The clustering of undetected high-redshift black holes and their signatures in cosmic backgrounds

ABSTRACT There exist hitherto unexplained fluctuations in the cosmic infrared background on arcminute scales and larger. These have been shown to cross-correlate with the cosmic X-ray background, leading several authors to attribute the excess to a high-redshift growing black hole population. In order to investigate potential sources that could explain this excess, in this paper, we develop a new framework to compute the power spectrum of undetected sources that do not have constant flux as a function of halo mass. In this formulation, we combine a semi-analytic model for black hole growth and their simulated spectra from hydrodynamical simulations. Revisiting the possible contribution of a high-redshift black hole population, we find that too much black hole growth is required at early epochs for z > 6 accretion to explain these fluctuations. Examining a population of accreting black holes at more moderate redshifts, z ∼ 2–3, we find that such models produce a poor fit to the observed fluctuations while simultaneously overproducing the local black hole mass density. Additionally, we rule out the hypothesis of a missing Galactic foreground of warm dust that produces coherent fluctuations in the X-ray via reflection of Galactic X-ray binary emission. Although we firmly rule out accreting massive black holes as the source of these missing fluctuations, additional studies will be required to determine their origin.

Download Full-text

The Multiwavelength AGN Population and the X-ray Background

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921314003731 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (S304) ◽

pp. 188-194

Author(s):

Ezequiel Treister ◽

Claudia M. Urry ◽

Kevin Schawinski ◽

Brooke D. Simmons ◽

Priyamvada Natarajan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Holes ◽

Black Hole ◽

Mass Density ◽

Large Fraction ◽

Supermassive Black Holes ◽

X Rays ◽

X Ray ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

Hole Growth ◽

X Ray Background

AbstractIn order to fully understand galaxy formation we need to know when in the cosmic history are supermassive black holes (SMBHs) growing more intensively, in what type of galaxies this growth is happening and what fraction of these sources are invisible at most wavelengths due to obscuration. Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) population synthesis models that can explain the spectral shape and intensity of the cosmic X-ray background (CXRB) indicate that most of the SMBH growth occurs in moderate-luminosity (LX~ 1044 erg/s) sources (Seyfert-type AGN), at z~ 0.5−1 and in heavily obscured but Compton-thin, NH~ 1023cm−2, systems. However, this is not the complete history, as a large fraction of black hole growth does not emit significantly in X-rays either due to obscuration, intrinsic low luminosities or large distances. The integrated intensity at high energies indicates that a significant fraction of the total black hole growth, 22%, occurs in heavily-obscured systems that are not individually detected in even the deepest X-ray observations. We further investigate the AGN triggering mechanism as a function of bolometric luminosity, finding evidence for a strong connection between significant black hole growth events and major galaxy mergers from z~ 0 to z~ 3, while less spectacular but longer accretion episodes are most likely due to other (stochastic) processes. AGN activity triggered by major galaxies is responsible for ~60% of the total black hole growth. Finally, we constrain the total accreted mass density in supermassive black holes at z > 6, inferred via the upper limit derived from the integrated X-ray emission from a sample of photometrically selected galaxy candidates. We estimate an accreted mass density <1000 M⊙Mpc−3 at z~ 6, significantly lower than the previous predictions from some existing models of early black hole growth and earlier prior observations.

Download Full-text

Dark-ages reionization and galaxy formation simulation – XVIII. The high-redshift evolution of black holes and their host galaxies

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ◽

10.1093/mnras/staa936 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 494 (2) ◽

pp. 2747-2759 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Madeline A Marshall ◽

Simon J Mutch ◽

Yuxiang Qin ◽

Gregory B Poole ◽

J Stuart B Wyithe

Keyword(s):

Black Holes ◽

Black Hole ◽

Galaxy Formation ◽

High Redshift ◽

Stellar Mass ◽

Mass Relation ◽

Host Galaxies ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

Hydrodynamical Simulations ◽

Hole Growth

ABSTRACT Correlations between black holes and their host galaxies provide insight into what drives black hole–host co-evolution. We use the Meraxes semi-analytic model to investigate the growth of black holes and their host galaxies from high redshift to the present day. Our modelling finds no significant evolution in the black hole–bulge and black hole–total stellar mass relations out to a redshift of 8. The black hole–total stellar mass relation has similar but slightly larger scatter than the black hole–bulge relation, with the scatter in both decreasing with increasing redshift. In our modelling, the growth of galaxies, bulges, and black holes are all tightly related, even at the highest redshifts. We find that black hole growth is dominated by instability-driven or secular quasar-mode growth and not by merger-driven growth at all redshifts. Our model also predicts that disc-dominated galaxies lie on the black hole–total stellar mass relation, but lie offset from the black hole–bulge mass relation, in agreement with recent observations and hydrodynamical simulations.

