Composit optical and X-ray image of the Coma galaxy cluster. Credit: ESA/XMM-Newton/SDSS/J. Sanders et al. 2019.

Our research focuses on the hot baryonic component of galaxies, galaxy groups, and galaxy clusters. We combine multi-wavelength observations, numerical simulations, and machine learning methods to study the physical processes that shape the formation and evolution of these systems-

Ongoing research projects in this area include:

• Studies of the role of the hot X-ray emitting plasma and accreting supermassive black holes in galaxy evolution. We use proprietary and public multi-wavelength, mainly X-ray and radio, data to study nearby early-type galaxies to test various predictions of the so-called “precipitation” and black hole feedback models and compare our data with state-of-the-art numerical simulations.
• Determining the dynamics, thermodynamics, and chemical composition of the hot intracluster medium by using X-ray and radio observations. Members of our group are involved in the Japanese XRISM mission as guest scientists. We also study mock X-ray observations of state-of-the-art cosmological simulations with existing and planned high-resolution X-ray observatories.
• Use of machine learning to study clusters of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the Universe.
• Members of our group were involved in the search for supermassive black holes in the earliest massive galaxies discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
• Our research also explores connections between astrophysics and theoretical physics, including exotic phenomena such as the quantum structure of space and microscopic black holes.