New observations are probing the structures and kinematics of massive galaxies at a much greater level of detail than previously possible, especially during the first half of cosmic history. ALMA data now resolve the distribution of dust and molecular gas in massive galaxies to z ˜ 5. The stellar kinematics of several massive galaxies at z ˜ 2 – 3 have been spatially resolved using gravitational lensing, providing new information on the connection between quenching and morphological transformation. Star formation histories have been reconstructed for growing samples at z ˜ 0.8–2, revealing a wide range of timescales that correlate with galaxies’ sizes and environments, providing evidence for multiple paths to quiescence. I review these and other developments and summarize the insights they have provided into massive galaxies’ evolution.

Models for massive black holes are a key ingredient for modern cosmological simulations of galaxy formation. The necessity of efficient AGN feedback in these simulations makes it essential to model the formation, growth and evolution of massive black holes, and parameterize these complex processes in a simplified fashion. While the exact formation mechanism is secondary for most galaxy formation purposes, accretion modeling turns out to be crucial. It can be informed by the properties of the high redshift quasars, accreting close to their Eddington limit, by the quasar luminosity function at peak activity and by low-redshift scaling relations. The need for halo-wide feedback implies a feedback-induced reduction of the accretion rate towards low redshift, amplifying the cosmological trend towards lower accretion rates at low redshift.

The coexistence of star formation and AGN activity has geared much attention to dusty galaxies at high redshifts, in the interest of understanding the origin of the Magorrian relation observed locally, where the mass of the stellar bulk in a galaxy appears to be tied to the mass of the underlying supermassive black hole. We exploit the combined use of far-infrared (IR) Herschel data and deep Chandra ˜160 ksec depth X-ray imaging of the COSMOS field to probe for AGN signatures in a large sample of >100 Dust-Obscured Galaxies (DOGs). Only a handful (˜20%) present individual X-ray detections pointing to the presence of significant AGN activity, while X-ray stacking analysis on the X-ray undetected DOGs points to a mix between AGN activity and star formation. Together, they are typically found on the main sequence of star-forming galaxies or below it, suggesting that they are either still undergoing significant build up of the stellar bulk or have started quenching. We find only ˜30% (6) Compton-thick AGN candidates (NH > 1024 cm–2), which is the same frequency found within other soft- and hard-X-ray selected AGN populations. This suggests that the large column densities responsible for the obscuration in Compton-thick AGNs must be nuclear and have little to do with the dust obscuration of the host galaxy. We find that DOGs identified to have an AGN share similar near-IR and mid-to-far-IR colors, independently of whether they are individually detected or not in the X-ray. The main difference between the X-ray detected and the X-ray undetected populations appears to be in their redshift distributions, with the X-ray undetected ones being typically found at larger distances. This strongly underlines the critical need for multiwavelength studies in order to obtain a more complete census of the obscured AGN population out to higher redshifts. For more details, we refer the reader to Riguccini et al. (2019).

Starbursting dust-rich galaxies are capable of assembling large amounts of stellar mass very quickly. They have been proposed as progenitors of the population of compact massive quiescent galaxies at z ˜ 2. To test this connection, we present a detailed spatially-resolved study of the stars, dust, and stellar mass in a sample of six submillimeter-bright starburst galaxies at z ˜ 4.5. We found that the systems are undergoing minor mergers and the bulk star formation is located in extremely compact regions. On the other hand, optically-compact star forming galaxies have also been proposed as immediate progenitors of compact massive quiescent galaxies. Were they formed in slow secular processes or in rapid merger-driven starbursts? We explored the location of galaxies with respect to star-forming and structural relations and study the burstiness of star formation. Our results suggest that compact star-forming galaxies could be starbursts winding down and eventually becoming quiescent.

As part of an on-going study of radio transients in Epoch 1 (2017–2019) of the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS), we have discovered a sample of 0.2 < z < 3.2 active galactic nuclei (AGN) selected in the optical/infrared that have recently brightened dramatically in the radio. These sources would have previously been classified as radio-quiet based on upper limits from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-centimeters (FIRST; 1993-2011) survey; however, they are now consistent with radio-loud quasars. We present a quasi-simultaneous, multi-band (1–18 GHz) VLA follow-up campaign of our sample of AGN with extreme radio variability. We conclude that the radio properties are most consistent with AGN that have recently launched jets within the past few decades, potentially making them among the youngest radio AGN known.

