By combining forefront X-ray observations with state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations of the buildup of galaxies over cosmic history, researchers have provided the best modeling to date of the growth of the supermassive black holes found in the centers of galaxies. The background image on the left-hand side of this graphic shows a data image combining X-rays from XMM-Newton (blue) and optical light data (yellow and green). The inset is an artist’s illustration that shows a supermassive black hole accreting material from a surrounding disk, which is what generates the X-rays that astronomers have observed. On the right side of the graphic, supercomputer modeling of gas density over cosmic time using IllustrisTNG is shown. The densest regions, showing galaxies and clusters of galaxies, are in green.

A Chandra X-ray image of the Chandra Deep Field-South. This is the deepest X-ray image yet obtained, and is one of the datasets used by Zou et al. to study the growth of supermassive black holes over billions of years.