Download or read book Millimeter and Submillimeter Studies on the Active Trinity of Gas Stars and Black Holes in Seyfert Galaxies written by Takuma Izumi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-01-23 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis focuses on understanding the growth and formation mechanism of supermassive black holes (SMBHs), an issue it addresses by investigating the dense interstellar medium that is assumed to be a crucial component of the fuel for SMBHs. The thesis also offers unique guidance on using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in active galactic nuclei (AGN) research. The author presents the three major findings regarding SMBH formation and growth: (1) The development of a new diagnostic method for the energy sources in galaxies based on submillimeter spectroscopy, which allows identification of accreting SMBHs even in obscured environments, (2) the discovery that the circumnuclear dense gas disk (CND), with a typical size of a few tens of parsecs, which plays a crucial role in governing the growth of SMBHs, and (3) the discovery that the mass transfer budget from the CND to the central SMBHs can be quantitatively understood with a theoretical model incorporating the circumnuclear starburst as a driver of mass transfer. The thesis skillfully reviews these three findings, which have greatly improved our understanding of the growth mechanism of SMBHs.
Download or read book Supermassive Black Holes written by Minas Kafatos and published by CUP Archive. This book was released on 1988-02-18 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Aspects of Supermassive Black Hole Growth in Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei written by Davide Lena and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Super-massive black holes (SBHs) have long been identified as the engines of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and are now considered to play a key role in galaxy evolution. In this dissertation I present results from two observational studies conducted on nearby AGNs with the aim of furthering our understanding of SBH growth and their interplay with the host galaxies. The first study is an observational search for SBHs spatially offset from the center of their host galaxies. Such offsets can be considered signatures of gravitational recoil following the coalescence of an SBH binary system (formed in the aftermath of a galaxy merger) due to emission of gravitational waves. The study is based on a photometric analysis of fourteen nearby elliptical galaxies observed with the Hubble Space Telescope. I find that parsec-scale offsets are common. However, while these are individually consistent with residual gravitational recoil oscillations, there is a high probability that larger offsets than those actually observed should have been found in the sample as a whole. There are a number of possible explanations for this result: the galaxy merger rate may be lower than current estimates; SBH-binaries may reach the merger stage with a configuration which minimizes recoil velocities; or the SBH oscillations are more quickly damped than predicted. In the second study I use integral field spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini South telescope to investigate the kinematics of the circum-nuclear ionized gas in two active galaxies: NGC 1386, a Seyfert 2, and NGC 1365, a Seyfert 1. The goal of the study is to investigate outflows in low-luminosity AGNs, and the mechanisms channeling gas (the SBH fuel) from the inner kiloparsec down to a few tens of parsecs from the SBH. I find that the dominant kinematic components can be explained as a combination of rotation in the large-scale galactic disk and compact outflows along the axis of the AGN 'radiation cone'. However, in the case of NGC 1386, there is also compelling evidence for an equatorial outflow, which provides a new clue to the physical processes operating in AGNs."--Abstract.
Download or read book Supermassive Black Holes in the Distant Universe written by A.J. Barger and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-09 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Quasars, and the menagerie of other galaxies with "unusual nuclei", now collectively known as Active Galactic Nuclei or AGN, have, in one form or another, sparked the interest of astronomers for over 60 years. The only known mechanism that can explain the staggering amounts of energy emitted by the innermost regions of these systems is gravitational energy release by matter falling towards a supermassive black hole --- a black hole whose mass is millions to billions of times the mass of our Sun. AGN emit radiation at all wavelengths. X-rays originating at a distance of a few times the event horizon of the black hole are the emissions closest to the black hole that we can detect; thus, X-rays directly reveal the presence of active supermassive black holes. Oftentimes, however, the supermassive black holes that lie at the centers of AGN are cocooned in gas and dust that absorb the emitted low energy X-rays and the optical and ultraviolet light, hiding the black hole from view at these wavelengths. Until recently, this low-energy absorption presented a major obstacle in observational efforts to map the accretion history of the universe. In 1999 and 2000, the launches of the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray Observatories finally broke the impasse. The impact of these observatories on X-ray astronomy is similar to the impact that the Hubble Space Telescope had on optical astronomy. The astounding new data from these observatories have enabled astronomers to make enormous advances in their understanding of when accretion occurs.
Download or read book From X ray Binaries to Quasars Black Holes on All Mass Scales written by Thomas J. Maccarone and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2007-01-28 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together contributions from many of the world's leading authorities on black hole accretion. The papers within represent part of a new movement to make use of the relative advantages of studying stellar mass and supermassive black holes, and to bring together the knowledge gained from the two approaches. The topics discussed include black hole observational and theoretical work-variability, spectroscopy, disk-jet connections, and multi-wavelength campaigns on black holes.
