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VERSION:2.0
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PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
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SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-3598
DTSTART:20150129T213000Z
DTEND:20150129T230000Z
DTSTAMP:20260419T154245Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20150122T170400Z
LOCATION:4421 Sterling Hall
SUMMARY:Puzzles in Massive Galaxy Assembly\, Astronomy Colloquium\, Ni
 cholas McConnell\, Ifa\, University of Hawaii
DESCRIPTION:Do giant elliptical galaxies represent the final outcome o
 f a common sequence of galaxy growth and merging\, or are they the rel
 ics 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 supe
 rmassive black holes.  (1) The Black Hole Safari is a campaign to meas
 ure stellar kinematics and central black hole masses (MBH) in over 30 
 giant elliptical<br>
\ngalaxies\, spanning a range of cosmic environme
 nts.  The resulting census of black holes in the local universe will a
 ssess whether the linear relation between MBH and stellar spheroid mas
 s arises naturally from hierarchical merging\, and it may shed light u
 pon the origins of recently-discovered overmassive black holes.  (2) T
 he most massive elliptical galaxies exhibit an extremely bottom-heavy 
 stellar initial mass function (IMF)\, at odds with<br>
\ngalaxy format
 ion models where they are assembled from mergers of lower-mass systems
 .  One possible means of reconciliation would be the detection of radi
 al gradients in the IMF.  I will present new measurements of IMF-sensi
 tive spectral features with unprecedented radial coverage\, suggesting
  that massive ellipticals' extreme are indeed confined to small radii.
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=3598
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