Introduction
Hi, I am a postdoctoral research fellow working with Elena Gallo in the Department of Astronomy at University of Michigan. Before that, I received my Ph.D. at The Pennsylvania State University (advisor: Niel Brandt) in 2024 and my B.S. at University of Science and Technology of China in 2019.
Broadly speaking, I am interested in massive black holes (MBHs) and galaxies, with a strong focus on multiwavelength data covering from X-ray to radio. The symbolic interactions between galaxies and their MBHs have strongly shaped both populations. I have been using active galactic nuclei (AGNs) as probes to understand the MBH-galaxy coevolution across cosmic time. I have a broad spectrum of experience on this topic, covering low (i.e., data) to high (i.e., science) levels.
Here is my CV. You can find my publications here.
Research
My most important results so far include:
(i) Developing the multiwavelength data foundation in three Deep-Drilling Fields of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time;
(ii) Providing the most robust current constraintes on the MBH growth for massive galaxies between z=0-4;
(iii) Demonstrating, for the first time, that MBHs are not ubiquitous at the center of low-mass galaxies.
I list my first- or corresponding-author articles below. They are grouped by primary topics.
Survey data
- Spectral Energy Distributions in Three Deep-drilling Fields of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time: Source Classification and Galaxy Properties (Zou+22; data)
- A Multi-band Forced-photometry Catalog in the ELAIS-S1 Field (Zou+21a; data)
- Photometric Redshifts in the W-CDF-S and ELAIS-S1 Fields Based on Forced Photometry from 0.36 to 4.5 Microns (Zou+21b; data)
Correlation and coevolution between SMBHs and galaxies
- Investigating the Star Formation Characteristics of Radio Active Galactic Nuclei (Zhang+25)
- The X-ray Link Between High Eddington Ratio Dust-Obscured Galaxies (DOGs) and Hot DOGs (Zou+25a)
- The Cosmic Evolution of the Supermassive Black Hole Population: A Hybrid Observed Accretion and Simulated Mergers Approach (Zou+24a)
- Mapping the Growth of Supermassive Black Holes as a Function of Galaxy Stellar Mass and Redshift (Zou+24b; data)
- Investigating the Star Formation Rates of Active Galactic Nucleus Hosts Relative to the Star-forming Main Sequence (Cristello+24a)
- A Rapidly Accreting Active Galactic Nucleus Hidden in a Dust-obscured Galaxy at z ∼ 0.8 (Cristello+24b)
- X-ray properties of dust-obscured galaxies with broad optical/UV emission lines (Zou+20)
- The Host-galaxy Properties of Type 1 versus Type 2 Active Galactic Nuclei (Zou+19)
Low-mass galaxies and (potentially) intermediate-mass black holes
- A Rare Eddington-Limited, Heavily Obscured Low-Mass Active Galactic Nucleus Likely Triggered by a Galaxy Merger (Wang+26)
- Central Massive Black Holes Are Not Ubiquitous in Local Low-Mass Galaxies (Zou+25b)
- Identification and Characterization of a Large Sample of Distant Active Dwarf Galaxies in XMM-SERVS (Zou+23)
Other things that do not strictly belong to the categories above
- Revisiting the Claim for a Direct-Collapse Black Hole in UHZ1 at z = 10.05 (Zou+26; under review)
Press releases
- 2026 March, Chandra Resolves Why Black Holes Hit the Brakes on Growth
Chandra,
Penn State,
UMich
- 2025 December, NASA's Chandra Finds Small Galaxies May Buck the Black Hole Trend
Chandra,
UMich,
Utah,
Penn State
- 2024 June, How do Supermassive Black Holes Get Super Massive?
Penn State,
Chandra,
The Conversation
External links
Extreme Astrophysics Seminar at UMich
The XMM-SERVS Survey
arXiv
ADS
SVO filters
Meetings
You can reach me at fanzou01@gmail.com.