Supermassive Black Holes & Galaxy Formation

Supervision

Christian Boily (ObAS, Strasbourg)

Laboratory and team

ObAS, Strasbourg - Team GALHECOS

Subject description

The strong gravity of a massive black hole disturbs stars up to break up point. The project follows a theoretical approach for the integration of stellar orbits in general relativity applied to a realistic population of stars in the core of a galaxy. A key objective is to map these high energy events to high accuracy with a view to apply machine learning methods to probe real galaxies as observed by e.g. the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). To reach that goal, this project aims to quantify the growth rate of black holes in order to explain their very existence in the early Universe (< 1 Gyr), a key challenge of modern astrophysics.

Related mathematical skills

The project would benefit from expertise in high-order stiff differential equations solving techniques. Experience with machine learning techniques to map mock images to real data would also be a valued asset.

Other public funding

Candidates recruited as PhDs will benefit from IRMIA++ funding and will have to follow the Graduate Program "Mathematics and Applications: Research and Interactions" (https://irmiapp.unistra.fr/training/presentation).

IRMIA++ is one of the 15 Interdisciplinary Thematic Institute (ITI) of the University of Strasbourg. It brings together a research cluster and a master-doctorate training program, relying on 12 research teams and 9 master tracks.

It encompasses all mathematicians at Université de Strasbourg, with partners in computer science and physics. ITI IRMIA++ builds on the internationally renowned research in mathematics in Strasbourg, and its well-established links with the socio-economic environment. It promotes interdisciplinary academic collaborations and industrial partnerships.

A core part of the IRMIA++ mission is to realize high-level training through integrated master-PhD tracks over 5 years, with common actions fostering an interdisciplinary culture, such as joint projects, new courses and workshops around mathematics and its interactions.

Selection will rely on the professional project of the candidate, his/her interest for interdisciplinarity and academic results.