Matthew Temple

Matthew Temple

Astronomer and astrophysicist researching
supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.

From May 2024, I am at the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy at Durham University, UK. My research explores how quasars and active galactic nuclei are powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes, and how they can feed back energy into their host galaxies. I was previously a FONDECYT Research Fellow at the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile, working with Roberto Assef and Claudio Ricci. I obtained my Ph.D. from the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge, UK, working with Manda Banerji and Paul Hewett.

Research Interests

Quasars - AGN Outflows - SMBH/Galaxy Coevolution - Line Emission & Atomic Physics - Large Surveys

My research seeks to understand how supermassive black holes grow and evolve in conjunction with their host galaxies. I use wide-field spectroscopic and photometric surveys to find and study accreting black holes at all epochs, from quasars at high redshift to active galaxies in the local universe. By comparing the emission lines seen in quasar spectra with predictions from photoionization models, I look to constrain the structure and geometry of the ionized gas which surrounds supermassive black holes. I also enjoy investigating interesting and unusual populations of active galaxies using multi-wavelength observations, to better understand the interplay between black hole accretion, AGN-driven outflows and star formation across the past 12.5 billion years of cosmic history.

Career

• 2024-: Durham University, UK
• 2020-2024: Universidad Diego Portales, Chile
• 2017-2020: Ph.D. in Astronomy, University of Cambridge, UK
• 2013-2017: BA & MSci, University of Cambridge, UK

My journal publications can be found on the arXiv and on the ADS.

Papers I have written as first author:

1. [O III] emission in z=2 quasars with and without Broad Absorption Lines
   M. J. Temple, A. L. Rankine, M. Banerji, J. F. Hennawi, P. C. Hewett, J. H. Matthews, R. Nanni, C. Ricci & G. T. Richards, 2024, MNRAS 532, 424
2. Testing AGN outflow and accretion models with C IV and He II emission line demographics in z=2 quasars
   M. J. Temple, J. H. Matthews, P. C. Hewett, A. L. Rankine, G. T. Richards, M. Banerji, G. J. Ferland, C. Knigge & M. Stepney, 2023, MNRAS 523, 646
3. BASS XXXIX: Swift-BAT AGN with changing-look optical spectra
   M. J. Temple, C. Ricci, M. J. Koss, B. Trakhtenbrot et al., 2023, MNRAS 518, 2938
   
4. Modelling type 1 quasar colours in the era of Rubin and Euclid
   M. J. Temple, P. C. Hewett & M. Banerji, 2021, MNRAS 508, 737
   Code to generate the quasar SED model is in this GitHub repository (ascl:2205.003).
5. High-ionization emission line ratios from quasar broad line regions: metallicity or density?
   M. J. Temple, G. J. Ferland, A. L. Rankine, M. Chatzikos & P. C. Hewett, 2021, MNRAS 505, 3247
6. Exploring the link between C IV outflow kinematics and sublimation-temperature dust in quasars
   M. J. Temple, M. Banerji, P. C. Hewett, A. L. Rankine & G. T. Richards, 2021, MNRAS 501, 3061
7. Fe III emission in quasars: evidence for a dense turbulent medium
   M. J. Temple, G. J. Ferland, A. L. Rankine, P. C. Hewett, N. R. Badnell, C. P. Ballance, G. Del Zanna & R. P. Dufresne, 2020, MNRAS 496, 2565
8. [O III] emission line properties in a new sample of heavily reddened quasars at z>2
   M. J. Temple, M. Banerji, P. C. Hewett, L. Coatman, N. Maddox & C. Peroux, 2019, MNRAS 487, 2594