Our theoretical understanding of cosmology is, a priori, inconsistent with observations. In a Universe dominated by dark matter, the most massive galaxies are expected to form late and slowly, which is in contradiction with observations whose behavior is just the opposite. In a scenario where our theoretical conception of the Universe is in question, the energy radiated by super-massive black holes seems to be the only viable mechanism to reconcile theory and observations.

The project we propose here aims to address this problem jointly between observations and theoretical simulations, based on the new ideas and tools we have developed in recent years. In particular, we intend to study a complete sample of galaxies for which we know the properties of their central black holes and the mass of the dark matter halo in which they reside. Making use of our knowledge in the field of stellar populations, we intend to characterize observationally how black holes and dark matter halos regulate the formation and evolution of galaxies.

In turn, we intend to study the cosmological environment of this sample of galaxies to explore the relationship between the large-scale structure and properties of individual galaxies, as well as to compare the observations with the latest generation of cosmological simulations.