Dr. Margaret Buhariwalla (She/They) recently graduated with their PhD from St. Mary's University in 2025. Her research focuses on hot plasmas associated with actively accreting supermassive black holes. Margaret has a passion for (and several years of experience in) science communication and is particularly interested in sharing the human perspective on space science. They care deeply about bringing the world of physics and astronomy to the general public, particularly underrepresented communities.
Title: The Era of High-Resolution and Broadband X-Ray Spectroscopy: Insights into Active Galactic Nuclei
Abstract: The brightest objects we observe in the universe are supermassive black holes (SMBH) that have material actively accreting onto them. Throughout cosmic history SMBH have been actively accreting material and releasing tremendous amounts of energy into their host galaxies. This is a process that occurs in every sufficiently massive Galaxy, including the Milky Way. Exploring the connection between active galactic nuclei (AGN) and their host galaxies is paramount for understanding galactic evolution. High-resolution X-ray spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for probing the physical conditions of these environments. In particular, new instruments such as X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), a joint NASA-JAXA instrument has already changed our understanding of these powerful systems. This talk will give an overview of AGN's impact on galactic evolution, how we use X-ray astronomy to understand this impact, and how our current instrumentation impacts our understanding.