Clues to Galaxy Evolution from Galaxy Structure, and the M_bh-M_bulge relation
Alister Graham (Swinburne University of Technology)
One way to study galaxy evolution is through a direct comparison of the physical structure of galaxies at low and high-redshifts. My recent 50-page review article about "elliptical and disc galaxy structure, and modern scaling laws" (arXiv:1108.0997) presents and explains numerous local (z=0) benchmark relations. In particular, it revealed that the Sersic bulges of local, massive, disc galaxies have the same physical properties as the massive, compact galaxies seen at z~1.5-2.5, suggesting that early-type disc galaxies have evolved by growing discs around preexisting, massive compact bulges. This talk will then discuss how supermassive black hole mass scales *quadratically*, rather than simply linearly, with the mass of disc galaxy bulges in general (Graham 2012, ApJ, 746, 113; Graham & Scott 2013, ApJ, 764, 151).