Within almost every galaxy there is a supermassive black hole. This by itself implies some kind of formative connection between the two. We have also observed how gas and dust within a galaxy can drive the growth of galactic black holes‚ and how the dynamics of black holes can both drive star formation or hinder it depending on how active a black hole is. But one area where astronomers still have little information is how galaxies and their black holes interacted in the early Universe. Did black holes drive the formation of galaxies‚ or did early galaxies fuel the growth of black holes? A recent study suggests the two evolved hand in hand. It’s difficult to observe the complex dynamics of black holes and galaxies in the early cosmos‚ but one way to study them is to compare the mass of a galactic black hole with the mass of all the stars in its galaxy. This can be expressed as a ratio MBH / M* to see how it varies over time. This means measuring this ratio at ever-increasing redshifts‚ since the greater the redshift‚ the younger the galaxy. For this study‚ the team looked at 61 galaxies with active galactic nuclei (AGNs) as identified by X-ray observations. The luminosity of the AGNs gives us an idea of the black hole’s mass. They then added JWST observations of these galaxies from the COSMOS-Web and PRIMER surveys. From these‚ they could get the infrared luminosity of the galaxies‚ which let them determine their total stellar mass. The mass ratios of this study (red dots) compared to earlier studies. Credit: Tanaka‚ et al The galaxies they observed have redshifts between z = 0.7 and z = 2.5‚ meaning that the galaxies are seen as they were 6 billion to 11 billion years ago. What they found is that galaxies and their black holes grow hand in hand. As the galaxy increases in mass‚ so does the black hole. The relationship is very roughly linear‚ though the ratio favors the black hole slightly at higher redshifts. For you math geeks‚ the team found the ratio varies as MBH / M* = (1 + z)0.37. This means the black holes grow at a slightly slower rate than the galaxies. Unfortunately‚ the uncertainty of this result is rather large. It will take more observations‚ particularly at the higher redshift end‚ to pin down the relation more precisely. But in the coming years‚ astronomers should be able to gather this data. This study shows that galaxies and their black holes grow at similar rates across billions of years. Future studies will help us understand the more subtle connections between them. Reference: Tanaka‚ Takumi S.‚ et al. “The MBH-M* relation up to z = 2 through decomposition of COSMOS-Web NIRCam images.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.13742 (2024). The post Even Early Galaxies Grew Hand-in-Hand With Their Supermassive Black Holes appeared first on Universe Today.

"The wall ends… you could simply walk around it. But if you don’t feel like walking around it, you could simply walk through this open gate right here."

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) doubled down on his belief Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley can win South Carolina’s primary next month and argued the White House hopeful is “surging.” “Nikki can win South Carolina‚” Sununu said in an interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Monday. “I mean‚ the fact that she went from what … single digits in Iowa — 20 percent there. Forty-five percent or so here in New Hampshire. Just skyrocketed everyone...

Former President Donald Trump is crushing Nikki Haley by a more than 2-to-1 margin in new internal poll of the next major Republican primary state of South Carolina. Trump leads his sole remaining primary rival by 66%-31% in her home state‚ according to the poll that was bankrolled by a pro-Trump political action committee and first reported by The Messenger. Tony Fabrizio‚ a respected Republican pollster‚ said the results suggest Haley — a diplomat who also served as...

Donald Trump continues to hold a dominant lead over Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary race — despite her recent blitz of negative ads attacking her rival‚ according to internal polling conducted by the super PAC backing the former president. Trump‚ 77‚  leads Nikki Haley by a more 2-to-1 margin in the Palmetto State‚ where the 52-year-old White House hopeful was born and raised and served as governor for six years‚ according to a poll released by Fabrizio‚...

Elementary and middle-school students have made up significant ground since pandemic school closings in 2020 — but they are nowhere close to being fully caught up‚ according to the first detailed national study of how much U.S. students are recovering. Overall in math‚ a subject where learning loss has been greatest‚ students have made up about a third of what they lost. In reading‚ they have made up a quarter‚ according to the new analysis of standardized test...

As the federal government distributes $42.5 billion to expand broadband internet access across America and its territories‚ some local leaders are asking themselves: How much economic impact could faster internet create? The true dollar figure would be spread across the economy‚ from agriculture and small businesses to harder-to-track impacts like an increased willingness for families to relocate to rural areas. But a report by the Benton Institute for Broadband &; Society estimates...

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If you were comfortable thinking there would be no evidence of your online activity while in Google’s Incognito mode‚ think again. According to a class-action lawsuit filed by Florida resident William Byatt and California residents Chasom Brown and Maria Nguyen‚ Google has been sharing your searches and selling your data‚ even while using Incognito mode.On December 30‚ NPR reported that Google agreed to settle the $5 billion lawsuit that claims it misled users into believing that their activities weren’t being tracked while in Incognito mode.Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers pointed out that Google never told its users it continued to collect data even when people were browsing in Incognito mode."Google’s motion hinges on the idea that plaintiffs consented to Google collecting their data while they were browsing in private mode‚” Rogers ruled. “Because Google never explicitly told users that it does so‚ the Court cannot find as a matter of law that users explicitly consented to the at-issue data collection." Google now admits it tracks you in Chrome's incognito mode following $5B settlement https://t.co/qP9WXnB2vd — (@) The settlement terms have not been made public and still need to be approved by a federal judge. The plaintiffs say they will send a final settlement agreement to a judge by February 24.News of the settlement went viral on TikTok on January 18 thanks to a post by Thunder Keck (@thunder_keck) that has received over 435‚000 views. According to his TikTok profile‚ he’s a Stanford football player who’s also an expert in the Dark Web. @thunder_keck google is always watching “In the least shocking reveal of all time‚ it was proven that [Ingognito mode is] not that private. They’re still tracking you and selling your data‚” Thender Keck revealed. “Incognito mode and private browsing on Safari is basically the same as clearing your history‚” he added."And most importantly‚ anyone on your network with a tool like Wireshark can still see everything you're doing‚ Even if you’re using a VPN‚” he warned‚ “it will still deliver your packets and use fingerprinting to figure out what sites you’re visiting. And that’s getting way easier with AI.”Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that allows users to see everything happening on a network at a “microscopic level.”The post received many comments from people who fear their histories will be made public."I’m cooked‚" schizophrenic idiot wrote. "It’s so over for me‚" Aton agreed. “I hope my mom doesn't find out‚" elcee4 added.After Google reached the settlement agreement‚ it doesn’t appear the company has changed its policies. Instead‚ it has changed the warning users receive in Incognito mode.According to The Verge‚ here’s the new warning: “Others who use this device won’t see your activity‚ so you can browse more privately. This won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use‚ including Google. Downloads‚ bookmarks and reading list items will be saved. Learn more.”The previous message reads: "Now you can browse privately‚ and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However‚ downloads‚ bookmarks and reading list items will be saved. Learn more."