scholarly journals The fates of merging supermassive black holes and a proposal for a new class of X-ray sources

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (3) ◽  
pp. 3807-3816
Author(s):  
Charles Zivancev ◽  
Jeremiah Ostriker ◽  
Andreas H W Küpper
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Structure Formation ◽  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Massive Galaxies ◽  
New Class ◽  
Low Mass

ABSTRACT We perform N-body simulations on some of the most massive galaxies extracted from a cosmological simulation of hierarchical structure formation with total masses in the range 1012 M⊙ < Mtot < 3 × 1013 M⊙ from 4 ≥ z ≥ 0. After galactic mergers, we track the dynamical evolution of the infalling black holes (BHs) around their host’s central BHs (CBHs). From 11 different simulations, we find that, of the 86 infalling BHs with masses >104 M⊙, 36 merge with their host’s CBH, 13 are ejected from their host galaxy, and 37 are still orbiting at z = 0. Across all galaxies, 33 BHs are kicked to a higher orbit after close interactions with the CBH binary or multiple, after which only one of them merged with their hosts. These orbiting BHs should be detectable by their anomalous (not low-mass X-ray binary) spectra. The X-ray luminosities of the orbiting massive BHs at z = 0 are in the range $10^{28}-10^{43}\, \mathrm{erg}~\mathrm{s}^{-1}$, with a currently undetectable median value of $10^{33}\, \mathrm{erg}~\mathrm{s}^{-1}$. However, the most luminous ∼5 per cent should be detectable by existing X-ray facilities.

scholarly journals A survey of AGN and supermassive black holes in the COSMOS Survey

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S238) ◽  
pp. 287-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris D. Impey ◽  
Jon R. Trump ◽  
Pat J. McCarthy ◽  
Martin Elvis ◽  
John P. Huchra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Data Set ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Cosmic Evolution ◽  
Early Results ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
History Of

AbstractThe Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) is an HST/ACS imaging survey of 2 square degrees centered on RA = 10:00:28.6, Dec = + 02:12:21 (J2000). While the primary goal of the survey is to study evolution of galaxy morphology and large scale structure, an extensive multi-wavelength data set allows for a sensitive survey of AGN. Spectroscopy of optical counterparts to faint X-ray and radio sources is being carried out with the Magallen (Baade) Telescope and the ESO VLT. By achieving ∼80 redshift completeness down to I AB = 3, the eventual yield of AGN will be ∼1100 over the whole field.Early results on supermassive black holes are described. The goals of the survey include a bolometric census of AGN down to moderate luminosities, the cosmic evolution and fueling history of the central engines, and a study of AGN environments on scales ranging from the host galaxy to clusters and superclusters.

scholarly journals Dissecting X-ray–Emitting Gas Around the Center of Our Galaxy

Science ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 341 (6149) ◽  
pp. 981-983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. D. Wang ◽  
M. A. Nowak ◽  
S. B. Markoff ◽  
F. K. Baganoff ◽  
S. Nayakshin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Accretion Flow ◽  
Active Stars ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Rule Out

Most supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are accreting at very low levels and are difficult to distinguish from the galaxy centers where they reside. Our own Galaxy’s SMBH provides an instructive exception, and we present a close-up view of its quiescent x-ray emission based on 3 megaseconds of Chandra observations. Although the x-ray emission is elongated and aligns well with a surrounding disk of massive stars, we can rule out a concentration of low-mass coronally active stars as the origin of the emission on the basis of the lack of predicted iron (Fe) Kα emission. The extremely weak hydrogen (H)–like Fe Kα line further suggests the presence of an outflow from the accretion flow onto the SMBH. These results provide important constraints for models of the prevalent radiatively inefficient accretion state.

scholarly journals Host Galaxies of Obscured Quasars: Infant Starbursts Caught in Action

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
Xin Liu ◽  
Nadia L. Zakamska ◽  
Jenny E. Greene ◽  
Michael A. Strauss ◽  
Julian H. Krolik
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Stellar Populations ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Host Galaxy ◽  
Host Galaxies ◽  
Massive Galaxies

Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in the centers of massive galaxies are thought to predominantly grow in brief Eddington-rate quasar phases accompanied by starbursts, but on-going starbursts in luminous quasars are difficult to observe. Buried under the natural coronagraph, obscured quasars offer a unique window for direct, robust host-galaxy spectroscopy otherwise virtually inaccessible for luminous quasars. Our pilot study at z ~ 0.5 (Liu et al. 2009) revealed a substantial contribution from very young stellar populations with ages less than ~ 100 Myr in all of the observed host galaxy spectra. More dramatically, in three out of the nine SDSS quasars observed, we have witnessed strong infant starbursts with ages of ~ 5 Myr, clocked by the telltale Wolf–Rayet emission features.

scholarly journals The formation of high-mass black holes in low-mass X-ray binaries

New Astronomy ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.E. Brown ◽  
C.-H. Lee ◽  
Hans A. Bethe
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
High Mass ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Low Mass ◽  
X Ray Binaries

scholarly journals Finding Local Low-mass Supermassive Black Holes

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smita Mathur ◽  
Himel Ghosh ◽  
Laura Ferrarese ◽  
Fabrizio Fiore ◽  
Sandip K. Chakrabarti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Low Mass

AGN and the necessity of feedback

2005 ◽  
Vol 363 (1828) ◽  
pp. 695-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Benson
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Formation ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Observational Evidence ◽  
Theoretical Studies ◽  
Feedback Process ◽  
Low Mass

There is now good observational evidence that some type of feedback process must operate within galaxies. Such a process has long been thought to exist on the basis of theoretical studies of galaxy formation. This feedback is responsible for regulating the rate of star formation and thereby preventing the formation of an overabundance of low–mass galaxies. There is gathering evidence that this feedback process must somehow involve the supermassive black holes thought to dwell in the centres of galaxies.

scholarly journals Probing black hole accretion tracks, scaling relations, and radiative efficiencies from stacked X-ray active galactic nuclei

2019 ◽  
Vol 493 (1) ◽  
pp. 1500-1511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Shankar ◽  
David H Weinberg ◽  
Christopher Marsden ◽  
Philip J Grylls ◽  
Mariangela Bernardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Black Hole ◽  
Selection Bias ◽  
Stellar Mass ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Black Hole Accretion ◽  
Black Hole Masses ◽  
Hole Accretion

ABSTRACT The masses of supermassive black holes at the centres of local galaxies appear to be tightly correlated with the mass and velocity dispersions of their galactic hosts. However, the local Mbh–Mstar relation inferred from dynamically measured inactive black holes is up to an order-of-magnitude higher than some estimates from active black holes, and recent work suggests that this discrepancy arises from selection bias on the sample of dynamical black hole mass measurements. In this work, we combine X-ray measurements of the mean black hole accretion luminosity as a function of stellar mass and redshift with empirical models of galaxy stellar mass growth, integrating over time to predict the evolving Mbh–Mstar relation. The implied relation is nearly independent of redshift, indicating that stellar and black hole masses grow, on average, at similar rates. Matching the de-biased local Mbh–Mstar relation requires a mean radiative efficiency ε ≳ 0.15, in line with theoretical expectations for accretion on to spinning black holes. However, matching the ‘raw’ observed relation for inactive black holes requires ε ∼ 0.02, far below theoretical expectations. This result provides independent evidence for selection bias in dynamically estimated black hole masses, a conclusion that is robust to uncertainties in bolometric corrections, obscured active black hole fractions, and kinetic accretion efficiency. For our fiducial assumptions, they favour moderate-to-rapid spins of typical supermassive black holes, to achieve ε ∼ 0.12–0.20. Our approach has similarities to the classic Soltan analysis, but by using galaxy-based data instead of integrated quantities we are able to focus on regimes where observational uncertainties are minimized.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document