Emilia Järvelä, D.Sc.

Research Interests

I am an observational astronomer interested in supermassive black holes residing in the centres of (almost all) galaxies. Especially the kind that is actively accreting matter via an accretion disk, also known as active galactic nuclei. My roots are in radio astronomy, but these days I embrace a multiwavelength approach to research.

My research focuses on a class of active galactic nuclei known as narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies. These sources host lightweight supermassive black holes, with masses of less than a hundred million solar masses. They are the rebellious teenagers of the active galactic nuclei family and are going through a growth spurt, accreting mass very rapidly.

I am interested in understanding the nature and evolution of the narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy population, much of which is still unknown. You can read more about my research project NOCTURNE and my other activities here.

If Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole in the centre of our Galaxy, were active, it would be a narrow-line Seyfert 1!