Abstract

Invited Talk - Plenary

Tuesday, 08 September 2026, 09:15   (MW-1801 / virtual plenum)

Massive black holes: their origins and evolution

Marta Volonteri
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris

Massive black holes weighing from a few thousand to tens of billions of solar masses inhabit the centers of most galaxies in the local Universe. Their masses scale with the properties of the host galaxies, hinting at a joint evolution over cosmic times. Active massive black holes -- where gas accreting on the black holes shines as it travels towards the event horizon -- populate galaxies up to a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. The history of the origins of massive black holes must have started in the first galaxies, if not before, and continued as part of galaxy evolution. In this talk I will present an overview of the physical processes involved in the formation and growth of massive black holes, how we model them theoretically, and their connection to observations. I will also highlight recent developments and open questions for future investigations.