Supervisor : Dr Gordon Stewart (gcs@star.le.ac.uk)

PLEASE NOTE AN OFFER HAS BEEN MADE ON THIS PROJECT

Details of Project

The spectra of active galaxies, and in particular  the relative strengths of the various spectral components and their temporal behaviour, are important diagnostic tools with which the physics and the geometry of the accretion process onto supermassive black-holes can be understood.

In this project the student will analyse a combination of archival data from a number of satellites and data from the soon-to-be launched AstroSat mission which has a unique broad-band spectral coverage from the optical to gamma ray energies in order to determine the underlying emission and absorption mechanisms and their spatial locations in order to better understand the physical state of the accreting material and, where relevant, how the AGN feedback process may affect the AGN host galaxy.