Dr. Ben Davis

CASS Fellow, Research Associate

Center for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS)
New York University Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

I work at the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS) at New York University Abu Dhabi, where I am a CASS Fellow and Research Associate. My research involves studying the structure of spiral galaxies. To do this, I examine the geometry of spiral arms using a suite of custom software I helped design. I also perform multi-component decompositional analysis of galaxies to separate them into their constituent components (i.e., bulge, disk, bar, spiral arms, nucleus, etc.). With this detailed knowledge of galaxy composition and geometry, I can then construct accurate black hole mass scaling relations that can be used to predict the mass of the central massive black hole in galaxies. I incorporate machine learning (e.g., symbolic regression) in my search to help identify higher-dimensional black hole mass scaling relations. By conducting a census of black hole demography in galaxies, future studies can better understand the intimate relationship between central black holes and their host galaxies and garner information about their coevolution. Furthermore, I use the latest advancements in artificial intelligence to ascertain data-driven causal connections amongst galaxies and their central black holes.

I am also a classically-trained musician who regularly performs on the violin or viola with various professional and amateur ensembles. Past positions have involved playing with the Southeast Kansas Symphony Orchestra, the PSU Chamber Orchestra, the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the University of Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, national Broadway tours of "South Pacific" and "West Side Story," the Arkansas New Music Ensemble, the Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, the Victorian Amateur Chamber Music Society, the Melbourne Tango Orchestra, a soloist with the Yachad Chamber Orchestra, the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Irving, and various ad hoc string quartets and chamber ensembles.

Countdown Until I Head Back to the USA

I will be in the Western Hemisphere, November 27, 2024 – January 19, 2025.

Upcoming Conferences

I will be presenting an oral contribution on "Causmology: Causal Discovery for Galaxy Evolution" at Deciphering the Cosmic Code for Galaxy Formation — Hotel Cumbres – Puerto Varas, Chile — December 9–13, 2024.
Mario Pasquato will be presenting a poster about our research on "Beyond Causal Discovery for Astronomy: Learning Meaningful Representations with Independent Component Analysis" at the NeurIPS 2024: Causal Representation Learning Workshop — Vancouver, Canada — December 15, 2024.
I am a member of the Scientific Organizing Committee (SOC) and will be attending Dancing in the Dark: When Galaxies Shape Galaxies — Haus Sexten – Via Dolomiti 45, 39030, Sexten, Italy — June 16–20, 2025.