2023NatAs...7.1376Z

The tight correlations between the masses of supermassive black holes (BHs) and the properties of their host galaxies suggest that BHs co-evolve with galaxies. However, what is the link between BH mass (M_BH) and the properties of the host galaxies of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the nearby Universe? We measure stellar masses (M_*), colours and structural properties for ∼11,500 redshift ≤0.35 broad-line AGNs, nearly 40 times more than that in any previous work, as far as we are aware. We find that early-type and late-type AGNs follow a similar M_BH-M_* relation. The position of AGNs on the M_BH-M_* plane is connected with the properties of star formation and BH accretion. Our results unveil the evolutionary paths of galaxies on the M_BH-M_* plane: objects above the relation tend to evolve more horizontally, with substantial M_* growth; objects on the relation move along the local relation; and objects below the relation migrate more vertically, with substantial M_BH growth. These trajectories suggest that radiative-mode feedback cannot quench the growth of BHs and their host galaxies for AGNs that lie below the relation, while kinetic-mode feedback barely suppresses long-term star formation for AGNs situated above the relation. This work provides important constraints for numerical simulations and offers a framework for studying the cosmic co-evolution of supermassive BHs and their host galaxies.