Using WISE data, we calibrated the W2-W3 colors in terms of star formation rates (SFRs) and applied this calibration to a sample of 1285 QSOs with the highest flux quality, covering a range in redshift from z ˜ 0.3 to z ˜ 3.8. According to our calibration, the SFR increases continuously, reaching a value at z ˜ 3.8 about 3 times higher on average than at lower redshift. This increase in SFR is accompanied by an increase of the BH mass by a factor 100 and a gradual increase of the mean Eddington ratio from 0.1 to 0.3 up to z ˜ 1.5 – 2.0, above which the ratio stays constant, despite a significant increase in BH mass. Therefore, QSOs at high redshifts have both more active BHs and higher levels of star formation activity.

Gas accretion onto central supermassive black holes of active galaxies and resulting energy feedback, is an important component of galaxy evolution, whose details are still unknown especially at early cosmic epochs. We investigate BH growth and feedback in quasar-host galaxies at z ⩾ 6 by performing cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. We simulate the 2R200 region around a 2 × 1012 Mʘ halo at z = 6, inside a (500 Mpc)3 comoving volume, using the zoom-in technique. We find that BHs accrete gas at the Eddington rate over z = 9–6. At z = 6, our most-massive BH has grown to MBH = 4 × 109 Mʘ. Star-formation is quenched over z = 8–6.

Our multi-component photometric decomposition of the largest galaxy sample to date with dynamically-measured black hole masses nearly doubles the number of such galaxies. We have discovered substantially modified scaling relations between the black hole mass and the host galaxy properties, including the spheroid (bulge) stellar mass, the total galaxy stellar mass, and the central stellar velocity dispersion. These refinements partly arose because we were able to explore the scaling relations for various sub-populations of galaxies built by different physical processes, as traced by the presence of a disk, early-type versus late-type galaxies, or a Sérsic versus core-Sérsic spheroid light profile. The new relations appear fundamentally linked with the evolutionary paths followed by galaxies, and they have ramifications for simulations and formation theories involving both quenching and accretion.

We present a machine learning methodology to separate quasars from galaxies and stars using data from S-PLUS in the Stripe-82 region. In terms of quasar classification, we achieved 95.49% for precision and 95.26% for recall using a Random Forest algorithm. For photometric redshift estimation, we obtained a precision of 6% using k-Nearest Neighbour.

We study the behaviour of the dynamical and stellar mass inside the effective radius as function of local density for early-type galaxies (ETGs). We use several samples of ETGs - ranging from 19000 to 98000 objects - from the ninth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We consider Newtonian dynamics, different light profiles and different initial mass functions (IMF) to calculate the dynamical and stellar mass. We assume that any difference between these two masses is due to dark matter and/or a non-universal IMF. The main results are: (i) the amount of dark matter (DM) inside ETGs depends on the environment; (ii) ETGs in low-density environments span a wider DM range than ETGs in dense environments; (iii) the amount of DM inside ETGs in the most dense environments will be less than approximately 55-65 per cent of the dynamical mass; (iv) the accurate value of this upper limit depends on the impact of the IMF on the stellar mass estimation.

We aim to do forecasts for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) with a theoretical modeling of the two point angular correlation function. The Fisher matrix is the starting point. This is a square matrix over the cosmological parameters, whose diagonal contains direct informations on the parameters expected uncertainties.

In this proceeding I will summarize our on-going observational campaign to characterize Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) driven ionized gas outflows at z ˜ 2 and assess their impact on galaxy evolution. The results are mostly derived from a recently completed SINFONI/VLT Large Programme named SUPER, conducted with Adaptive Optics to reach a spatial resolution of ˜2 kpc at z ˜ 2.

Quasar black hole masses are most commonly estimated using broad emission lines in single epoch spectra based on scaling relationships determined from reverberation mapping of small samples of low-redshift objects. Several effects have been identified requiring modifications to these scaling relationships, resulting in significant reductions of the black hole mass determinations at high redshift. Correcting these systematic biases is critical to understanding the relationships among black hole and host galaxy properties. We are completing a program using the Gemini North telescope, called the Gemini North Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS) Distant Quasar Survey (DQS), that has produced rest-frame optical spectra of about 200 high-redshift quasars (z = 1.5–3.5). The GNIRS-DQS will produce new and improved ultraviolet-based black hole mass and accretion rate prescriptions, as well as new redshift prescriptions for velocity zero points of high-z quasars, necessary to measure feedback.

The evolution of the structural and kinematic properties of early-type galaxies (ETGs), their scaling relations, as well as their stellar metallicity and age contain precious information on the assembly history of these systems. We present results on the evolution of the stellar mass-velocity dispersion relation of ETGs, focusing in particular on the effects of some selection criteria used to define ETGs. We also try to shed light on the role that in-situ and ex-situ stellar populations have in massive ETGs, providing a possible explanation of the observed metallicity distributions.

