Impact of gas-based seeding on supermassive black hole populations at z ≥ 7

2021/05/31 by Aklant K. Bhowmick, Laura Blecha, Paul Torrey +6
Medicine · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Halo #Medicine #Physics #Population #Radio Astronomy Observations and Technology #Redshift #Star formation #Stars #Supermassive black hole #astro-ph.CO #astro-ph.GA

paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/mnras/stab2204

25 pages, 23 figures

openalex created_date 2021/05/24 · openalex publication_date 2021/07/30 · arxiv created 2021/11/23 · arxiv updated 2021/11/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06

Abstract

ABSTRACT Deciphering the formation of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is a key science goal for upcoming observational facilities. In many theoretical channels proposed so far, the seed formation depends crucially on local gas conditions. We systematically characterize the impact of a range of gas-based black hole seeding prescriptions on SMBH populations using cosmological simulations. Seeds of mass M_seed∼ 10³ - 10⁶~M_\odot h^-1 are placed in haloes that exceed critical thresholds for star-forming, metal-poor gas mass and halo mass (defined as M_sf,mp and M_h, respectively, in units of Mseed). We quantify the impact of these parameters on the properties of z ≥ 7 SMBHs. Lower seed masses produce higher black hole merger rates (by factors of ∼10 and ∼1000 at z ∼ 7 and z ∼ 15, respectively). For fixed seed mass, we find that M_h has the strongest impact on the black hole population at high redshift (z ≳ 15, where a factor of 10 increase in M_h suppresses merger rates by ≳100). At lower redshift (z ≲ 15), we find that M_sf,mp has a larger impact on the black hole population. Increasing M_sf,mp from 5 to 150 suppresses the merger rates by factors of ∼8 at z ∼ 7–15. This suggests that the seeding criteria explored here could leave distinct imprints on LISA merger rates. In contrast, AGN luminosity functions are much less sensitive to seeding criteria, varying by factors ≲2–3 within our models. Such variations will be challenging to probe even with future sensitive instruments such as Lynx or JWST. Our study provides a useful benchmark for development of seed models for large-volume cosmological simulations.

Citations

• On the Inconsistency between the Black Hole Mass Function Inferred fromM•‐σ andM•‐LCorrelations
• Magnetohydrodynamics on an unstructured moving grid
• A Survey of [CLC][ITAL]z[/ITAL][/CLC] > 5.8 Quasars in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I. Discovery of Three New Quasars and the Spatial Density of Luminous Quasars at [CLC][ITAL]z[/ITAL][/CLC] ∼ 6
• The illustris simulation: Public data release
• Pair‐Instability Supernovae, Gravity Waves, and Gamma‐Ray Transients
• Black hole demography: from scaling relations to models
• A synthesis model for AGN evolution: supermassive black holes growth and feedback modes
• SELF-CONSISTENT MODELS OF THE AGN AND BLACK HOLE POPULATIONS: DUTY CYCLES, ACCRETION RATES, AND THE MEAN RADIATIVE EFFICIENCY
• The Demography of Massive Dark Objects in Galaxy Centers
• E pur si muove:Galilean-invariant cosmological hydrodynamical simulations on a moving mesh
• Formation of supermassive black holes by direct collapse in pre-galactic haloes
• Formation of the First Supermassive Black Holes
• A Relationship between Nuclear Black Hole Mass and Galaxy Velocity Dispersion
• Coevolution (Or Not) of Supermassive Black Holes and Host Galaxies
• Local supermassive black holes, relics of active galactic nuclei and the X-ray background
• Toward a Halo Mass Function for Precision Cosmology: The Limits of Universality
• Galactic Stellar and Substellar Initial Mass Function
• Supermassive black hole demography: the match between the local and accreted mass functions
• Introducing the Illustris Project: simulating the coevolution of dark and visible matter in the Universe
• DWARF GALAXIES WITH OPTICAL SIGNATURES OF ACTIVE MASSIVE BLACK HOLES
• The formation of supermassive black holes from Population III.1 seeds. I. Cosmic formation histories and clustering properties
• Simulating galaxy formation with the IllustrisTNG model
• The descendants of the first quasars in the BlueTides simulation
• The Illustris Simulation: Supermassive Black Hole − Galaxy Connection Beyond the Bulge
• The James Webb Space Telescope
• Planck 2015 results. XIII. Cosmological parameters