Modeling the accretion history of supermassive black holes

There is overwhelming evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the centers of most nearby galaxies. The mass estimates for these remnant black holes from the stellar kinematics of local galaxies and the quasar phenomenon at high redshifts point to the presence of assembled SMBHs. The accretion history of SMBHs can be reconstructed using observations at high and low redshifts as model constraints. Observations of galaxies and quasars in the submillimeter, infrared, optical, and X-ray wavebands are used as constraints, along with data from the demography of local black holes. Theoretical modeling of the growth of black hole mass with cosmic time has been pursued thus far in two distinct directions: a phenomenological approach that utilizes observations in various wavebands, and a semi-analytic approach that starts with a theoretical framework and a set of assumptions with a view to matching observations. Both techniques have been pursued in the context of the standard paradigm for structure formation in a Cold Dark Matter dominated universe. Here, we examine the key issues and uncertainties in the theoretical understanding of the growth of SMBHs.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, to appear as Chapter 4 in "Supermassive Black Holes in the Distant Universe" (2004), ed. A. J. Barger, Kluwer Academic Publishers, in pres