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Related papers: Active galaxy nuclei: current state of the problem

200 papers

Most bulge-dominated galaxies host black holes with masses that tightly correlate with the masses of their bulges. This may indicate that the black holes may regulate galaxy growth or vice versa, or that they may grow in lock-step. The…

We show that a 10 year Gaia mission could astrometrically detect the orbital motion of ~1 sub-parsec separation supermassive black hole binary in the heart of nearby, bright active galactic nuclei (AGN). Candidate AGN lie out to a redshift…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2020-03-11 Daniel J. D'Orazio , Abraham Loeb

The aim of this short paper is to motivate and encourage research in the field of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Here we summarize the main open questions concerning the central engine. Is the central black hole rapidly spinning and can we…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2013-02-07 Volker Beckmann , Chris R. Shrader

This review discusses the current status of supermassive black hole research, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since the early '90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the…

Astrophysics · Physics 2010-04-29 Laura Ferrarese , Holland Ford

Astronomers knew early in the twentieth century that some galaxies have emission-line nuclei. However, even the systematic study by Seyfert (1943) was not enough to launch active galactic nuclei (AGN) as a major topic of astronomy. The…

Astrophysics · Physics 2015-06-24 Gregory A. Shields

Massive black holes are key inhabitants of the nuclei of galaxies. Moreover, their astrophysical relevance has gained significant traction in recent years, thanks especially to the amazing results that are being (or will be) delivered by…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-11-07 David Izquierdo-Villalba , Alessandro Lupi , John Regan , Matteo Bonetti , Alessia Franchini

For over 60 years, the scientific community has studied actively growing central super-massive black holes (active galactic nuclei -- AGN) but fundamental questions on their genesis remain unanswered. Numerical simulations and theoretical…

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are known to show flux variability over all observable timescales and across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Over the past decade, a growing number of sources have been observed to show dramatic flux and…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2022-11-11 Claudio Ricci , Benny Trakhtenbrot

The Center of our Galaxy is a peculiar region where a number of crucial astrophysical phenomena take place, from star formation to SN explosions and accretion onto a massive black hole. The quest for a massive black hole in the Galactic…

Astrophysics · Physics 2007-05-23 A. Goldwurm

Dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and offset AGNs are kpc-scale separation supermassive black holes pairs created during galaxy mergers, where both or one of the black holes are AGNs, respectively. These dual and offset AGNs are valuable…

A supermassive black hole has been found at the centre of nearly every galaxy observed with sufficient sensitivity. The masses of these black holes are observed to increase with either the total mass or the mean (random) velocity of the…

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are accreting supermassive black holes co-evolving with their host galaxies through a complex interplay of feeding and feedback. In this chapter, we first discuss AGN fuelling in galaxies, both in interacting…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2023-08-02 Pedro R. Capelo , Chiara Feruglio , Ryan C. Hickox , Francesco Tombesi

The Active Galatic Nuclei(AGN) disk has been proposed as a potential channel for the merger of binary black holes. The population of massive stars and black holes in AGN disks captured from the nuclei cluster plays a crucial role in…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-08-28 Yihan Wang , Zhaohuan Zhu , Douglas N. C. Lin

Kpc-scale dual and offset Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) are signposts of accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs) triggered during late-stage galaxy mergers, offering crucial insights into the coevolution of SMBHs and galaxies. However,…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2024-05-27 Junyao Li , Ming-Yang Zhuang , Yue Shen , Marta Volonteri , Nianyi Chen , Tiziana Di Matteo

The first part of this article is a historical and physical introduction to quasars and their close cousins, called Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). In the second part, I argue that our progress in understanding them has been unsatisfactory…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2015-09-14 Robert Antonucci

Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are believed to be powered by accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole. A fundamental ingredient in shaping our understanding of AGN is their variability across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.…

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena · Physics 2025-09-08 Maurizio Paolillo , Iossif Papadakis

The last decade has witnessed significant progress in our understanding of the growth of super-massive black holes (SMBHs). It is now clear that an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN: the observed manifestation of a growing SMBH) is an "event"…

Active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are the compact, energetic central regions of galaxies, powered by supermassive black holes that accrete surrounding gas and dust. Their optical spectra can be identified by strong emission-line signatures…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2026-01-09 Sruthi Suresh , Wei Jeat Hon , Rachel L Webster , Christian Wolf , Christopher A Onken

Our understanding of the cosmic evolution of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) has been revolutionized by the advent of large multiwavelength extragalactic surveys, which have enabled detailed statistical studies of the host galaxies and…

Astrophysics of Galaxies · Physics 2016-12-16 Ryan C. Hickox , Stephanie M. LaMassa , John D. Silverman , Alexander Kolodzig

We present the rest-frame optical morphologies of active galactic nucleus (AGN) host galaxies at 1.5<z<3, using near-infrared imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3, the first such study of AGN host galaxies at these…

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics · Physics 2011-01-11 Kevin Schawinski , Ezequiel Treister , C. Megan Urry , Carolin N. Cardamone , Brooke Simmons , Sukyoung K. Yi