The origin of the most massive black holes at high-z: BlueTides and the next quasar frontier
09 Feb 2017-Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (Oxford University Press)-Vol. 467, Iss: 4, pp 4243-4251
TL;DR: In this paper, large-scale hydrodynamical cosmological simulations of structure formation are used to explore the conditions conducive to the growth of the earliest supermassive BHs.
Abstract: The growth of the most massive black holes in the early Universe, consistent with the detection of highly luminous quasars at z > 6 implies sustained, critical accretion of material to grow and power them. Given a black hole (BH) seed scenario, it is still uncertain which conditions in the early Universe allow the fastest BH growth. Large-scale hydrodynamical cosmological simulations of structure formation allow us to explore the conditions conducive to the growth of the earliest supermassive BHs. We use the cosmological hydrodynamic simulation BLUETIDES, which incorporates a variety of baryon physics in a (400 h−1Mpc)3 volume with 0.7 trillion particles to follow the earliest phases of BH critical growth. At z = 8 the most massive BHs (a handful) approach masses of 108 M⊙ with the most massive (with MBH = 4 × 108 M⊙) being found in an extremely compact (compared to present day) spheroid-dominated host galaxy. Examining the large-scale environment of hosts, we find that the initial tidal field is more important than overdensity in setting the conditions for early BH growth. In regions of low tidal fields gas accretes ‘cold’ on to the BH and falls along thin, radial filaments straight into the centre forming the most compact galaxies and most massive BHs at the earliest times. Regions of high tidal fields instead induce larger coherent angular momenta and influence the formation of the first population of massive compact discs. The extreme early growth depends on the early interplay of high gas densities and the tidal field that shapes the mode of accretion. Mergers may play a minor role in the formation of the first generation, rare massive BHs.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an overview of AGN multi-wavelength properties with the aim of painting their "big picture" through observations in each electromagnetic band from radio to gamma-gamma -rays as well as AGN variability.
Abstract: Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are energetic astrophysical sources powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes in galaxies, and present unique observational signatures that cover the full electromagnetic spectrum over more than twenty orders of magnitude in frequency. The rich phenomenology of AGN has resulted in a large number of different “flavours” in the literature that now comprise a complex and confusing AGN “zoo”. It is increasingly clear that these classifications are only partially related to intrinsic differences between AGN and primarily reflect variations in a relatively small number of astrophysical parameters as well the method by which each class of AGN is selected. Taken together, observations in different electromagnetic bands as well as variations over time provide complementary windows on the physics of different sub-structures in the AGN. In this review, we present an overview of AGN multi-wavelength properties with the aim of painting their “big picture” through observations in each electromagnetic band from radio to $$\gamma $$
-rays as well as AGN variability. We address what we can learn from each observational method, the impact of selection effects, the physics behind the emission at each wavelength, and the potential for future studies. To conclude, we use these observations to piece together the basic architecture of AGN, discuss our current understanding of unification models, and highlight some open questions that present opportunities for future observational and theoretical progress.
384 citations
01 Sep 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of AGN multi-wavelength properties with the aim of painting their "big picture" through observations in each electromagnetic band from radio to gamma-rays as well as AGN variability.
Abstract: Active galactic nuclei (AGN) are energetic astrophysical sources powered by accretion onto supermassive black holes in galaxies, and present unique observational signatures that cover the full electromagnetic spectrum over more than twenty orders of magnitude in frequency. The rich phenomenology of AGN has resulted in a large number of different “flavours” in the literature that now comprise a complex and confusing AGN “zoo”. It is increasingly clear that these classifications are only partially related to intrinsic differences between AGN and primarily reflect variations in a relatively small number of astrophysical parameters as well the method by which each class of AGN is selected. Taken together, observations in different electromagnetic bands as well as variations over time provide complementary windows on the physics of different sub-structures in the AGN. In this review, we present an overview of AGN multi-wavelength properties with the aim of painting their “big picture” through observations in each electromagnetic band from radio to $$\gamma $$γ-rays as well as AGN variability. We address what we can learn from each observational method, the impact of selection effects, the physics behind the emission at each wavelength, and the potential for future studies. To conclude, we use these observations to piece together the basic architecture of AGN, discuss our current understanding of unification models, and highlight some open questions that present opportunities for future observational and theoretical progress.
