Title: Your Friendly Neighborhood Singularities — X-ray Probes of Local Supermassive Black Holes

Abstract: Supermassive black holes are cosmic laboratories for testing our fundamental theories like general relativity and quantum mechanics. Astronomical observations are just now exploring the closest SMBHs – Sgr A* in the galactic center and M31* in the Andromeda galaxy – at the fine scales needed to analyze the energetic environments close to the event horizon.  In particular, X-ray telescopes like Chandra, XMM-Newton, and XRISM are discovering how SMBH form and evolve in galactic environments while connecting astronomical data to particle physics results. Current and future X-ray telescopes will ensure that this cross-disciplinary collaboration continues to expand our understanding of the most extreme objects in the universe.