayal (Kapteyn Institute)
  • Zoltan Haiman (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)
  • Dale Kocevski (Colby College)
  • Sophie Koudmani (University of Hertfordshire, University of Cambridge)
  • Jorryt Matthee (Institute of Science and Technology Austria)
  • Tommaso Zana (Sapienza, University of Rome)

Contact

Michael Tremmel (mtremmel @ ucc.ie) and John Regan (John.Regan @ mu.ie)

Updated on Fri Feb 21 16:57:22 CET 2025
European Astronomical Society