Download or read book The Physics of Accretion onto Black Holes written by Maurizio Falanga and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a comprehensive summary on the physical models and current theory of black hole accretion, growth and mergers, in both the supermassive and stellar-mass cases. This title reviews in-depth research on accretion on all scales, from galactic binaries to intermediate mass and supermassive black holes. Possible future directions of accretion are also discussed. The following main themes are covered: a historical perspective; physical models of accretion onto black holes of all masses; black hole fundamental parameters; and accretion, jets and outflows. An overview and outlook on the topic is also presented. This volume summarizes the status of the study of astrophysical black hole research and is aimed at astrophysicists and graduate students working in this field. Originally published in Space Science Reviews, Vol 183/1-4, 2014.
Download or read book The Edge of Infinity written by Fulvio Melia and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-09-04 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past, they were recognized as the most destructive force in nature. Now, following a cascade of astonishing discoveries, supermassive black holes have undergone a dramatic shift in paradigm. Astronomers are finding out that these objects may have been critical to the formation of structure in the early universe, spawning bursts of star formation, planets, and even life itself. They may have contributed as much as half of all the radiation produced after the Big Bang, and as many as 200 million of them may now be lurking through the vast expanses of the observable cosmos. In this elegant, non-technical account, Melia conveys for the general reader the excitement generated by the quest to expose what these giant distortions in the fabric of space and time have to say about our origin and ultimate destiny.
Download or read book The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole written by Fulvio Melia and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here, one of the world's leading astrophysicists provides the first comprehensive and logically structured overview of the many ideas and discoveries pertaining to the supermassive black hole at the galactic center known as Sagittarius A*. By far the closest galactic nucleus in the universe, Sagittarius A* alone can provide us with a realistic expectation of learning about the physics of strong gravitational fields, and the impact of such fields on the behavior of matter and radiation under severe physical conditions. Its proximity may even provide the opportunity to directly test one of general relativity's most enigmatic predictions--the existence of closed pockets of space-time hidden behind an event horizon. The plethora of research on Sagittarius A* since its discovery in 1974 has long seemed an interwoven pattern of loose threads. No one has successfully synthesized this growing body of work into a manageable, coherent book both for professional researchers and for students taking courses focusing on black holes and galactic nuclei--until now. With Fulvio Melia's The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole, readers finally have at their disposal a one-volume crucible of essential ideas, logically streamlined but with thorough references for those wishing to explore the various topics in greater depth.
Download or read book Black Holes Quasars and the Universe written by Harry L. Shipman and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses recent developments in astronomy and new theories about the universe, emphasizing discoveries about black holes, quasars, and pulsars.
Download or read book Measuring the Angular Momentum of Supermassive Black Holes written by Laura Brenneman and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-06-26 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Measuring the spin distribution of supermassive black holes is of critical importance for understanding how these black holes and their host galaxies form and evolve over time, yet this type of study is only in its infancy. This brief describes how astronomers measure spin in supermassive black holes using X-ray spectroscopy. It also reviews the constraints that have been placed on the spin distribution in local, bright active galaxies over the past six years, and the cosmological implications of these constraints. Finally, it summarizes the open questions that remain in this exciting new field of research and points toward future discoveries soon to be made by the next generation of space-based observatories.
Download or read book Joint Evolution of Black Holes and Galaxies written by M. Colpi and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-01-27 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black holes are among the most mysterious objects that the human mind has been capable of imagining. As pure mathematical constructions, they are tools for exploiting the fundamental laws of physics. As astronomical sources, they are part of our cosmic landscape, warping space-time, coupled to the large-scale properties and life cycle of their host
Download or read book Black Holes in the Era of Gravitational Wave Astronomy written by Manuel Arca Sedda and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2024-06-03 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Black Holes in the Era of Gravitational-Wave Astronomy provides a multidisciplinary, up-to-date view of the physics of black holes, along with an exhaustive overview of crucial open questions and recent advancements in the astrophysics of black holes in the wake of incredible advancements made in the last decade. It includes discussions on improvements in theoretical modeling and observational perspectives for black holes of all sizes, along with associated challenges. The book's structure and themes will enable an entwined understanding of black hole physics at all scales, thus avoiding the compartmentalized view that is typical of more specialized manuscripts and reviews.This book is a complete reference for scientists interested in a multidirectional approach to the study of black holes. It provides substantial discussions about the interplay of different types of black holes and gives professionals a heterogeneous and comprehensive overview of the astrophysics of black holes of all masses. Focuses on recent advances and future perspectives surrounding black holes, providing researchers with a clear view of cutting-edge research Offers readers a multidisciplinary, fresh view on black holes, discussing and reviewing the most recent advancements in theoretical, numerical and observational techniques put in place to detect black holes Provides a bridge among different black hole areas, fostering new collaborations among professionals working in different, but intrinsically interconnected fields
Download or read book Black Holes and Galaxy Formation written by Adonis D. Wachter and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Galaxies are the basic unit of cosmology. The study of galaxy formation is concerned with the processes that formed a heterogeneous universe from a homogeneous beginning. The physics of galaxy formation is complicated because it deals with the dynamics of stars, thermodynamics of gas and energy production of stars. A black hole is a massive object whose gravitational field is so intense that it prevents any form of matter or radiation to escape. It is hypothesised that the most massive galaxies in the universe -- "elliptical galaxies" -- grow simultaneously with the supermassive black holes at their centres, giving us much stronger evidence that black holes control galaxy formation. This book reviews new evidence in the field.
