On the Fueling of Massive Black Holes and the Properties of their Host Spheroids

Abstract

We study the relation between nuclear massive black holes and their host spheroid gravitational potential. Using simple models, we analyze how gas is expected to be transported in the nuclear regions of galaxies. When we couple it with the expected gas lifetime given by the Kennicutt-Schmidt Law, this naturally leads to the `M_BH - M_virial' and `M_BH - sigma' relations. We also numerically test, using AMR simulations, our simple models for the mass transport with satisfactory results.Comment: Reduced version that fit the 4-page limit. In press ApJ Letter