239 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the formation, distribution and growth of BH seeds by using the adaptive mesh refinement code Ramses and find that all high-mass galaxies tend to a host a BH, whereas low-mass counterparts have a lower probability of hosting a H. This probability is modulated by the growth of the galaxy.
Abstract: Massive black holes (BHs) inhabit local galaxies, including the Milky Way and some dwarf galaxies. BH formation, occurring at early cosmic times, must account for the properties of BHs in today's galaxies, notably why some galaxies host a BH, and others do not. We investigate the formation, distribution and growth of BH `seeds' by using the adaptive mesh refinement code Ramses. We develop an implementation of BH formation in dense, low-metallicity environments, as advocated by models invoking the collapse of the first generation of stars, or of dense nuclear star clusters. The seed masses are computed one-by-one on-the-fly, based on the star formation rate and the stellar initial mass function. This self-consistent method to seed BHs allows us to study the distribution of BHs in a cosmological context and their evolution over cosmic time. We find that all high-mass galaxies tend to a host a BH, whereas low-mass counterparts have a lower probability of hosting a BH. After the end of the epoch of BH formation, this probability is modulated by the growth of the galaxy. The simulated BHs connect to low-redshift observational samples, and span a similar range in accretion properties as Lyman-Break Analogs. The growth of BHs in low-mass galaxies is stunted by strong supernova feedback. The properties of BHs in dwarf galaxies thus remain a testbed for BH formation. Simulations with strong supernova feedback, which is able to quench BH accretion in shallow potential wells, produce galaxies and BHs in better agreement with observational constraints.
192 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors studied the formation of supermassive black hole (SMBH) seeds via known physical processes in starburst clusters formed at the onset of their hosting galaxy.
Abstract: The observation of quasars at very high redshift such as Pōniuā’ena is a challenge for models of supermassive black hole (SMBH) formation. This work presents a study of SMBH formation via known physical processes in starburst clusters formed at the onset of the formation of their hosting galaxy. While at the early stages hypermassive starburst clusters reach the luminosities of quasars, once their massive stars die, the ensuing gas accretion from the still forming host galaxy compresses its stellar black hole (BH) component to a compact state overcoming heating from the BH–BH binaries such that the cluster collapses, forming a massive SMBH-seed within about a hundred Myr. Within this scenario, the SMBH–spheroid correlation emerges near to exactly. The highest redshift quasars may thus be hypermassive starburst clusters or young ultracompact dwarf galaxies (UCDs), being the precursors of the SMBHs that form therein within about 200 Myr of the first stars. For spheroid masses |${\lesssim }10^{9.6}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$|, an SMBH cannot form and instead only the accumulated nuclear cluster remains. The number evolution of the quasar phases with redshift is calculated and the possible problem of missing quasars at very high redshift is raised. SMBH-bearing UCDs and the formation of spheroids are discussed critically in view of the high-redshift observations. A possible tension is found between the high star formation rates (SFRs) implied by downsizing and the observed SFRs, which may be alleviated within the IGIMF theory and if the downsizing times are somewhat longer.
74 citations
Cites background from "The origin of the most massive blac..."
...SMBHs with masses MSMBH ≈ 1010 M have been argued to exist a few hundred Myr after the Big Bang (Bañados et al. 2016; Di Matteo et al. 2017; Bañados et al. 2018; Mezcua 2017)....
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...…(UCDs) remain, however, unexplained (Ferrarese & Merritt 2002; Kormendy & Ho 2013; Seth et al. 2014; Heckman & Best 2014; Janz et al. 2015; Di Matteo et al. 2017; Mezcua 2017; Bañados et al. 2018; Ahn et al. 2017, 2018; Afanasiev et al. 2018), with UCDs with mass < 107 M apparently not…...
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors confirm two new local massive relic galaxies, i.e. untouched survivors of the early universe massive population: Mrk1216 and PGC032873, showing early and peaked formation events within very short timescales.
