Springer - Accretion and Obscured Growth of Supermassive Black Holes

Explore the complexities of supermassive black holes with this specialized Springer thesis. This academic work focuses on the astronomical quest to understand obscured active galactic nuclei (AGN). These black holes grow by accreting matter within galactic nuclei, but the very material that feeds them also hides them from view. This text details how high-energy X-ray studies provide a way to study these objects. By using X-ray observations to peer through obscuring veils, researchers can better understand the growth of these celestial bodies. The research includes a proof-of-concept application of novel X-ray Monte Carlo codes, offering new constraints on the local heavily obscured AGN fraction using NuSTAR data. This book is a significant resource for those studying high-energy astrophysics and the evolution of galaxies.