Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

At cosmic noon, when the universe was about a third to a half its present age, both galaxies and their central, supermassive black holes went through phases of explosive growth when stars were formed in abundance and gas falling onto the black holes gave off tremendous amounts of light as quasars. Quasars are the prime suspects in two puzzles of galaxy evolution: why did the most massive galaxies stop forming stars and why are the masses of black holes and their host galaxies so well correlated? The best explanations to date for both are categorized as "feedback", which generically means the injection of energy from the black hole system into the gas in the host galaxy to prevent the continuing production of stars and perhaps turn off the quasar itself. Understanding how supermassive black holes grow and influence the galaxies they inhabit remains a driver for understanding the complex history of galaxy evolution over cosmic time.  I propose to address these topics with a multi-faceted program operating from small to large scales by focussing on my long-term objectives of addressing the questions of How do black holes grow? What is the nature of their energetic winds? and What is the impact of the windiest quasars on their home galaxies?  In pursuit of these objectives, we will take advantage of access to ground and space-based observatories and sophisticated modelling efforts to put quasar activity in context with the evolution of the galaxies in which it occurs. Scientifically, this program leverages Canadian expertise into active leadership in international initiatives including the Legacy Survey for Space and Time [LSST] Consortium.  Specific program activities focus on developing simulations for next generation surveys aimed at measuring the masses of thousands of black holes, developing the tools to support AGN Science with LSST, modelling changes over time of the outflows from luminous quasars with the powerful spectral simulation code SimBAL, and mapping the structure and star formation in galaxies that host the quasars with the strongest winds with the James Webb Space Telescope.  Targetting high-growth black holes - luminous quasars - during their peak epoch enables the unpacking of the interplay of accretion and outflow at this critical era of cosmic noon.