Related papers: The Evolution of Quasars
Large, homogeneous quasar samples are necessary tools for the study of QSO statistics, cosmological tests, large scale structure and AGN evolution. These samples must be complete within well defined flux limits at all redshifts. An…
Advances in extragalactic astronomy have prompted the development of increasingly realistic models which aim to describe the formation and evolution of galaxies. We review the philosophy behind one such technique, called semi-analytic…
One of the main themes in extragalactic astronomy for the next decade will be the evolution of galaxies over cosmic time. Many future observatories, including JWST, ALMA, GMT, TMT and E-ELT will intensively observe starlight over a broad…
Seyfert galaxies and quasars were first discovered through optical and radio techniques, but in recent years high-energy emission, that can penetrate central gas and dust, has become essentially the defining characteristic of an AGN. AGNs…
In the last decades, luminous accreting super-massive black holes have been discovered within the first Gyr after the Big Bang, but their origin is still an unsolved mystery. We discuss our state-of-the-art theoretical knowledge of their…
Combined investigations of the clustering properties of galaxies of different spectral type and high-redshift quasars strongly suggest local ellipticals to be the parent population of optically bright Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). However,…
The hypothesis of existence of primordial black holes with large masses (\geq 10^6 M\odot), formed at the earliest stages of the Universe evolution, is considered in the paper. The possibility does not contradict some theories, see e.g.…
We predict the evolution of galaxy scaling relationships from cosmological, hydrodynamical simulations, that reproduce the scaling relations of present-day galaxies. Although we do not assume co-evolution between galaxies and black holes a…
We briefly review some recent results from Chandra and XMM-Newton studies of the highest redshift (z > 4) active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Specific topics covered include radio-quiet quasars, radio-loud quasars, moderate-luminosity AGNs in…
The study of the dynamical evolution of massive black hole pairs in mergers is crucial in the context of a hierarchical galaxy formation scenario. The timescales for the formation and the coalescence of black hole binaries are still poorly…
Outflows from active galactic nuclei (AGNs) seem to be common and are thought to be important from a variety of perspectives: as an agent of chemical enhancement of the interstellar and intergalactic media, as an agent of angular momentum…
Galaxy formation is at the forefront of observation and theory in cosmology. An improved understanding is essential for improving our knowledge both of the cosmological parameters, of the contents of the universe, and of our origins. In…
Recent observational and theoretical results on blazars are presented and discussed. We are beginning to understand the rich phenomenology of blazars, and we are finding trends which will hopefully lead us to unveil the physics of these…
Next-generation radio surveys are about to transform radio astronomy by discovering and studying tens of millions of previously unknown radio sources. These surveys will provide new insights to understand the evolution of galaxies,…
The detection of resonance absorption lines against known objects such as individual galaxies and clusters of galaxies is a powerful approach for studying the gas content of these systems. We describe an efficient method of identifying…
Supermassive black holes are nowadays believed to reside in most local galaxies. Observations have revealed us vast information on the population of local and distant black holes, but the detailed physical properties of these dark massive…
We use a gaseous model and a semi-analytical approach to study the evolution of a super-massive central gaseous object (a super-massive star, (SMS from now on) in an AGN and its evolution by interactions with the surrounding stellar system.…
There are several key open questions as to the nature and origin of AGN including: 1) what initiates the active phase, 2) the duration of the active phase, and 3) the effect of the AGN on the host galaxy. Critical new insights to these can…
We explore how the local environment is related to properties of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) of various luminosities. Recent simulations and observations are converging on the view that the extreme luminosity of quasars, the brightest of…
The physics of brown dwarfs has continuously improved since the discovery of these astrophysical bodies. The first important developments were devoted to the description of their mechanical structure, with the derivation of an appropriate…