Puzzles in Massive Galaxy Assembly, Astronomy Colloquium, Nicholas McConnell, Ifa, University of Hawaii
2015-01-29 21:30 - 23:00 UTC | 4421 Sterling Hall
Do giant elliptical galaxies represent the final outcome of a common sequence of galaxy growth and merging, or are they the relics of exceptional objects that formed violently in the early universe? I will describe observational efforts to understand two features of the most massive ellipticals: their stellar populations and their supermassive black holes. (1) The Black Hole Safari is a campaign to measure stellar kinematics and central black hole masses (MBH) in over 30 giant elliptical
