Black Holes could stunt the growth of small galaxies

In smaller galaxies, large-scale winds from active black holes could hinder the formation of stars.

NGC1569 is a star-forming galaxy. Galaxies such as this could see their star formation rates affected by strong winds emanating from a central black hole. (HST/NASA/ESA)

Black holes at the centre of small dwarf galaxies could slow or even halt the formation of stars via the powerful winds they produce, researchers from University of California, Riverside, have discovered. This suppression of star-formation could have a marked influence on the evolution of such galaxies.

The result seems to confirm the long-held suspicion that supermassive black holes at the centre of galaxies can influence that galaxy’s evolution — including how they grow and the way that they age. But, the research also delivers a surprise; the winds that the astronomers measured coming from the black hole were more powerful than the team reckoned for. This means that models of star formation in dwarf galaxies may require a rethink.

“We expected we would need observations with much higher resolution and sensitivity, and we had planned on obtaining these as a follow-up to our initial observations,” said Gabriela Canalizo, a professor of physics and astronomy at UC Riverside who led the research team. “But we could see the signs strongly and clearly in the initial observations.

“The winds were stronger than…