Abstract

Invited Talk - Plenary

Thursday, 12 September 2024, 11:35   (Aula 1&2 / virtual plenum)

The formation and growth of supermassive black holes

Nadine Neumayer
Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie

The centers of massive galaxies are special in many ways, not least because apparently all of them host supermassive black holes. Since the discovery of a number of relations linking the mass of this central black hole to the large scale properties of the surrounding galaxy bulge it has been suspected that the growth of the central black hole is intimately connected to the evolution of its host galaxy. However, at lower masses, and especially for bulgeless galaxies, the situation is much less clear. Interestingly, these galaxies often host massive star clusters at their centers, and unlike black holes, these nuclear star clusters provide a visible record of the accretion of stars and gas into the galaxy nucleus.
I will present our ongoing observing programme of the nearest nuclear star clusters, including the center of the Milky Way and our nearest galaxy nucleus, omega Centauri. These observations provide crucial information on the formation and growth of nuclear star clusters, enable the detection of an intermediate-mass black hole and help solve the mystery of how black holes get to the centers of galaxies.