Matilde Signorini

Matilde Signorini is a Research Fellow at the European Space Agency (ESA) working within the Space Science Faculty. Her research focuses on observational astronomy with specialization in active galactic nuclei (AGN) studies across multiple wavelengths.

Her primary research interests include:

• Physics of AGN, particularly the interaction between X-ray-emitting coronae and accretion discs
• Evolution of obscured AGN populations and their implications for AGN-host galaxy co-evolution
• Reverberation mapping techniques for measuring supermassive black hole masses
• Utilizing AGN as cosmological probes through the L(X)-L(UV) relation in quasars

Dr. Signorini actively participates in two major international collaborations:

• BASS (The BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey): conducting an all-sky study of the brightest hard X-ray detected AGN
• STORM2 (Space Telescope and Optical Reverberation Mapping of Mrk817): executing multi-year multi-wavelength monitoring of the nearby Seyfert galaxy Mrk817

Her work bridges observational astronomy with cosmological applications, leveraging the extreme luminosities and broad redshift distribution of AGN to develop novel distance measurement techniques and test cosmological models. She maintains active research in both AGN structural physics and their application as cosmological tools.