Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2016

Publication Title

The Astrophysical Journal Letters

Volume

832

Issue Number

1

DOI

10.3847/2041-8205/832/1/L11

Keywords

galaxies: active, galaxies: evolution, galaxies: formation, galaxies: fundamental parameters, galaxies: general, galaxies: stellar content

Disciplines

Astrophysics and Astronomy | External Galaxies

Abstract

Coevolution between supermassive black holes (BH) and their host galaxies is universally adopted in models for galaxy formation. In the absence of feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGNs), simulated massive galaxies keep forming stars in the local universe. From an observational point of view, however, such coevolution remains unclear. We present a stellar population analysis of galaxies with direct BH mass measurements and the BH mass–σ relation as a working framework. We find that over-massive BH galaxies, i.e., galaxies lying above the best-fitting BH mass–σ line, tend to be older and more α-element-enhanced than under-massive BH galaxies. The scatter in the BH mass–σ–[α/Fe] plane is significantly lower than that in the standard BH mass–σ relation. We interpret this trend as an imprint of AGN feedback on the star formation histories of massive galaxies.

Comments

This article was originally published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, volume 832, issue 1. © 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
This article is also available online at the following link: http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8205/832/1/L11

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