The suppression of star formation by powerful active galactic nuclei

Page, M. J.; Symeonidis, M.; Vieira, J. D.; Altieri, B.; Amblard, A.; Arumugam, V.; Aussel, H.; Babbedge, T.; Blain, A.; Bock, J.; Boselli, A.; Buat, V.; Castro-Rodríguez, N.; Cava, A.; Chanial, P.; Clements, D. L.; Conley, A.; Conversi, L.; Cooray, A.; Dowell, C. D.; Dubois, E. N.; Dunlop, J. S.; Dwek, E.; Dye, S.; Eales, S.; Elbaz, D.; Farrah, D.; Fox, M.; Franceschini, A.; Gear, W.; Glenn, J.; Griffin, M.; Halpern, M.; Hatziminaoglou, E.; Ibar, E.; Isaak, K.; Ivison, R. J.; Lagache, G.; Levenson, L.; Lu, N.; Madden, S.; Maffei, B.; Mainetti, G.; Marchetti, L.; Nguyen, H. T.; O'Halloran, B.; Oliver, S. J.; Omont, A.; Panuzzo, P.; Papageorgiou, A.; Pearson, C. P.; Pérez-Fournon, I.; Pohlen, M.; Rawlings, J. I.; Rigopoulou, D.; Riguccini, L.; Rizzo, D.; Rodighiero, G.; Roseboom, I. G.; Rowan-Robinson, M.; Portal, M. Sánchez; Schulz, B.; Scott, D.; Seymour, N.; Shupe, D. L.; Smith, A. J.; Stevens, J. A.; Trichas, M.; Tugwell, K. E.; Vaccari, M.; Valtchanov, I.; Viero, M.; Vigroux, L.; Wang, L.; Ward, R.; Wright, G.; Xu, C. K.; Zemcov, M.
Bibliographical reference

Nature, Volume 485, Issue 7397, pp. 213-216 (2012).

Advertised on:
5
2012
Journal
Number of authors
78
IAC number of authors
2
Citations
177
Refereed citations
170
Description
The old, red stars that constitute the bulges of galaxies, and the massive black holes at their centres, are the relics of a period in cosmic history when galaxies formed stars at remarkable rates and active galactic nuclei (AGN) shone brightly as a result of accretion onto black holes. It is widely suspected, but unproved, that the tight correlation between the mass of the black hole and the mass of the stellar bulge results from the AGN quenching the surrounding star formation as it approaches its peak luminosity. X-rays trace emission from AGN unambiguously, whereas powerful star-forming galaxies are usually dust-obscured and are brightest at infrared and submillimetre wavelengths. Here we report submillimetre and X-ray observations that show that rapid star formation was common in the host galaxies of AGN when the Universe was 2-6 billion years old, but that the most vigorous star formation is not observed around black holes above an X-ray luminosity of 1044 ergs per second. This suppression of star formation in the host galaxy of a powerful AGN is a key prediction of models in which the AGN drives an outflow, expelling the interstellar medium of its host and transforming the galaxy's properties in a brief period of cosmic time.
Related projects
Project Image
Formation and Evolution of Galaxies: Observations in Infrared and other Wavelengths
This IAC research group carries out several extragalactic projects in different spectral ranges, using space as well as ground-based telescopes, to study the cosmological evolution of galaxies and the origin of nuclear activity in active galaxies. The group is a member of the international consortium which built the SPIRE instrument for the
Ismael
Pérez Fournon