Image Caption: Images of a high resolution simluations showing stars and gas within a low mass galaxy merger taking place at z = 4 (when the Universe was about 1 Billion years old). The galaxies each have a massive black hole (shown with an "x") that will eventually form a binary and merge, producing gravitational waves. High resolution simulations like these are crucial for understanding the host galaxies of massive black hole binaries that will be detected with the future LISA gravitational wave detector.

Dr. Michael Tremmel runs simulations of galaxies using the N-body+Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code, ChaNGa. Dr. Tremmel's group focuses is on creating models for massive black hole formation, growth, and dynamics and implementing them within simulations of various scales. Our group then uses this data to study how these black holes co-evolve with their host galaxies over cosmic time, predict where and when they form binaries (see figure), and examine the effect they have on the observable properties of galaxies.