Speaker
Description
Massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) represent the final stages of galaxy evolution in the hierarchical formation framework. They typically host central supermassive black holes (SMBHs), which co-evolve with their galaxies and provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the linked growth of black holes and ETGs. Using integral-field spectroscopic data (MUSE, SINFONI) and triaxial Schwarzschild orbit-based modelling, we investigate the BH masses and stellar orbital structures of four massive ETGs. Our models incorporate radially varying stellar mass-to-light ratios, driven by gradients in the initial mass function (IMF). From stellar population modelling, we detect super-Salpeter IMFs in galaxy centers, suggesting that core regions of ETGs are dominated by low mass stars. We find that IMF variations can alter SMBHs mass estimates by 10–30% compared to models assuming a constant IMF. In this talk, I will present results on the stellar populations and SMBHs of our modelled ETGs, showing how they are linked. I will also show how different orbital families shape the observed kinematics, encode the assembly histories of massive ETGs, and reflect the dynamical influence of their central black holes.