Speaker
Description
In the talk, I will introduce a new semianalytical model (SAM) for supermassive black hole (SMBH) growth that departs from traditional EPS-based merger tree methods by directly tracking differential SMBH growth via mergers. I will show that this model reveals a clear preference for heavy SMBH seeds across diverse datasets—including recent JWST observations—except in cases of extremely efficient merging, where a light-seed scenario uniquely fits the JWST data. I will also discuss the interplay between galaxy–SMBH co-evolution and dark matter (DM) models. I will show that, by incorporating the effects of warm and fuzzy DM on large-scale structure formation and halo evolution, the latest JWST measurements of the UV luminosity function and SMBHs can be used to place novel constraints on DM properties. Notably, this uncovers a previously unexplored link between the initial SMBH seed mass and DM characteristics, establishing SMBH evolution as a remarkably sensitive tracer of DM. Finally, I will also comment on what are the prospects of future GW observatories, namely LISA and the atom interferometers, to complement current observations and severely constrain or discover deviations from cold DM.
