scholarly journals The Assembly and Merging History of Supermassive Black Holes in Hierarchical Models of Galaxy Formation

2003 ◽  
Vol 582 (2) ◽  
pp. 559-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Volonteri ◽  
Francesco Haardt ◽  
Piero Madau
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S290) ◽  
pp. 259-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Rong Li ◽  
Jian-Min Wang ◽  
Luis C. Ho

AbstractWe derive the mass function of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) over the redshift range 0 > z ≲ 2, using the latest deep luminosity and mass functions of field galaxies. Applying this mass function, combined with the bolometric luminosity function of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), into the the continuity equation of SMBH number density, we explicitly obtain the mass-dependent cosmological evolution of the radiative efficiency for accretion. We suggest that the accretion history of SMBHs and their spins evolve in two distinct regimes: an early phase of prolonged accretion, plausibly driven by major mergers, during which the black hole spins up, then switching to a period of random, episodic accretion, governed by minor mergers and internal secular processes, during which the hole spins down. The transition epoch depends on mass, mirroring other evidence for “cosmic downsizing” in the AGN population.


Author(s):  
Andrew J. Benson

There is now good observational evidence that some type of feedback process must operate within galaxies. Such a process has long been thought to exist on the basis of theoretical studies of galaxy formation. This feedback is responsible for regulating the rate of star formation and thereby preventing the formation of an overabundance of low–mass galaxies. There is gathering evidence that this feedback process must somehow involve the supermassive black holes thought to dwell in the centres of galaxies.


2006 ◽  
Vol 459 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Miller ◽  
W. J. Percival ◽  
S. M. Croom ◽  
A. Babić

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S295) ◽  
pp. 241-256
Author(s):  
John Kormendy

AbstractSupermassive black holes (BHs) have been found in 75 galaxies by observing spatially resolved dynamics. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) revolutionized BH work by advancing the subject from its ‘proof of concept’ phase into quantitative studies of BH demographics. Most influential was the discovery of a tight correlation between BH masses M• and the velocity dispersions σ of stars in the host galaxy bulge components at radii where the stars mostly feel each other and not the BH. Together with correlations between M• and bulge luminosity, with the ‘missing light’ that defines galaxy cores, and with numbers of globular clusters, this has led to the conclusion that BHs and bulges coevolve by regulating each other's growth. This simple picture with one set of correlations for all galaxies dominated BH work in the past decade.New results are now replacing the above, simple story with a richer and more plausible picture in which BHs correlate differently with different kinds of galaxy components. BHs with masses of 105—106M⊙ live in some bulgeless galaxies. So classical (merger-built) bulges are not necessary equipment for BH formation. On the other hand, while they live in galaxy disks, BHs do not correlate with galaxy disks or with disk-grown pseudobulges. They also have no special correlation with dark matter halos beyond the fact that halo gravity controls galaxy formation. This leads to the suggestion that there are two modes of BH feeding, (1) local, secular and episodic feeding of small BHs in largely bulgeless galaxies that involves too little energy feedback to drive BH–host-galaxy coevolution and (2) global feeding in major galaxy mergers that rapidly grows giant BHs in short-duration events whose energy feedback does affect galaxy formation. After these quasar-like phases, maintenance-mode BH feedback into hot, X-ray-emitting gas continues to have a primarily negative effect in preventing late-time star formation when cold gas or gas-rich galaxies get accreted. Finally, the highest-mass galaxies inherit coevolution effects from smaller galaxies; the tightness of their BH correlations is caused mainly by averaging during dissipationless major mergers.


2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S238) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris D. Impey ◽  
Jon R. Trump ◽  
Pat J. McCarthy ◽  
Martin Elvis ◽  
John P. Huchra ◽  
...  

AbstractThe Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) is an HST/ACS imaging survey of 2 square degrees centered on RA = 10:00:28.6, Dec = + 02:12:21 (J2000). While the primary goal of the survey is to study evolution of galaxy morphology and large scale structure, an extensive multi-wavelength data set allows for a sensitive survey of AGN. Spectroscopy of optical counterparts to faint X-ray and radio sources is being carried out with the Magallen (Baade) Telescope and the ESO VLT. By achieving ∼80 redshift completeness down to I AB = 3, the eventual yield of AGN will be ∼1100 over the whole field.Early results on supermassive black holes are described. The goals of the survey include a bolometric census of AGN down to moderate luminosities, the cosmic evolution and fueling history of the central engines, and a study of AGN environments on scales ranging from the host galaxy to clusters and superclusters.


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