W. Niel Brandt

W. Niel Brandt

Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State

My research focuses on observational studies of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and cosmic surveys. Specific objects investigated include actively accreting SMBHs (i.e., active galactic nuclei: AGNs), dormant SMBHs, starburst and normal galaxies, and transients. Observations utilized are from facilities at the forefront of astrophysical discovery, including the Chandra, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR satellites and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I soon plan to work on data from new X-ray missions, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, and the MOONS spectrograph on the VLT. Ultimately, my research aims to understand the physics, demographics, and ecology of SMBHs across all of cosmic time.

Articles by: W. Niel Brandt

This computer-simulated image shows a supermassive black hole at the core of a galaxy. The black region in the center represents the black hole’s event horizon, where no light can escape the massive object’s gravitational grip. The black hole’s powerful gravity distorts space around it like a funhouse mirror. Light from background stars is stretched and smeared as the stars skim by the black hole.

Black hole growth is slowing down in the universe. New research could help explain why.

By Fan Zou, W. Niel Brandt published

Black hole growth is slowing down, suggests a team of astrophysicists who looked back in time across the universe's 13.8 billion-year history.