AGN Disks Research Articles

Correction to: Neutron star accretion events in AGN discs: mutimessenger implications

Correction to: Neutron star accretion events in AGN discs: mutimessenger implications

Deciphering Radio Emissions from Accretion Disk Winds in Radio-quiet Active Galactic Nuclei

Unraveling the origins of radio emissions from radio-quiet active galactic nuclei (RQ AGNs) remains a pivotal challenge in astrophysics. One potential source of this radiation is the shock interaction between AGN disk winds and the interstellar medium (ISM). To understand this phenomenon, we construct a spherical, one-zone, and self-similar expansion model of shock structure between ultrafast outflows (UFOs) and the ISM. We then calculate the energy density distribution of nonthermal electrons by solving the transport equation, considering diffusive shock acceleration as the acceleration mechanism and synchrotron and inverse Compton cooling as the cooling mechanisms. Based on the derived energy distribution of nonthermal electrons, we model the radio synchrotron spectrum of the shocked ISM. For the 15 nearby RQ AGNs hosting UFOs, we investigate the shocked ISM parameters required to model their observed radio spectra based on X-ray observations and measured UFO velocities. Radio spectra of 11 out of 15 nearby RQ AGNs would be explained by the AGN disk wind model. This is a compelling indication that shock interactions between AGN disk winds and the ISM could indeed be the source of their radio emissions. The typical predicted source size and magnetic field strength are several 100 pc and 0.1 mG, respectively. We also discuss whether our prediction can be tested by future radio observations.

The Interaction between Stars and Past AGN Disk: Possible Explanation for the Kinematic Distributions of S-stars in the Galactic Center

The presence of young stars, aged around several million years and situated within the range of ∼0.04–1 pc from our Galactic center raises a question about their origins and dynamical evolutions. Their kinematics provide an opportunity to explore their formation or possible subsequent dynamical evolution. If Sagittarius A* was active in the past as suggested by several observations, the accretion disk may have a significant impact on the dynamics of stars in the Galactic center. The drag force exerted on stars during star–disk interaction could lead some of them to sink into the accretion disk, and these embedded stars will rapidly migrate inward and eventually be disrupted within ∼105 yr. This could roughly explain the absence of stars within 2.5 × 104 R g (∼1000 au). Additionally, Kozai–Lidov oscillations, induced by the gravitational perturbation of the disk, could contribute to the bimodal distribution of S-star inclinations and drive a majority of stars into high-eccentricity orbits.

Dynamical instability in multi-orbiter systems with gas friction

ABSTRACT Closely packed multiplanet systems are known to experience dynamical instability if the spacings between the planets are too small. Such instability can be tempered by the frictional forces acting on the planets from gaseous discs. A similar situation applies to stellar-mass black holes embedded in active galactic nuclei discs around supermassive black holes. We use N-body integrations to evaluate how the frictional damping of orbital eccentricity affects the growth of dynamical instability for a wide range of K (the difference in the planetary semimajor axes in units of the mutual Hill radius) and (unequal) planet masses. We find that, in general, the stable region (large K) and unstable region (small K) are separated by a “grey zone”, where the (in)stability is not guaranteed. We report the numerical values of the critical spacing for stability Kcrit and the “grey zone” range in different systems, and provide fitting formulae for arbitrary frictional forcing strength. We show that the stability of a system depends on the damping time-scale τ relative to the zero-friction instability growth time-scale tinst: two-planet systems are stable if tinst ≳ τ; three-planet systems require tinst ≳ 10τ−100τ. When K is sufficiently small, tinst can be less than the synodic period between the planets, which makes frictional stabilization unlikely to occur. As K increases, tinst tends to grow exponentially, but can also fluctuate by a few orders of magnitude. We also devise a linear map to analyse the dynamical instability of the “planet + test mass” system, and find qualitative agreement with N-body simulations.

