Evolution of chemical abundances in active and quiescent spiral bulges.

In this thesis I develop a chemical evolution model which takes advantage of the most recent high-quality abundance observations in the Galactic bulge to put constraints on its formation and evolution and to obtain a baseline model for bulges in general. I adopt updated massive star nucleosynthesis and follow the evolution of several alpha-elements and Fe by varying the evolutionary parameters. The [alpha/Fe] ratios in the bulge are correctly predicted to be supersolar for a wide range in [Fe/H], and the stellar metallicity distribution is reproduced assuming a short formation timescale, a high star formation efficiency and an initial mass function flatter than the disk. Metallicity-dependent oxygen yields with stellar mass loss are included in the chemical evolution models for the bulge and the solar neighbourhood. The agreement between predicted and observed [O/Mg] trends above solar metallicity is significantly improved; a normalisation problem probably indicates that the adopted semi-empirical yields need adjustment. The difference between [O/Fe] and the other [alpha/Fe] ratios in the bulge and solar neighbourhood is explained. I test the so-called universal initial mass function, suitable for ellipticals and disks, to see if the bulge stellar metallicity distribution can be reproduced by varying the yields for very massive stars, and included M31 in my analysis. I show that assuming a flatter initial mass function than the universal one is necessary, and that a variation exists in the initial mass function among different environments. Finally, I investigate the evolution of spiral bulges hosting Seyfert nuclei, with detailed calculations of the galactic potential and of the feedback from the central supermassive black hole in an Eddington-limited accretion regime. New spectro-photometrical evolution codes covering a wide range of stellar ages and metallicities allowed to model the photometric features of local bulges. I successfully predict the observed black hole-host bulge mass relation. The observed present-day nuclear bolometric luminosity is achieved only for the most massive bulges, otherwise a rejuvenation is necessary. The observed high star formation rates and metallicities, constancy of chemical abundances with the redshift and bulge present-day colours are reproduced, but a steeper initial mass function is required to match the colour-magnitude relation and the present K-band bulge luminosity.