Physical Society Colloquium

Galaxies Shaped by Massive Black Holes

Brian McNamara

Department of Physics and Astronomy
Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics
University of Waterloo

Most galaxies host massive black holes at their centres. The enormous energy accreting black holes release in the forms of radiation, winds, and jets appear to have regulated the growth of galaxies and their nuclear black holes since galaxies began to form shortly after the Big Bang. I will review the key observations reveaking the remarkable feeeback phenomena that have shaped galaxies into their present forms.