Black holes regulate cool gas accretion in massive galaxies.
Nature
; 632(8027): 1009-1013, 2024 Aug.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39143219
ABSTRACT
The nucleus of almost all massive galaxies contains a supermassive black hole (BH)1. The feedback from the accretion of these BHs is often considered to have crucial roles in establishing the quiescence of massive galaxies2-14, although some recent studies show that even galaxies hosting the most active BHs do not exhibit a reduction in their molecular gas reservoirs or star formation rates15-17. Therefore, the influence of BHs on galaxy star formation remains highly debated and lacks direct evidence. Here, based on a large sample of nearby galaxies with measurements of masses of both BHs and atomic hydrogen (HI), the main component of the interstellar medium18, we show that the HI gas mass to stellar masses ratio (µHI = MHI/Mâ) is more strongly correlated with BH masses (MBH) than with any other galaxy parameters, including stellar mass, stellar mass surface density and bulge masses. Moreover, once the µHI-MBH correlation is considered, µHI loses dependence on other galactic parameters, demonstrating that MBH serves as the primary driver of µHI. These findings provide important evidence for how the accumulated energy from BH accretion regulates the cool gas content in galaxies, by ejecting interstellar medium gas and/or suppressing gas cooling from the circumgalactic medium.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nature
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
China
Pais de publicación:
Reino Unido