The Scatter Matters: Circumgalactic Metal Content in the Context of the M–σ Relation

Abstract

The interaction between supermassive black hole (SMBH) feedback and the circumgalactic medium (CGM) continues to be an open question in galaxy evolution. In our study, we use smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations to explore the impact of SMBH feedback on galactic metal retention and the motion of metals and gas into and through the CGM of L* galaxies. We examine 140 galaxies from the 25 Mpc cosmological volume Romulus25, with stellar masses between log(M */M ⊙) = 9.5–11.5. We measure the fraction of metals remaining in the interstellar medium (ISM) and CGM of each galaxy and calculate the expected mass of each SMBH based on the M BH–σ relation (Kormendy & Ho 2013). The deviation of each SMBH from its expected mass, ΔM BH, is compared to the potential of its host via σ. We find that SMBHs with accreted mass above M BH–σ are more effective at removing metals from the ISM than undermassive SMBHs in star-forming galaxies. Overall, overmassive SMBHs suppress the total star formation of their host galaxies and more effectively move metals from the ISM into the CGM. However, we see little to no evacuation of gas from the CGM out of their halos, in contrast with other simulations. Finally, we predict that C iv column densities in the CGM of L* galaxies are unlikely to depend on host galaxy SMBH mass. Our results show that the scatter in the low-mass end of the M BH–σ relation may indicate how effective an SMBH is in the local redistribution of mass in its host galaxy.