Observational Evidence for Supermassive Black Holes

1989 ◽  
pp. 217-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Dressler
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.


Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Zdeněk Stuchlík ◽  
Jaroslav Vrba

We study epicyclic oscillatory motion along circular geodesics of the Simpson–Visser meta-geometry describing in a unique way regular black-bounce black holes and reflection-symmetric wormholes by using a length parameter l. We give the frequencies of the orbital and epicyclic motion in a Keplerian disc with inner edge at the innermost circular geodesic located above the black hole outer horizon or on the our side of the wormhole. We use these frequencies in the epicyclic resonance version of the so-called geodesic models of high-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (HF QPOs) observed in microquasars and around supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei to test the ability of this meta-geometry to improve the fitting of HF QPOs observational data from the surrounding of supermassive black holes. We demonstrate that this is really possible for wormholes with sufficiently high length parameter l.


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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (S351) ◽  
pp. 80-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melvyn B. Davies ◽  
Abbas Askar ◽  
Ross P. Church

AbstractSupermassive black holes are found in most galactic nuclei. A large fraction of these nuclei also contain a nuclear stellar cluster surrounding the black hole. Here we consider the idea that the nuclear stellar cluster formed first and that the supermassive black hole grew later. In particular we consider the merger of three stellar clusters to form a nuclear stellar cluster, where some of these clusters contain a single intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). In the cases where multiple clusters contain IMBHs, we discuss whether the black holes are likely to merge and whether such mergers are likely to result in the ejection of the merged black hole from the nuclear stellar cluster. In some cases, no supermassive black hole will form as any merger product is not retained. This is a natural pathway to explain those galactic nuclei that contain a nuclear stellar cluster but apparently lack a supermassive black hole; M33 being a nearby example. Alternatively, if an IMBH merger product is retained within the nuclear stellar cluster, it may subsequently grow, e.g. via the tidal disruption of stars, to form a supermassive black hole.


2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1448-1457 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Jovanović ◽  
V. Borka Jovanović ◽  
D. Borka ◽  
T. Bogdanović

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smita Mathur ◽  
Himel Ghosh ◽  
Laura Ferrarese ◽  
Fabrizio Fiore ◽  
Sandip K. Chakrabarti ◽  
...  

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