Download Full-text

The Cosmic History of Black Hole Growth from Deep Multiwavelength Surveys

Advances in Astronomy ◽

10.1155/2012/516193 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ezequiel Treister ◽

C. Megan Urry

Keyword(s):

Black Holes ◽

Black Hole ◽

Optical Emission ◽

Supermassive Black Holes ◽

X Ray ◽

Open Questions ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

History Of ◽

Hole Growth ◽

Cosmic History

Significant progress has been made in the last few years on understanding how supermassive black holes form and grow. In this paper, we begin by reviewing the spectral signatures of active galactic nuclei (AGN) ranging from radio to hard X-ray wavelengths. We then describe the most commonly used methods to find these sources, including optical/UV, radio, infrared, and X-ray emission, and optical emission lines. We then describe the main observational properties of the obscured and unobscured AGN population. Finally, we summarize the cosmic history of black hole accretion, that is, when in the history of the universe supermassive black holes were getting most of their mass. We finish with a summary of open questions and a description of planned and future observatories that are going to help answer them.

Download Full-text

Obscured AGN

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921314003275 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (S304) ◽

pp. 43-43

Author(s):

Amy Barger

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Black Hole ◽

Substantial Fraction ◽

X Ray ◽

James Clerk Maxwell ◽

Supermassive Black Hole ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

Deep Fields ◽

Hole Growth

AbstractObscured AGN may correspond to a substantial fraction of the supermassive black hole growth rate. I will present new surveys with the SCUBA-2 instrument on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope of the Chandra Deep Fields and discuss whether we can distinguish obscured AGN in hard X-ray and radio selected samples using submillimeter observations.

Download Full-text

The Hard X‐Ray Spectrum as a Probe for Black Hole Growth in Radio‐Quiet Active Galactic Nuclei

The Astrophysical Journal ◽

10.1086/588776 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 682 (1) ◽

pp. 81-93 ◽

Cited By ~ 147

Author(s):

Ohad Shemmer ◽

W. N. Brandt ◽

Hagai Netzer ◽

Roberto Maiolino ◽

Shai Kaspi

Keyword(s):

Black Hole ◽

Active Galactic Nuclei ◽

Galactic Nuclei ◽

X Ray ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

Hole Growth

Download Full-text

The Distribution and Evolution of Black Hole Mass in Broad Line Quasars

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s174392131000640x ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 5 (S267) ◽

pp. 263-263

Author(s):

Brandon C. Kelly ◽

Marianne Vestergaard ◽

Xiaohui Fan ◽

Lars Hernquist ◽

Philip Hopkins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Black Holes ◽

Black Hole ◽

Mass Function ◽

Sloan Digital Sky Survey ◽

Broad Line ◽

Black Hole Mass ◽

Sky Survey ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

Hole Growth ◽

Eddington Limit

We present the first estimate of the black hole mass function (BHMF) of broad-line quasars (BLQSOs) that self-consistently corrects for incompleteness and the statistical uncertainty in the mass estimates, based on a sample of 9886 quasars at 1 < z < 4.5 drawn from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We find evidence for “cosmic downsizing” of black holes in BLQSOs, where the peak in their number density shifts to higher redshift with increasing black hole mass. We estimate the lifetime of the BLQSO phase to be 70 ± 5 Myr for supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at z = 1 with a mass of MBH = 109M⊙, and we constrain the maximum mass of a black hole in a BLQSO to be ~ 1010M⊙. We find that most BLQSOs are not radiating at or near the Eddington limit. Our results are consistent with models for self-regulated black hole growth, where the BLQSO phase occurs at the end of a fueling event when black hole feedback unbinds the accreting gas.

Download Full-text

Massive quasar host galaxies in the reionisation epoch

Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s1743921319009037 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 15 (S352) ◽

pp. 127-131

Author(s):

Bram P. Venemans ◽

Fabian Walter ◽

Marcel Neeleman ◽

Mladen Novak ◽

Roberto Decarli

Keyword(s):

Black Holes ◽

Star Formation Rate ◽

High Spatial Resolution ◽

High Redshift ◽

Formation Rate ◽

Host Galaxies ◽

Dynamical Mass ◽

Gas Kinematics ◽

Black Hole Growth ◽

Hole Growth

AbstractLuminous quasars are powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes. Such luminous quasars have been discovered up to the highest redshifts, z > 7. Here we discuss recent observations of the host galaxies of luminous quasars at z ≳ 6. We do not find a correlation between ongoing black hole growth and star-formation rate in the high redshift quasars, possibly indicating that black holes and their hosts do not co-evolve. We further show that even with high spatial resolution observations of the gas kinematics, dynamical mass estimates remain highly uncertain and should be used with caution.

Download Full-text