Abstract: We confirm two new local massive relic galaxies, i.e. untouched survivors of the early universe massive population: Mrk1216 and PGC032873. Both show early and peaked formation events within very short timescales ( 2 massive population, setting them apart of the typical z~0 massive early-type galaxies. We find that there seems to exist a "degree of relic" that is related on how far into the path to become one of these typical z~0 massive galaxies the compact relic has undergone. This path is partly dictated by the environment the galaxy lives in. For galaxies in rich environments, such as the previously reported relic galaxy NGC1277, the most extreme properties (e.g. sizes, short formation timescales, larger super-massive black holes) are expected, while lower density environments will have galaxies with delayed and/or extended star formations, slightly larger sizes and not that extreme black hole masses. The confirmation of 3 relic galaxies up to a distance of 106Mpc implies a lower limit in the number density of these red nuggets in the local universe of 6x10^{-7} Mpc^{3}, which is within the theoretical expectations.
74 citations
References
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01 Jan 1966TL;DR: In this paper, a simulation program for particle-mesh force calculation is presented, based on a one-dimensional plasma model and a collisionless particle model, which is used to simulate collisionless particle models.
Abstract: Computer experiments using particle models A one-dimensional plasma model The simulation program Time integration schemes The particle-mesh force calculation The solution of field equations Collisionless particle models Particle-particle/particle-mesh algorithms Plasma simulation Semiconductor device simulation Astrophysics Solids, liquids and phase changes Fourier transforms Fourier series and finite Fourier transforms Bibliography Index
6,376 citations
University of British Columbia1, Johns Hopkins University2, Max Planck Society3, Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe4, Princeton University5, University of Toronto6, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics7, University of Minnesota8, Goddard Space Flight Center9, University of Chicago10, Brown University11, University of California, Los Angeles12
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present cosmological parameter constraints based on the final nine-year WMAP data, in conjunction with a number of additional cosmology data sets.
Abstract: We present cosmological parameter constraints based on the final nine-year WMAP data, in conjunction with a number of additional cosmological data sets. The WMAP data alone, and in combination, continue to be remarkably well fit by a six-parameter CDM model. When WMAP data are combined with measurements of the high-l cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy, the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) scale, and the Hubble constant, the matter and energy densities, bh 2 , ch 2 , and , are each determined to a precision of 1.5%. The amplitude of the primordial spectrum is measured to within 3%, and there is now evidence for a tilt in the primordial spectrum at the 5 level, confirming the first detection of tilt based on the five-year WMAP data. At the end of the WMAP mission, the nine-year data decrease the allowable volume of the six-dimensional CDM parameter space by a factor of 68,000 relative to pre-WMAP measurements. We investigate a number of data combinations and show that their CDM parameter fits are consistent. New limits on deviations from the six-parameter model are presented, for example: the fractional contribution of tensor modes is limited to r < 0.13 (95% CL); the spatial curvature parameter is limited to k = 0.0027 +0.0039 0.0038 ; the summed mass of neutrinos is limited to P m < 0.44 eV (95% CL); and the number of relativistic species is found to lie within Ne = 3.84±0.40, when the full data are analyzed. The joint constraint on Ne and the primordial helium abundance, YHe, agrees with the prediction of standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis. We compare recent Planck measurements of the Sunyaev‐Zel’dovich eect with our seven-year measurements, and show their mutual agreement. Our analysis of the polarization pattern around temperature extrema is updated. This confirms a fundamental prediction of the standard cosmological model and provides a striking illustration of acoustic oscillations and adiabatic initial conditions in the early universe. Subject headings: cosmic microwave background, cosmology: observations, early universe, dark matter, space vehicles, space vehicles: instruments, instrumentation: detectors, telescopes
5,488 citations
"The origin of the most massive blac..." refers background or methods in this paper
...BlueTides was run assuming the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe nine year data release (Hinshaw et al. 2013)....
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...…MassiveBlack I and II (Di Matteo, Springel & Hernquist 2005) • a model of “patchy” reionization (Battaglia et al. 2013) yielding a mean reionization redshift z ≈ 10 (Hinshaw et al. 2013), and incorporating the UV background estimated by Faucher-Giguère et al. (2009) In Feng et al. (2015) we…...
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TL;DR: Simulations that simultaneously follow star formation and the growth of black holes during galaxy–galaxy collisions find that, in addition to generating a burst of star formation, a merger leads to strong inflows that feed gas to the supermassive black hole and thereby power the quasar.
