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Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Michigan Department of Astronomy745 Dennison Building500 Church St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1042
Office Location(s): 745 Dennison Phone: 734.615.4714 Fax: 734.763.6317 mbrendan@umich.edu Research Website
PhD, The Pennsylvania State University | Key Collaborator: Elena Gallo Supermassive black hole activity
Brendan Miller is studying the influence of large-scale environment on black hole growth and activity. He uses Chandra observations to detect weakly accreting supermassive black holes as nuclear X-ray sources in local early-type galaxies. The observed detection fraction provides a direct lower limit on the occupation fraction, helping to constrain models linking galaxy and black hole evolution. Through a comparison of the properties of more isolated field galaxies with those inhabiting clusters, he is testing how processes such as stripping or harassment, which operate more efficiently in dense large-scale environments, can impact centralized black hole fueling. This work will help clarify to what degree mechanical feedback from the supermassive black hole assists in quenching star formation in early-type galaxies.
Potential star-planet interaction; X-ray properties of radio-loud quasars; mass transfer in Algol-type binaries
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