Related papers: Astro2020 Science White Paper: Do Supermassive Bla…
Significant historic cosmic evolution for the formation rate of stellar black holes is inferred from current theoretical models of the evolution of massive stars, the multiple observations of compact stellar remnants in the near and distant…
We present here an overview of recent work in the subject of astrophysical manifestations of super-massive black hole (SMBH) mergers. This is a field that has been traditionally driven by theoretical work, but in recent years has also…
The evolution of massive stars is influenced by the mass lost to stellar winds over their lifetimes. These winds limit the masses of the stellar remnants (such as black holes) that the stars ultimately produce. We use radio astrometry to…
There exists a well known relation between the mass of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in the center of galaxies and their bulge mass or central velocity dispersion. This suggests a co-evolution between SMBH and their galaxy hosts. Our…
We discuss the central role played by X-ray studies to reconstruct the past history of formation and evolution of supermassive Black Holes (BHs), and the role they played in shaping the properties of their host galaxies. We shortly review…
Stellar-mass binaries evolving in the vicinity of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) may be common in the universe, either in active galactic nuclei or in other astrophysical environments. Here, we study in detail the resonant excitation of…
The deep connection between galaxies and their supermassive black holes is central to modern astrophysics and cosmology. The observed correlation between galaxy and black hole mass is usually attributed to the contribution of major mergers…
The growth of black holes and the formation and evolution of galaxies appear to be linked at such a fundamental level that we think of the two as `co-evolving.' Recent observations show that this co-evolution may be complex and the result…
I begin by summarizing the evidence that there is a close relationship between the evolution of galaxies and supermassive black holes. They evidently share a common fuel source, and feedback from the black hole may be needed to suppress…
Many galaxies contain supermassive black holes (SMBHs), whose formation and history raise many puzzles. Pulsar timing arrays have recently discovered a low-frequency cosmological "hum" of gravitational waves that may be emitted by SMBH…
Most of the galaxies harbor supermassive Black Holes (SMBH) in their center. Some of them are observed in very high redshifts. We explore the possibility that SMBH form from the coherent waves of Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) which are…
Luminous quasars powered by accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have been found in the early Universe at $z \gtrsim 7.5$, which set a strong constraint on both the seed black hole mass and the rapid growth of the SMBHs. In this work,…
In the local universe, the masses of Super-Massive Black-Holes (SMBH) appear to correlate with the physical properties of their hosts, including the mass of the dark-matter halo. Using these clues as a starting point many studies have…
Observational measurements of the relationship between supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and the properties of their host galaxies are an important method for probing theoretical hierarchical growth models. Gravitational lensing is a unique…
We present the mass function of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) over the redshift range z=0-2, using the latest deep luminosity and mass functions of field galaxies to constrain the masses of their spheroids, which we relate to SMBH mass…
We investigate the impact of gravitational-wave (GW) recoil on the growth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the early Universe. Forming 10^9 Solar Mass SMBHs by z=6 is challenging and may require hierarchical mergers of smaller seed…
Super-Massive Black Holes reside in galactic nuclei, where they exhibit episodic bright flares due to accretion events. Taking into account relativistic effects, namely, the boosting and lensing of X-ray flares, we further examine the…
Accreting black holes can release enormous amounts of energy to their surroundings, in various forms. Such feedback may profoundly influence a black hole's environment. After briefly reviewing the possible types of feedback, I focus on the…
A new model for the formation of active galaxies is described. A key feature of this model is the idea that the birth of black holes in the centers of supergiant galaxies is strongly influenced by the large-scale distribution of matter in…
Numerous observations have shown that almost all galaxies in our Universe host supermassive black holes (SMBHs), but there is still much debate about their formation and evolutionary processes. Recently, gravitational waves (GWs) have been…