USAP-DC

This project will investigate the change in brightness of objects known as Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) using microwave telescopes. AGN are powered by matter falling onto supermassive black holes. The primary objective of this research is to undertake a study of AGN brightness fluctuations using light in multiple wavelengths. By studying the connections between the fluctuations at different wavelengths, we can learn what causes these fluctuations. The data produced under this project will be publicly released to enable other scientific investigations. The broader impacts of this project include the training of graduate students in the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge program. In addition, the researcher will continue to work with the NAACP (ACT-SO) and First Discoveries programs as a science mentor, advisor and teacher for local pre-K and high school students and classrooms. The researcher has introduced a new process that uses repurposed Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) data from the South Pole Telescope to produce millimeter-wavelength light curves of AGN with the goal of conducting a multi-wavelength correlation study. This study will be use the measured correlations between different wavelength emissions from AGN to better understand the origin and production of observed gamma-ray emissions. This project will fund the first large-scale effort to use CMB data for AGN monitoring and will provide a foundational observing program/strategy that will be implemented in future CMB experiments. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Person	Role
Hood, John	Investigator and contact

Post Doc/Travel

Award # 2219065

USAP-2219065_1

None in the Database

Repository	Title (link)	Format(s)	Status
GenBank	SPT Treasury Record of AGN With Historical Activity and Time-series (STRAWHAT) Catalog	Not Provided	exists

1. J. C. Hood II, et.al. Simultaneous Millimeter-wave, Gamma-ray, and Optical Monitoring of the Blazar PKS 2326-502 During a Flaring State (doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acbf45)