Research Division Seminar
The star formation history of nearby active galactic nuclei

Since the pioneering studies linking the mass of supermassive black holes (SMBH) with the velocity dispersion of their host galaxies bulges it has become accepted that the products of active galactic nuclei (AGN) accretion and star-formation (SF) are somehow related. It is also accepted that nuclear SF and AGN can coexist in the inner region of galaxies, suggesting that the growth of SMBH (by gas accretion) and galaxies (by forming stars) are coupled.  In terms of galaxy evolution, it is established that AGN feedback plays a fundamental role by impacting SF (quenching, suppressing, or triggering). Cosmological simulations performed without the inclusion of feedback (SNR/AGN) effects are not able to reproduce the low and high luminosity ends of the galaxy luminosity function and underestimate the ages of the stars of the most massive galaxies when compared with observations.  While observations have shown that nuclear star formation is common in AGNs, properly measuring the stellar population properties in AGNs hosts is particularly difficult, since the active nucleus will dilute the absorption features and contribute to a large number of ionizing photons that will make it difficult to use emission line fluxes to infer the stellar properties.  In this seminar, I will discuss the results we have obtained in our group when mapping the stellar population in the inner region of active galaxies, with a special focus on the near-infrared spectral region, which allows for a better untangling of the AGN and stellar contributions for the spectral energy distribution of the galaxies. 

Zoom: https://rediris.zoom.us/j/81704623667?pwd=ejRHci8vTUR0QmZ5YkxrNTVoRU9mQT09

Meeting ID: 817 0462 3667
Passcode: 643393

YouTube: https://youtube.com/live/uGM06PiiHNM?feature=share