We present the results of a 69 arcmin2 ALMA survey at 1.1 mm, GOODS-ALMA, matching the deepest HST-WFC3 H-band observed region of the GOODS-South field. The 35 galaxies detected by ALMA are among the most massive galaxies at z = 2–4 and are either starburst or located in the upper part of the galaxy star-forming main sequence. The analysis of the gas fraction, depletion time, X-ray luminosity and the size suggests that they are building compact bulges and are the ideal progenitors of compact passive galaxies at z˜2, and a slow downfall scenario is favoured in their future transition from star-forming to passive galaxies.

The evolution of galaxies at Cosmic Noon (1 < z < 3) passed through a dust-obscured phase, during which most stars formed and black holes in galactic nuclei started to shine, which cannot be seen in the optical and UV, but it needs rest frame mid-to-far IR spectroscopy to be unveiled. At these frequencies, dust extinction is minimal and a variety of atomic and molecular transitions, tracing most astrophysical domains, occur. The Space Infrared telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA), currently under evaluation for the 5th Medium Size ESA Cosmic Vision Mission, fully redesigned with its 2.5-m mirror cooled down to T < 8K will perform such observations. SPICA will provide for the first time a 3-dimensional spectroscopic view of the hidden side of star formation and black hole accretion in all environments, from voids to cluster cores over 90% of cosmic time. Here we outline what SPICA will do in galaxy evolution studies.

We have conducted a multi-wavelength survey of distant (1.3 < z < 2.6) luminous quasars host galaxies using the Keck integral field spectrograph (IFS) OSIRIS and laser guide star adaptive optics (LGS-AO) system, ALMA, HST and VLA. Studying distant quasar host galaxies is essential for understanding the role of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback on the interstellar medium (ISM), and its capability of regulating the growth of massive galaxies and their supermassive black holes (SMBH). The combination of LGS-AO and OSIRIS affords the necessary spatial resolution and contrast to disentangle the bright quasar emission from that of its faint host galaxy. We resolve the nebular emission lines, [OIII], [NII],, and [SII] at a sub-kiloparsec resolution to study the distribution, kinematics, and dynamics of the warm-ionized ISM in each quasar host galaxy. The goal of the survey was to search for ionized outflows and relate their spatial extent and energetics to the star-forming properties of the host galaxy. Combining ALMA and OSIRIS, we directly test whether outflows detected with OSIRIS are affecting the molecular ISM. We find that several mechanisms are responsible for driving the outflows within our systems, including radiation pressure in low and high column density environments as well as adiabatic and isothermal shocks driven by the quasar. From line ratio diagnostics, we obtain resolved measurements of the photoionization mechanisms and the gas-phase metallicity. We find that the quasars are responsible for photoionizing the majority of the ISM with metalicities lower than that of gas photoionized by AGN in the low redshift systems. We are now obtaining detailed observations of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) of these systems with the Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI). The gas in the CGM may play an essential role in the evolution of these galaxies.

The role of quasar feedback in galaxy evolution remains poorly understood. Throughout this work, we explore the effects of negative feedback on star formation in quasar host galaxies, analysing two distinct populations of quasars. The first is a sample of high-redshift (z > 2) low-ionisation broad absorption line quasars (LoBALs) - a class of quasars hosting energetic mass outflows, in which we find evidence for prolific star formation (>750Mʘyr–1) exceeding that of non-BAL quasars at the same redshift. The second is a population of 207 low-redshift (z < 0.3) quasars, in which we find an enhancement in the SFRs of quasar hosts compared to the underlying galaxy population, with no quasars residing in quiescent hosts over the last 2Gyr. Overall, we find no evidence for galaxy-wide quenching in either population, rather we suggest that the dominant effect of quasar activity is to enhance star formation in the galaxy.

Radio-loud active galaxies are widely believed to have a strong impact on their environments, and often lie in groups and clusters of galaxies. In this article I summarize what we can understand about the sources’ effects on their surroundings from the perspective of radio galaxy physics, with special reference to the energetics of the impact on the external medium and its inference from large statistical studies of radio galaxies.

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) play[-105pt]Kindly check and confirm the Article Title. fundamental roles in the evolution of galaxies, groups, and clusters. The fossil record of supermassive black hole outbursts is seen through the cavities and shocks that are imprinted on these gas-rich systems. For M87, the central galaxy in the Virgo cluster, deep Chandra observations illustrate the physics of AGN feedback in hot, gas-rich atmospheres and allow measurements of the age, duration, and power of the outburst from the supermassive black hole in M87 that produced the observed cavities and shocks in the hot X-ray atmosphere.