Metal enrichment due to embedded stars in AGN discs

ABSTRACT We separately assess elemental abundances in active galactic nuclei's (AGNs) broad and narrow emission line regions (BLR and NLR), based on a critical assessment of published results together with new photoionization models. We find (1) He/H enhancements in some AGN, exceeding what can be explained by normal chemical evolution and confirm, (2) super-solar α abundance, though to a lesser degree than previously reported. We also reaffirm, (3) an N/O ratio consistent with secondary production, (4) solar or slightly sub-solar Fe abundance, and (5) red-shift independent metallicity, in contrast with galactic chemical evolution. We interpret (6) the larger metallicity in the BLR than NRL in terms of an in situ stellar evolution and pollution in AGN discs (SEPAD) model. We attribute (a) the redshift independence to the heavy element pollutants being disposed into the disc and accreted onto the central supermassive black hole (SMBH), (b) the limited He excess to the accretion–wind metabolism of a top-heavy population of evolving massive main sequence stars, (c) the super-solar CNO enrichment to the nuclear synthesis during their post-main-sequence evolution, (d) the large N/O to the byproduct of multiple stellar generations, and (e) the Mg, Si, and Fe to the ejecta of type II supernovae in the disc. These results provide supporting evidence for (f) ongoing self-regulated star formation, (g) adequate stellar luminosity to maintain marginal gravitational stability, (h) prolific production of seeds, and (i) dense coexistence of subsequently grown residual black hole populations in AGN discs.

Circumbinary Accretion: From Binary Stars to Massive Binary Black Holes

We review recent works on the dynamics of circumbinary accretion, including time variability, angular momentum transfer between the disk and the binary, and the secular evolution of accreting binaries. These dynamics impact stellar binary formation/evolution, circumbinary planet formation/migration, and the evolution of (super)massive black hole binaries. We discuss the dynamics and evolution of inclined/warped circumbinary disks and connect with observations of protoplanetary disks. A special kind of circumbinary accretion involves binaries embedded in big disks, which may contribute to the mergers of stellar-mass black holes in AGN disks. Highlights include the following: ▪Circumbinary accretion is highly variable, being modulated at P b (the binary period) or ∼5P b, depending on the binary eccentricity e b and mass ratio q b.▪The inner region of the circumbinary disk can develop coherent eccentric structure, which may modulate the accretion and affect the physical processes (e.g., planet migration) taking place in the disk.▪Over long timescales, circumbinary accretion steers binaries toward equal masses, and it does not always lead to binary orbital decay. The secular orbital evolution depends on the binary parameters (e b and q b) and on the thermodynamic properties of the accreting gas.▪A misaligned disk around a low-eccentricity binary tends to evolve toward coplanarity due to viscous dissipation. But when e b is significant, the disk can evolve toward “polar alignment,” with the disk plane perpendicular to the binary plane.

Secular Spin–Orbit Resonances of Black Hole Binaries in AGN Disks

The spin–orbit misalignment of stellar-mass black hole (sBH) binaries provides important constraints on the formation channels of merging sBHs. Here, we study the role of secular spin–orbit resonance in the evolution of an sBH binary component around a supermassive BH (SMBH) in an AGN disk. We consider the sBH’s spin precession due to the J 2 moment introduced by a circum-sBH disk within the warping/breaking radius of the disk. We find that the sBH’s spin–orbit misalignment (obliquity) can be excited via spin–orbit resonance between the sBH binary’s orbital nodal precession and the sBH spin precession driven by a massive circum-sBH disk. Using an α-disk model with Bondi–Hoyle–Lyttleton accretion, the resonances typically occur for sBH binaries with semimajor axis of 1 au and at a distance of ∼1000 au around a 107 M ⊙ SMBH. The spin–orbit resonances can lead to high sBH obliquities and a broad distribution of sBH binary spin–spin misalignments. However, we note that the Bondi–Hoyle–Lyttleton accretion is much higher than that of Eddington accretion, which typically results in spin precession being too low to trigger spin–orbit resonances. Thus, secular spin–orbit resonances can be quite rare for sBHs in AGN disks.

