How supermassive black holes help galaxies evolve

black-hole-nasa.jpg

It’s easy to imagine that our understanding of the way galaxies form and evolve is more or less complete. After all, we’ve been fitting missing pieces into the jigsaw at an alarming rate in recent years with all this data from WMAP etc about the structure of the early universe, a better understanding of the distribution of dark matter and the vast computer simulations that show how galaxies should appear out of this maelstrom.

But there are one or two hairs in this astrophysical ointment. For example, our models of galaxy formation indicate that certain types of galaxies should become surrounded by huge clouds of gas in which stars ought to be forming. But observations show that there are far fewer of these types of galaxies than the models predict.

Today, Timothy Heckman of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore discusses the idea that supermassive black holes at the center of these galaxies might explain the difference. The thinking is that black holes generate and spread enough energy to the outer reaches of the galaxy to regulate star formation in a way that fits with observations. We’ve certainly seen good evidence of supermassive black holes in various galaxies, including our own.

But what makes Heckman’s discussion highly provocative is the suggestions that a symbiotic relationship exists between galaxies and supermassive black holes, that they need each other to form. So supermassive black holes are as important in galactic evolution as gas, dust and gravity. What an idea!

What that means is that far from being a done deal, galaxy formation is set to become one of the hottest topics in astronomy as data from the next generation of space telescopes comes flooding in.

PS: Heckman has a great name for the study of gas-star-black hole cosmic ecosystems. He calls it gastrophysics. Like it!

Ref: arxiv.org/abs/0809.1101: The Co-Evolution of Galaxies and Black Holes: Current Status and Future Prospects

4 Responses to “How supermassive black holes help galaxies evolve”

  1. Zephir says:

    /*…supermassive black holes are as important in galactic evolution as gas, dust and gravity…*/
    By Aether Wave Theory the largest galaxies were formed by evaporation of matter from primordial black holes. At the very beginning, every large galaxy is formed by spherical cloud of dust condensing from gamma radiation of central quasar (white hole, naked singularity), where it remains kept at the distance by radiation pressure. As the quasar evaporates, its surface radiation is becoming reflected by event horizon back with exception of polar areas, where it can still escape from BH, thus forming polar jets. You can think about jets of black holes as about exaggerated case of so called gravitational brightening, which can be observed even at the case of giant stars (i.e. Regullus, Sirius A, etc.).

    It means, the radiation pressure is lower at the equatorial plane of black hole, which leads to the gradual formation of flat belt of stars. At the very end, the central BH stops to radiate totally and the shape of galaxy will change into spherical again, so we can observe the old galaxies as an elliptical ones. The small clusters lacks the central BH, so they’re remain in their original shape and no antimatter is required for such explanation.

    By my opinion, the formation of jet fountains is necessary for formation of flat galaxy shape , which is spherical in long term equilibrium (sort of spontaneous symmetry breaking). Without it, even flat galaxies are getting spherical with age, whenever possible. Elliptical galaxies are known for their old, red stars.

    The galaxies are flat because of radiating of matter from central BH, which emanates the matter in polar jets, thus forming a giant fountain, until excessive matter will not evaporate. The falling of stars into equator plane of BH initiates the rotation of stars, which in turn creates the common flat shape.

  2. […] “How supermassive black holes help galaxies evolve” from the physics arXiv blog […] what makes Heckman’s discussion highly provocative is the suggestions that a symbiotic relationship exists between galaxies and supermassive black holes, that they need each other to form. So supermassive black holes are as important in galactic evolution as gas, dust and gravity. […]

  3. S. P. Robertson says:

    Negative Stars, and Galaxies

    All galaxies in the space continuum have a black hole, or remnant of a black hole at the center axis. It would be theoretically highly unusual to find a galaxy in the Universe, that did not have a black hole, or negative star at the center. It therefore, is understandable to find black holes at the center axis of rotating spiral galaxies, they are the only gravitational influence that can attract, and rotate that much mass in the known Universe. Theoretically speaking, binary black holes may be found at the center axis of large rotating spiral galaxies.

    SPR