Galaxy and AGN Formation and (Co-)Evolution

Dear Colleagues,

Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are thought to play a major role in the formation and evolution of galaxies, providing mechanisms for feedback from the supermassive black hole (SMBH) to its host galaxy and the intergalactic medium. In co-evolutionary scenarios, star formation (SF) activity and SMBH properties are closely connected, both in high redshift quasars and in local Seyfert nuclei, which are fuelled by accretion of material onto the SMBH. In the majority of cases, the mechanisms that link SF and accretion activity lie in the inner galactic regions and are thought to be responsible for the feeding of the BH and the halting of the SF through feedback mechanisms from the BH itself. The picture is complicated by the fact that the processes that drive inflows of gas towards the centre are not univocally identified and seem to depend strongly on the scale considered.

In recent years, outflows of either ionised or molecular gas from the SMBHs have been observed and considered responsible for halting the infall and the SF in the inner galactic regions. Fuelling of the SMBH and outflows seem to constitute the self-regulating combination of processes on the small scales responsible of the morphology and dynamics of the whole galaxy. The co-existence of such different processes, how the small scale dynamics influence the overall galaxy morphology, the timescale on which different processes happen, and whether different evolutionary stages justify the different observed morphologies are still open questions.

Recent observational and theoretical advances in our understanding of the co-evolution of galaxies and super massive black holes at their centres have pointed out the dependence on a large number of physical parameters, such as mass, environment, morphology, and star formation rate. Therefore, high-quality multi-wavelength data for large samples of galaxies are needed to map the evolutionary paths leading to co-evolution and feedback. With these sample we need to answer to the following fundamental questions:

1. In what kind of galaxies is accretion favored? Are these galaxies changing evolutionary stage, or do they represent a general phase?
2. What effect does black hole growth have on the evolutionary pathways of galaxies?

The purpose of this Special Issue is to present contributions that describe recent observational and theoretical results on galaxy and AGN (co-?)evolution, useful in answering the above questions.

Papers on new observational or theoretical discoveries on the connections and mutual influence of SMBHs and their host galaxies are especially welcome.

Dr. Carlotta Gruppioni
Prof. Giulia Rodighiero
Guest Editors

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• Galaxy formation and evolution
• Active Galactic Nuclei
• Star formation
• Super Massive Black Holes
• Infrared, Submillimeter and Radio Galaxies
• X-ray surveys