New X-ray map reveals growing supermassive black holes in next-gen survey fields

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2021-06-09 10:30:08

June 8, 2021

by Sam Sholtis, Pennsylvania State University

One of the largest X-ray surveys using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space observatory has mapped nearly 12,000 X-ray sources across three large, prime regions of the sky. The X-ray sources represent active galactic nuclei and galaxy clusters, and the survey captures the growth of the supermassive black holes at the cores of these galaxies. This X-ray survey complements previous X-ray surveys, allowing the researchers to map active galactic nuclei in a wide range of cosmic environments.

Qingling Ni and W. Niel Brandt from Penn State will present the results of the XMM-Spitzer Extragalactic Representative Volume Survey (XMM-SERVS) at a press briefing being held Monday, June 7, at 4:30 p.m. during the 238th meeting of the American Astronomical Society. A paper describing the survey, by an international team of astronomers, has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal Supplement.