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Due to distinctive features in the spectra of the 'Little Red Dots', a new class of objects spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope, it was thought that these were distant galaxies with massive black holes at their centres. However, new research suggests that the light from these galaxies is shaped not only by the motion of gas near the central black hole, but also by the effects of radiation. MPA scientists have modelled three key processes – resonance, Raman, and Thomson scattering – and found that these, acting together,  can explain the formation of hydrogen emission lines in the Little Red Dots. more

The space around galaxies might not glow brightly in telescopes, but it is, in fact, filled with gases at vastly different temperatures. From plasma at a million degrees Celsius to much colder, tiny, cold clouds at temperatures that can be found on Earth. Understanding how these gases interact is key to explaining how galaxies grow, form stars, and evolve. But the vast temperature difference has proved to be a significant challenge for simulations, as it also results in a big difference in densities.  A team of scientists from MPA and AIP (Potsdam) has now developed a new model, MOGLI, that can track these interactions in unprecedented detail. By treating hot and cold gas as two coupled components that exchange material and energy, a multifluid approach, developed in engineering circles for numerous terrestrial applications, allows large cosmological simulations to capture the hidden life of cold gas. more

Black holes with masses between the stellar and supermassive regime are among the most elusive objects in the Universe. These intermediate-mass black holes are believed to reside in many dwarf galaxies. Using new, high-resolution supercomputer simulations, MPA scientists discovered that nuclear star clusters — compact, massive clusters of stars at the centres of galaxies — may be key to enabling these black holes to grow, thus shedding light on the origins of supermassive black holes. more

A new study led by Dr. Alankar Dutta at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics uncovers why cold gas clouds fail to thrive in powerful winds flowing out of galaxies driven by supernovae. These findings, soon to be published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, challenge long standing assumptions about how galaxies exchange matter with their surroundings.
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Quasars are active supermassive black holes located at the centres of massive galaxies that emit energy levels that far exceed the binding energy of their host galaxies. This substantial amount of energy has the potential to impact the gas within and around the galaxies, thereby influencing their evolution. While the importance of this process is acknowledged, its details are still the subject of significant debate. An international team of researchers led by MPA scientists has now obtained observations of the most extensive sample of hydrogen structures surrounding quasars in the early universe to better understand this feedback process. The data reveal how the gas responds to the energy released by the supermassive black holes over distances of several hundred thousand light years, providing a new way to study the impact of quasars on galaxy evolution. 
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