Finding X-ray emission from shocked post-starburst galaxies

Abstract

A post-starburst galaxy is a type of galaxy that has recently ceased star formation and is thought to be in a “transition” phase between a blue, spiral galaxy to a red, elliptical galaxy. The goal of this project is to determine if Shocked Post-Starburst Galaxies (SPOGs) have Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and if so, how active are they. AGN are supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies that have an accretion disk. The accretion disk is made of gas and actively feeds the black hole, which can cause the region to eject jets of radiation and matter that leaves the nuclear region and impacts the galaxy.