Abstract: In the early Universe, while galaxies were still forming, black holes as massive as a billion solar masses powered quasars. Supermassive black holes are found at the centres of most galaxies today, where their masses are related to the velocity dispersions of stars in their host galaxies and hence to the mass of the central bulge of the galaxy. This suggests a link between the growth of the black holes and their host galaxies, which has indeed been assumed for a number of years. But the origin of the observed relation between black hole mass and stellar velocity dispersion, and its connection with the evolution of galaxies, have remained unclear. Here we report simulations that simultaneously follow star formation and the growth of black holes during galaxy-galaxy collisions. We find that, in addition to generating a burst of star formation, a merger leads to strong inflows that feed gas to the supermassive black hole and thereby power the quasar. The energy released by the quasar expels enough gas to quench both star formation and further black hole growth. This determines the lifetime of the quasar phase (approaching 100 million years) and explains the relationship between the black hole mass and the stellar velocity dispersion.
3,330 citations
TL;DR: The Virgo Consortium's EAGLE project as discussed by the authors is a suite of hydrodynamical simulations that follow the formation of galaxies and black holes in representative volumes, where thermal energy is injected into the gas, allowing winds to develop without predetermined speed or mass loading factors.
Abstract: We introduce the Virgo Consortium's EAGLE project, a suite of hydrodynamical simulations that follow the formation of galaxies and black holes in representative volumes. We discuss the limitations of such simulations in light of their finite resolution and poorly constrained subgrid physics, and how these affect their predictive power. One major improvement is our treatment of feedback from massive stars and AGN in which thermal energy is injected into the gas without the need to turn off cooling or hydrodynamical forces, allowing winds to develop without predetermined speed or mass loading factors. Because the feedback efficiencies cannot be predicted from first principles, we calibrate them to the z~0 galaxy stellar mass function and the amplitude of the galaxy-central black hole mass relation, also taking galaxy sizes into account. The observed galaxy mass function is reproduced to ≲0.2 dex over the full mass range, 108
2,828 citations
"The origin of the most massive blac..." refers background in this paper
...The large volume of BlueTides, almost 200 times larger than either the Illustris, (Vogelsberger et al. 2014) or EAGLE, (Schaye et al. 2015) simulations, makes it ideally suited to an investigation of rare objects at high-redshift....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a model for star formation and supernova feedback is proposed to describe the multiphase structure of star-forming gas on scales that are typically not resolved in cosmological simulations.
Abstract: We present a model for star formation and supernova feedback that describes the multiphase structure of star-forming gas on scales that are typically not resolved in cosmological simulations. Our approach includes radiative heating and cooling, the growth of cold clouds embedded in an ambient hot medium, star formation in these clouds, feedback from supernovae in the form of thermal heating and cloud evaporation, galactic winds and outflows, and metal enrichment. Implemented using smoothed particle hydrodynamics, our scheme is a significantly modified and extended version of the grid-based method of Yepes et al., and enables us to achieve a high dynamic range in simulations of structure formation.
We discuss properties of the feedback model in detail and show that it predicts a self-regulated, quiescent mode of star formation, which, in particular, stabilizes the star-forming gaseous layers of disc galaxies. The parametrization of this mode can be reduced to a single free quantity that determines the overall time-scale for star formation. We fix this parameter numerically to match the observed rates of star formation in local disc galaxies. When normalized in this manner, cosmological simulations employing our model nevertheless overproduce the observed cosmic abundance of stellar material. We are thus motivated to extend our feedback model to include galactic winds associated with star formation.
Using small-scale simulations of individual star-forming disc galaxies, we show that these winds produce either galactic fountains or outflows, depending on the depth of the gravitational potential. In low-mass haloes, winds can greatly suppress the overall efficiency of star formation. When incorporated into cosmological simulations, our combined model for star formation and winds predicts a cosmic star formation density that is consistent with observations, provided that the winds are sufficiently energetic. Moreover, outflows from galaxies in these simulations drive chemical enrichment of the intergalactic medium – in principle, accounting for the presence of metals in the Lyman α forest.
2,050 citations
"The origin of the most massive blac..." refers methods in this paper
...…sub-grid physical processes were implemented to study their effects on galaxy formation: • star formation based on a multi-phase star formation model (Springel & Hernquist 2003) with modifications following Vogelsberger et al. (2013) • gas cooling through radiative processes (Katz, Weinberg &…...
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