Building the First Quasars: Simulating the Formation of Massive Black Holes in Protogalaxies

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Jemma Wolcott-Green is awarded an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct a program of research and education at University of California, Santa Barbara. She will perform high-resolution three-dimensional computer simulations of the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe. Alongside this research, she will design and teach a seminar series for undergraduates in physics and astronomy, as well as offer mentoring for women undergraduate and graduate students. The proposed research program seeks to advance our understanding of the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe. The rapid growth of some black holes to masses of a billion solar masses during the first billion years of the universe remains unexplained. This project will focus on modeling the formation of massive black hole seeds by direct collapse of gas clouds in early galaxies to try to explain the rapid growth of supermassive black holes. The educational component of the work will include coursework development as well as mentoring activities to help increase the participation and retention of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.