Quiescence correlates strongly with directly-measured black hole mass in central galaxies

TL;DR

This study shows that quiescent central galaxies tend to have more massive black holes than star-forming ones of similar stellar mass, supporting models where AGN feedback suppresses star formation.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence linking black hole mass to galaxy quiescence, supporting AGN feedback as a key mechanism in galaxy evolution.

Findings

Quiescent galaxies host more massive black holes than star-forming ones.

Black hole mass correlates strongly with galaxy quiescence.

Results support models with continuous AGN feedback suppressing star formation.

Abstract

Roughly half of all stars reside in galaxies without significant ongoing star formation. However, galaxy formation models indicate that it is energetically challenging to suppress the cooling of gas and the formation of stars in galaxies that lie at the centers of their dark matter halos. In this Letter, we show that the dependence of quiescence on black hole and stellar mass is a powerful discriminant between differing models for the mechanisms that suppress star formation. Using observations of 91 star-forming and quiescent central galaxies with directly-measured black hole masses, we find that quiescent galaxies host more massive black holes than star-forming galaxies with similar stellar masses. This observational result is in qualitative agreement with models that assume that effective, more-or-less continuous AGN feedback suppresses star formation, strongly suggesting the importance of the black hole in producing quiescence in central galaxies.