Hydrodynamical Simulations of Black Hole Binary Formation in AGN Disks

We study close encounters between two single black holes (BHs) embedded in an AGN disk using a series of global 2D hydrodynamics simulations. We find that when the disk density is sufficiently high, bound BH binaries can be formed by the collision of their circum-single disks. Our analysis demonstrates that, after a BH pair passes the pericenter of their relative trajectory, post-collision gas drag may slow down the BHs, possibly forcing the two BHs to stay tightly bound. A binary formed by a close encounter can have a compact semimajor axis, large eccentricity, and retrograde orbital angular momentum. We provide a fitting formula that can accurately predict whether a close encounter can form a binary based on the gas mass and the incoming energy of the encounter. This fitting formula can be easily implemented in other long-term simulations that study the dynamical evolution of BHs in active galactic nucleus disks.

Long-term Evolution of Tightly Packed Stellar Black Holes in AGN Disks: Formation of Merging Black Hole Binaries via Close Encounters

We study the long-term evolution of two or more stellar black holes (BHs) on initially separated but unstable circular orbits around a supermassive BH (SMBH). Such a close-packed orbital configuration can naturally arise from BH migrations in the AGN disk. Dynamical instability of the orbits leads to recurring close encounters between two BHs, during which the BH separation r p becomes less than the Hill radius R H. In rare very close encounters, a tight merging BH binary can form with the help of gravitational wave emission. We use N-body simulations to study the time evolution of close encounters of various degrees of closeness. For a typical “SMBH+2BH” system, the averaged cumulative number of close encounters (with r p ≲ R H) scales approximately as ∝ t 0.5. The minimum encounter separation r p follows a cumulative distribution P(<r p) ∝ r p for r p ≪ R H. We obtain a semi-analytical expression for the averaged rate of binary captures that lead to BH mergers. Our results suggest that close-packed BHs in AGN disks may take a long time (≳107 orbits around the SMBH) to experience a sufficiently close encounter and form a bound binary. This time can be shorter if the initial BH orbits are highly aligned. The BH binary mergers produced in this scenario have high eccentricities when entering the LIGO band and broad distribution of orbital inclinations relative to the original AGN disk. We explore the effects of the gas disk and find that simple gas drags on the BHs do not necessarily lead to an enhanced BH binary capture rate.

Interacting Stellar EMRIs as Sources of Quasi-periodic Eruptions in Galactic Nuclei

Abstract A star that approaches a supermassive black hole (SMBH) on a circular extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI) can undergo Roche lobe overflow (RLOF), resulting in a phase of long-lived mass transfer onto the SMBH. If the interval separating consecutive EMRIs is less than the mass-transfer timescale driven by gravitational wave emission (typically ∼1–10 Myr), the semimajor axes of the two stars will approach each another on scales of ≲ hundreds to thousands of gravitational radii. Close flybys tidally strip gas from one or both RLOFing stars, briefly enhancing the mass-transfer rate onto the SMBH and giving rise to a flare of transient X-ray emission. If both stars reside in a common orbital plane, these close interactions will repeat on a timescale as short as hours, generating a periodic series of flares with properties (amplitudes, timescales, sources lifetimes) remarkably similar to the “quasi-periodic eruptions” (QPEs) recently observed from galactic nuclei hosting low-mass SMBHs. A cessation of QPE activity is predicted on a timescale of months to years, due to nodal precession of the EMRI orbits out of alignment by the SMBH spin. Channels for generating the requisite coplanar EMRIs include the tidal separation of binaries (Hills mechanism) or Type I inward migration through a gaseous AGN disk. Alternative stellar dynamical scenarios for QPEs, that invoke single stellar EMRIs on an eccentric orbit undergoing a runaway sequence of RLOF events, are strongly disfavored by formation rate constraints.

