A physically motivated toy model for the BH-spheroid coevolution

Abstract

We present a summary of the results obtained with a time-dependent, one-zone toy model aimed at exploring the importance of radiative feedback on the co-evolution of massive black holes (MBHs) at the center of stellar spheroids and their stellar and gaseous components. We consider cosmological infall of gas as well as the mass and energy return for the evolving stellar population. The AGN radiative heating and cooling are described by assuming photoionization equilibrium of a plasma interacting with the average quasar SED. Our results nicely support a new scenario in which the AGN accretion phase characterized by a very short duty-cycle (and now common in the Universe) is due to radiative feedback. The establishment of this phase is recorded as a fossil in the Magorrian and Mbh-sigma relations.

2 pages. Proceedings of the MPA/MPE/ESO/USM Conference "Growing Black Holes: accretion in a cosmological context", ESO Astrophysics Symposia, A. Merloni, S. Nayakshin and R. Sunyaev eds