Download or read book Black Holes Snacking on Stars written by Suvi Gezari and published by . This book was released on 2020-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the text and images of the 2020 Kavli Foundation Prize Lecture presented by Suvi Gezari at the 235th Meeting of the American Astronomical Association in Honolulu, Hawaii on January 5, 2020. It provides a fascinating summary of the complex and rich observational evidence for supermassive black holes in active galaxies. While aimed at a high-level professional audience, and "over the heads" of all but specialists in the field, it provides a unique view into the complex study of contemporary black hole astrophysics.
Download or read book Growing Black Holes Accretion in a Cosmological Context written by Andrea Merloni and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2005-04-25 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Supermassive black holes are now believed to play an important role in the evolution of the Universe. Every respectable galaxy hosts in its center a black hole that appears to regulate the growth of the galaxy itself. In this book, leading experts in the field review the most recent theoretical and observational results on the following topics: - formation and growth of the first black holes in the Universe and their role in the formation and evolution of galaxies - the physics of black-hole accretion and the production of relativistic jets - binary black-hole mergers and gravitational radiation. Theoretical work is supplemented by the most recent exciting results from space and ground based observatories. This volume is useful research and reference tool for the entire astrophysical community.
Download or read book The Tidal Disruption of Stars by Supermassive Black Holes written by Nicholas Chamberlain Stone and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-12-13 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a general introduction to the rapidly developing astrophysical frontier of stellar tidal disruption, but also details original thesis research on the subject. This work has shown that recoiling black holes can disrupt stars far outside a galactic nucleus, errors in the traditional literature have strongly overestimated the maximum luminosity of “deeply plunging” tidal disruptions, the precession of transient accretion disks can encode the spins of supermassive black holes, and much more. This work is based on but differs from the original thesis that was formally defended at Harvard, which received both the Roger Doxsey Award and the Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award from the American Astronomical Society.
Download or read book The Growth of Supermassive Black Holes and Connections to Star Formation in Galaxies written by Chien-Ting Chen and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A profound recent discovery in studies of the cosmic evolution of galaxies is that at the center of essentially every large galaxy there is a supermassive black hole (SMBH). This dissertation explores the origin of these massive black holes and their connection to the host galaxies, by studying rapidly growing black holes (the active galactic nuclei or AGNs) and galaxies that are actively forming stars using the wealth of observations in extragalactic surveys. We first report a strong correlation between star formation rate (SFR) and the average SMBH accretion rate in star-forming galaxies. This highlights that even though the growth rates of the SMBHs and the host galaxies in individual galaxies hosting AGNs are not directly correlated, potentially due to the short variability timescale of AGN relative to SF, averaging over the full AGN population still yields a strong linear correlation between AGN and star formation. We next present evidence for a link between AGN obscuration and host galaxy star formation in the most luminous AGNs: quasars. With careful decomposition of galaxy and AGN contributions through analysis of spectral energy distributions, we successfully placed constraints on the SFR in luminous quasars in which AGN radiation outshines the host galaxy at most wavelengths. We find that obscured quasars have a two times larger far-infrared (IR) detection fraction, far-IR flux and SFR than unobscured quasars. The result indicates that large-scale gas and dust in powderful star-forming galaxies contribute to obscuration of the AGN in luminous quasars. Together, these two results support a scenario in which galaxy and SMBH grow from the same gas reservoir that can also obscure the central SMBH during the luminous quasar phase. Finally, we present a study of the correlation between the AGN mid-IR and X-ray luminosities for a large sample of spectroscopically confirmed type 1 quasars. We have determined that more luminous quasars show increasingly weak X-ray emission relative to their mid-IR luminosity, providing insight into the physics of quasar accretion and highlighting an important effect that must be accounted for in studies of SMBH evolution.
