Title: Clues about AGN Feedback from observations of massive galaxies
Abstract:
We know that the masses of supermassive black holes are strongly correlated with properties related to the depth of the gravitational potential of their host galaxies. We also know that the hot gaseous atmospheres around galaxies are not catastrophically cooling and forming stars in massive galaxies, at least not at the present time. This hot circumgalactic medium, observable most directly with X-ray observatories in space, holds clues to how nature behaves. The common theme to the solution of both mysterious appears to be AGN feedback: that the supermassive black holes don’t form quietly, and the reaction to AGN growth is felt by the gas reservoir feeding that growth. I will discuss how multiwavelength observations of massive galaxies, including observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, have informed our understanding of how AGN feedback might work.
