<p>The prediction was that dwarf galaxies have SMBHs, but with smaller masses than regular galaxies.  This was based on the idea that regular galaxies were built from dwarf galaxies and the BHs need to have started growing early on.  Also the correlation between bulge mass and BH mass requires the BHs to come from the building blocks.  A recent <a href="http://arxiv.org/pdf/1408.4451.pdf" rel="noreferrer">paper at arxiv</a> detects 28 AGN in dwarf galaxies with BHs in the $10^3 - 10^4 M_{\odot}$ mass range.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-04T20:07:39.603Z
2014-11-04T20:07:39.603Z
eshaya
<p>Supermassive black holes often exist in large galaxies (e.g. the Milky Way, Andromeda). They make up a fair portion of the galaxy's mass. Is it possible for a supermassive black hole to form in a smaller galaxy - a dwarf galaxy (i.e. the Sagittarius Dwarf)?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-04T21:13:45.297Z
A fair portion of the galactic mass? Rather more like 1/100000 of the galactic mass.
LocalFluff
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-05T02:39:56.250Z
@LocalFluff I meant relative to other individual objects. It was poor phrasing; I'll try to figure out a way to fix it.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-06T02:10:21.860Z
Can you try putting a little more detail into your questions?
Juka
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-11-06T12:24:01.267Z
@Juka How so? It's a straightforward question. Why would you downvote?
HDE 226868
<supermassive-black-hole><dwarf-galaxy>
Could supermassive black holes form in dwarf galaxies?
HDE 226868
# Could supermassive black holes form in dwarf galaxies?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-04)

Supermassive black holes often exist in large galaxies (e.g. the Milky Way, Andromeda). They make up a fair portion of the galaxy's mass. Is it possible for a supermassive black hole to form in a smaller galaxy - a dwarf galaxy (i.e. the Sagittarius Dwarf)?

**Tags:** supermassive-black-hole, dwarf-galaxy

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Can you try putting a little more detail into your questions?  
> **username_0**: @username_2 How so? It's a straightforward question. Why would you downvote?  
> **username_1**: A fair portion of the galactic mass? Rather more like 1/100000 of the galactic mass.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 I meant relative to other individual objects. It was poor phrasing; I'll try to figure out a way to fix it.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-11-04. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

The prediction was that dwarf galaxies have SMBHs, but with smaller masses than regular galaxies. This was based on the idea that regular galaxies were built from dwarf galaxies and the BHs need to have started growing early on. Also the correlation between bulge mass and BH mass requires the BHs to come from the building blocks. A recent [paper at arxiv](http://arxiv.org/pdf/1408.4451.pdf) detects 28 AGN in dwarf galaxies with BHs in the $10^3 - 10^4 M\_{\odot}$ mass range.


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