Chiara Circosta - Personal Profiles

Main Research Fields

I am an observational astrophysicist interested in understanding the evolution of galaxies and the processes that stop their star formation activity, which vitally depends on the availability of gas. In particular, my research focuses on galaxies hosting accreting supermassive black holes at their centers, called active galactic nuclei (AGN). These are energetic phenomena that can profoundly influence galaxy growth. I investigate galaxies in the young Universe, about 10 billion years ago, when star formation was the most intense. To this aim, I have been using data across the electromagnetic spectrum collected by ground-based and space observatories, such as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the NASA/ESA/CASA James Webb Space Telescope and ESA’s XMM-Newton. My goal is to characterize the impact that supermassive black hole activity has on the host galaxy gas reservoir and star formation. These studies will be key to ultimately unveil how galaxies obtained the appearance we observe today.