In order to understand the physical relationship between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies, it is essential to determine the mass of the black hole itself. Unfortunately we are limited to directly measuring black hole masses in nearby galaxies. In order to fully understand the energetic impact of black holes at cosmological distances, we must instead use secondary indicators to estimate their masses. These so-called scaling relationships are fundamental to our knowledge of galaxies and black holes at high redshifts, but they remain poorly determined. The PI will perform a multiwavelength observational program that is targeted at removing many known sources of uncertainty and scatter among a sample of Active Galactic Nuclei with direct black hole mass measurements. The PI will (1) carry out a new reverberation mapping survey to measure black hole masses in 20 galaxies; (2) use integral field unit observations of the nuclear region to measure stellar dynamics; and (3) derive distances to the host galaxies using 21 cm spectroscopy.
This program will solidify the scaling relationships that are heavily used by the community for estimating black hole masses at cosmological distances and will pave the way for a significant leap forward in our understanding of galaxies and black holes throughout cosmic history. The PI will also partner with the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta to create and present astronomy workshops for Girl Scouts in grades 4-5 and high school. The PI's work will reach thousands of young girls, and she will encourage their interest in science and observations of the natural world.
