Quasars are found to appear a few hundred Myr after the Big Bang, but pressing matter together into super-massive black holes (SMBHs) so quickly appears to be impossible. At a later stage, the spheroidal component of a galaxy (its bulge if it is not an elliptical galaxy) is observed to show a correlation between its mass and that of the central SMBH it harbours, although spheroids with a mass lower than a few 1E9 Msun appear to only host a nuclear star cluster. I will discuss a theory for the formation of SMBHs which accounts for these observations using standard, non-exotic physics.
19/10/2021
The program QUID ULTRA? Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics is a series of monthly prestigious colloquia that will be
running from early February till December 2021. This initiative has been funded by Sapienza University with the co-sponsorship
of INAF/Astronomical Observatory of Rome and of the joint PhD program in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Space Science of Sapienza,
Tor Vergata University and INAF.
Due to the pandemic situation, the first 6 colloquia will be held online via zoom.
The scientific program and all the information on how to attend the meeting can be found on the project website: www.quidultra.it.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
Raffaella Schneider (on behalf of the SOC)