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 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 The X-Ray AGN Bias Factor at Zero Redshift

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S267) ◽  
pp. 462-462
Author(s):  
Roman A. Krivonos ◽  
Mikhail G. Revnivtsev
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Density Fluctuations ◽  
Local Universe ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Bias Factor ◽  
Sky Survey ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Galaxy Population

AbstractUsing an AGN sample from the INTEGRAL all-sky survey, we show that the density fluctuations of matter in the local universe translate linearly into the density fluctuations of accreting supermassive black holes. Our results imply that hard X-ray emitting AGNs are unbiased tracers of the galaxy population in the nearby universe and SMBH activity is independent of the density of galaxies.

scholarly journals Supermassive black holes (SMBH) at work: M87, a case study of the effects of SMBH outbursts

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (S313) ◽  
pp. 309-314
Author(s):  
William Forman ◽  
Eugene Churazov ◽  
Christine Jones ◽  
Alexey Vikhlinin
Keyword(s):  
Black Holes ◽  
Weak Shock ◽  
Supermassive Black Holes ◽  
Ambient Atmosphere ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Cluster Evolution ◽  
The Galaxy ◽  
Outburst Energy ◽  
Galaxy Nucleus

AbstractSupermassive black holes (SMBHs) play key roles in galaxy and cluster evolution. This is most clearly seen in the “fossil record” that is imprinted in the gas rich atmospheres of early type galaxies, groups, and clusters by powerful SMBH outbursts. From a detailed X-ray study of M87, we present the properties of a typical SMBH outburst, its evolution, and the energy partition between shocks and the enthalpy of the gas cavities inflated by the SMBH. About 12 Myr ago, the SMBH in M87 inflated a cavity of relativistic plasma which is still centered near the galaxy nucleus. This outburst drove a shock into the surrounding gas. For M87, we show that the outburst duration is a few Myr and that about 50% of the total energy (5 × 1057 ergs) resides in the bubble inflated by the jet from the SMBH, that 25% of the outburst energy is deposited directly into the ambient atmosphere by the shock, and that 25% of the outburst energy is lost from the radiatively bright core as the weak shock moves to large radii. We conclude by describing a future X-ray mission, SMART-X, with < 1” angular resolution that would allow us to study the evolution of SMBHs and the hot, X-ray emitting atmospheres from high redshifts to the present for M87-like systems.

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.

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