Supermassive black holes as the regulators of star formation in central
  galaxies
  We present a relationship between the black hole mass, stellar mass, and star
formation rate of a diverse group of 91 galaxies with dynamically-measured
black hole masses. For our sample of galaxies with a variety of morphologies
and other galactic properties, we find that the specific star formation rate is
a smoothly decreasing function of the ratio between black hole mass and stellar
mass, or what we call the specific black hole mass. In order to explain this
relation, we propose a physical framework where the gradual suppression of a
galaxy's star formation activity results from the adjustment to an increase in
specific black hole mass and, accordingly, an increase in the amount of
heating. From this framework, it follows that at least some galaxies with
intermediate specific black hole masses are in a steady state of partial
quiescence with intermediate specific star formation rates, implying that both
transitioning and steady-state galaxies live within this region known as the
"green valley." With respect to galaxy formation models, our results present an
important diagnostic with which to test various prescriptions of black hole
feedback and its effects on star formation activity.
