Related papers: Massive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei

With references to both key and oft-forgotten pioneering works, this article starts by presenting a review into how we came to believe in the existence of massive black holes at the centres of galaxies. It then presents the historical…

While until recently they were often considered as exotic objects of dubious existence, in the last decades there have been overwhelming observational evidences for the presence of stellar mass black holes in binary systems, supermassive…

This White Paper to the National Academy of Sciences Astro2010 Decadal Review Committee outlines some of the outstanding questions regarding the assembly history of Massive Black Holes in the nuclei of galaxies and the revolutionary…

The central regions of galaxies show the presence of massive black holes and/or dense stellar systems. The question about their modes of formation is still under debate. A likely explanation of the formation of the central dense stellar…

Most galactic nuclei harbor a massive black hole (MBH), whose birth and evolution are closely linked to those of its host galaxy. The unique conditions near the MBH: high velocity and density in the steep potential of a massive singular…

I briefly outline recent theoretical developments on the formation of the first massive black holes (MBHs) that may grow into the population of MBHs powering quasars and inhabiting galactic centers today. I also touch upon possible…

Many, if not all, galaxies host massive compact objects at their centers. They are present as singularities (super massive black holes) or high density star clusters (nuclear tar clusters). In some cases they coexist, and interact more or…

Supermassive black holes are nowadays believed to reside in most local galaxies. Accretion of gas and black hole mergers play a fundamental role in determining the two parameters defining a black hole: mass and spin. I briefly review here…

In the last decade, a combination of high sensitivity, high spatial resolution observations and of coordinated multi-wavelength surveys has revolutionized our view of extra-galactic black hole (BH) astrophysics. We now know that…

We investigate the possibility that present-day galactic haloes contain a population of massive black holes (MBHs) that form by hierarchical merging of the black hole remnants of the first stars. Some of the MBHs may be large enough or…

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are nowadays believed to reside in most local galaxies, and the available data show an empirical correlation between bulge luminosity - or stellar velocity dispersion - and black hole mass, suggesting a…

The first massive astrophysical black holes likely formed at high redshifts (z>10) at the centers of low mass (~10^6 Msun) dark matter concentrations. These black holes grow by mergers and gas accretion, evolve into the population of bright…

One of the key open questions in cosmology today pertains to understanding when, where and how super massive black holes form, while it is clear that mergers likely play a significant role in the growth cycles of black holes, how…

Considerable evidence suggests that supermassive black holes reside at the centers of massive galactic bulges. At a lower galactic mass range, many dwarf galaxies contain extremely compact nuclei that structurally resemble massive globular…

Despite observed strong correlations between central supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and star-formation in galactic nuclei, uncertainties exist in our understanding of their coupling. We present observations of the ratio of…

Galactic nuclei are unique laboratories for the study of processes connected with the accretion of gas onto supermassive black holes. At the same time, they represent challenging environments from the point of view of stellar dynamics due…

The study of galaxy mergers and supermassive binary black holes (SMBBHs) is central to our understanding of the galaxy and black hole assembly and (co-)evolution at the epoch of structure formation and throughout cosmic history. Galaxy…

Supermassive black holes are located at the center of most, if not all, massive galaxies. They follow close correlations with global properties of their host galaxies (scaling relations), and are thought to play a crucial role in galaxy…

The main requirements for fueling an active galactic nucleus and to form massive black holes are reviewed. Low-luminosity AGN can be fueled easily from the local star clusters, near the nucleus, and the various stellar processes are…

Galactic nuclei host central massive objects either in the form of supermassive black holes or nuclear stellar clusters. Recent investigations have shown that both components co-exist in at least a few galaxies. In this paper we explore the…