Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005aabb.book...77m&link_type=abstract
In: Advances in astronomy. Editor: J. M. T. Thompson. Royal Society Series on Advances in Science, Vol. 1. London: Imperial Coll
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Cosmology, Galactic Nuclei, Black Holes
Scientific paper
Violent activity in the nuclei of galaxies has long been considered a curiosity in its own right; manifestations of this phenomenon include distant quasars in the early Universe and nearby Seyfert galaxies, both thought to be powered by the release of gravitational potential energy from material being accreted by a central supermassive black hole (SMBH). The study of galaxy formation, structure and evolution has largely excluded active galactic nuclei (AGN), but recently this situation has changed with the realisation that the growth of SMBHs, the origin and development of galaxies and nuclear activity at different epochs in the Universe may be intimately related. The era of greatest quasar activity seems to coincide with turbulent dynamics at the epoch of galaxy formation in the young, gas-rich Universe; ubiquitous black holes are then a legacy of this violent era. Closer to home, a fraction of ordinary galaxies has reignited their central engines. These galaxies are more established than their distant cousins, so their activity is more puzzling. I review the evidence for causal links between SMBHs, nuclear activity and the formation and evolution of galaxies, and describe opportunities for testing these relationships using future astronomical facilities.
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