Dr. Mirko Krumpe

Research Interests:

What does the Universe look like in X-rays?
How do supermassive black holes in the center of Galaxies change over time?
How are supermassive black holes distributed in the Universe?
What do we learn about supermassive black holes if we observe them in different wavelength ranges?

Briefly about me:

Since 2015, I am leading research projects at the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP). Previously, I was a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics and a fellow at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Garching. My initial research as a postdoc was conducted at the University of California, San Diego. I received my PhD degree at the University of Potsdam and studied physics both there and at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

X-ray Astronomy

Senior Scientist

Office: SH/232
Phone: +49 331 7499 334
mkrumpe@aip.de

Leibniz-Institut
für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)
An der Sternwarte 16
14482 Potsdam

Team Members: Changing-state AGN

Over the last few years, I raised several soft money funds to establish my own research team at the AIP. We are conducting research aimed at understanding an extraordinary subpopulation of supermassive black holes: changing-state/changing-look AGN. This particular subject is generating rapidly growing interest in the research community:

Name	Position	Research Project
Dr. Mirko Krumpe	researcher	X-ray view on optically selected highly variable SDSS-V AGN
Dr. Dusán Tubín Arenas	postdoc	Search for SMBH binaries
Dr. Kriti Gupta	postdoc	Multi-wavelength view of ongoing Changing-look AGN
M.Sc. Sabina Bahic	Master Student/Student Research Assistant	Statistical studies of changing-state AGN with eROSITA
Vishnu Shankar	Master Student	Correlations between X-ray and optical variability in X-ray selected changing-look AGN
Rontis-Mithra Marquardt	Bachelor Student	Update on the X-ray Baldwin Effect in the most luminous AGN
Dominic Taylor	Visiting Master Student	Search for changing-state AGN with XMM-Newton

Team Alumni
Dr. David Homan	Postdoc	Follow-up observations of significantly changing AGN with XMM-Newton
M. Sc. Tathagata Saha	PhD Student	Studies of the changing-look AGN Mrk 1018 with XMM-Newton and Hubble
Elisabeth Nehiba	Bachelor Student	Correlations between X-ray and IR variability in X-ray selected changing-look AGN
Silvia Carolina Rueda Vargas	Master Student	Properties of the X-ray absorber in type II AGN
M. Sc. Roisín Brogan	PhD Student	Studies of the changing-look AGN Mrk 1018 with XMM-Newton and Hubble
Nico Manthey	Master Student/Student Research Assistant	Image classification with machine learning techniques and automatic web searches

Beside my astrophysical research, I am actively engaged in the public outreach activities of our institute and in educating the next generation of scientists. You will most likely meet me when I am giving a tour over our campus or leading a public observation on one of our impressive historical telescopes. These events are not to be missed!

For over a decade, I have had the pleasure of supervising a large number of high school students. I take a great interest in inspiring the younger generation to get involved with astrophysics and the fascinating research projects we are doing at the institute. I have also been involved in science communication work; trying to explain newsworthy and complex astrophysical processes in an accessible manner in numerous radio interviews and newspaper articles.

Publications

Latest refereed publications, retrieved from NASA ADS:

The Nineteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

SDSS Collaboration, ... Chiappini, C., ... Khalatyan, A., Khoperskov, S., ... Krumpe, M., ... Nepal, S., ... Schwope, A., ... Steinmetz, M., ..., 2026
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 285, 1, 9; published July 2026

doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ae4697, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: Executive Board, Extragalactic Astrophysics, Milky Way and the Local Volume, IT Services, X-ray Astronomy

C IV wind properties of the SDSS-V X-ray selected quasars: strong optical-to-UV emission is key regardless of X-ray strength

Rankine, A. L., Homan, D., ... Krumpe, M., Lamer, G., ... Tubín-Arenas, D., ..., 2026
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 548, 4, stag734; published June 2026

doi:10.1093/mnras/stag734, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: X-ray Astronomy

A changing-look Seyfert discovered by eROSITA reveals a two-component broad-line region

Markowitz, A., Krumpe, M., Homan, D., ... Lamer, G., ..., 2026
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 710, A222; published June 2026

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202558834, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: X-ray Astronomy

Robust active galactic nucleus and host-galaxy decomposition in optical spectral fitting

Aydar, C., ... Krumpe, M., ..., 2026
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 710, A141; published June 2026

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202558027, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: X-ray Astronomy

Discovery of quasar variability and early accretion disk signatures at cosmic dawn

Leung, G. C. K., ... Krumpe, M., ..., 2026
Nature Astronomy; published June 2026

doi:10.1038/s41550-026-02897-4, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: X-ray Astronomy

Changing-look Active Galactic Nuclei in SDSS-V: Host-galaxy Properties and Black Hole Scaling Relations

Zeltyn, G., ... Krumpe, M., ..., 2026
The Astrophysical Journal, 1002, 1, 61; published May 2026

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae5495, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: X-ray Astronomy

Emission-line Variable Active Galactic Nuclei at Cosmic Noon from HETDEX

Liu, C., ... Krumpe, M., ... Powell, M. C., ..., 2026
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, 284, 1, 12; published May 2026

doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ae5803, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: Galaxies and Quasars, X-ray Astronomy

BlazEr1: The eROSITA blazar catalog: Blazars and blazar candidates in the first eROSITA survey

Hämmerich, S., ... Bahic, S., Tubín-Arenas, D., Krumpe, M., Homan, D., ..., 2026
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 709, A37; published May 2026

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202557854, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: X-ray Astronomy

Large-amplitude modulations and hours-timescale variability in the early X-ray light curve of a tidal disruption flare

Malyali, A., ... Homan, D., Krumpe, M., ..., 2026
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 708, A163; published April 2026

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202556400, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: X-ray Astronomy

Sloan Digital Sky Survey. V. Pioneering Panoptic Spectroscopy

Kollmeier, J. A., ... Krumpe, M., ... Schwope, A., ... Steinmetz, M., ..., 2026
The Astronomical Journal, 171, 1, 52; published January 2026

doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ae0576, NASA ADS

Participating AIP research groups: Executive Board, Extragalactic Astrophysics, X-ray Astronomy