Erratum: Simulation of a compact object with outflows moving through a gaseous background

A compact object moving relative to surrounding gas accretes material and perturbs the density of gas in its vicinity. In the classical picture of Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion, the perturbation takes the form of an overdense wake behind the object, which exerts a dynamical friction drag. We use hydrodynamic simulations to investigate how the accretion rate and strength of dynamical friction are modified by the presence of outflow from the compact object. We show that the destruction of the wake by an outflow reduces dynamical friction, and reverses its sign when the outflow is strong enough, in good quantitative agreement with analytic calculations. For a strong isotropic outflow, the outcome on scales that we have simulated is a negative dynamical friction, i.e., net acceleration. For jet-like outflows driven by reprocessed accretion, both the rate of accretion and the magnitude of dynamical friction drop for more powerful jets. The accretion rate is strongly intermittent when the jet points to the same direction as the motion of the compact object. The dynamical effects of outflows may be important for the evolution of compact objects during the common envelope phase of binary systems, and for accreting compact objects and massive stars encountering AGN discs.

Black Hole Formation in the Lower Mass Gap through Mergers and Accretion in AGN Disks

Abstract The heaviest neutron stars and lightest black holes expected to be produced by stellar evolution leave the mass range 2.2 M largely unpopulated. Objects found in this so-called lower mass gap likely originate from a distinct astrophysical process. Such an object, with mass 2.6 M was recently detected in the binary merger GW190814 through gravitational waves by LIGO/Virgo. Here we show that black holes in the mass gap are naturally assembled through mergers and accretion in active galactic nucleus (AGN) disks, and can subsequently participate in additional mergers. We compute the properties of AGN-assisted mergers involving neutron stars and black holes, accounting for accretion. We find that mergers in which one of the objects is in the lower mass gap represent up to 4% of AGN-assisted mergers detectable by LIGO/Virgo. The lighter object of GW190814, with mass 2.6 M , could have grown in an AGN disk through accretion. We find that the unexpectedly high total mass of 3.4 M observed in the neutron star merger GW190425 may also be due to accretion in an AGN disk.

Monte Carlo simulations of black hole mergers in AGN discs: Low χeff mergers and predictions for LIGO

ABSTRACT Accretion discs around supermassive black holes are promising sites for stellar mass black hole mergers detectable with LIGO. Here we present the results of Monte Carlo simulations of black hole mergers within 1-d AGN disc models. For the spin distribution in the disc bulk, key findings are: (1) The distribution of χeff is naturally centred around $\tilde{\chi }_{\rm eff} \approx 0.0$, (2) the width of the χeff distribution is narrow for low natal spins. For the mass distribution in the disc bulk, key findings are: (3) mass ratios $\tilde{q} \sim 0.5\!-\!0.7$, (4) the maximum merger mass in the bulk is $\sim 100\!-\!200\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$, (5) $\sim 1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of bulk mergers involve BH $\gt 50\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ with (6) $\simeq 80{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of bulk mergers are pairs of first generation BH. Additionally, mergers at a migration trap grow an IMBH with typical merger mass ratios $\tilde{q}\sim 0.1$. Ongoing LIGO non-detections of black holes $\gt 10^{2}\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$ puts strong limits on the presence of migration traps in AGN discs (and therefore AGN disc density and structure) as well as median AGN disc lifetime. The highest merger rate occurs for this channel if AGN discs are relatively short-lived (≤1 Myr) so multiple AGN episodes can happen per Galactic nucleus in a Hubble time.

Peculiar acceleration of stellar-origin black hole binaries: Measurement and biases with LISA

We investigate the ability of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) to measure the center of mass acceleration of stellar-origin black hole binaries emitting gravitational waves. Our analysis is based on the idea that the acceleration of the center of mass induces a time variation in the redshift of the gravitational wave, which in turn modifies its waveform. We confirm that while the cosmological acceleration is too small to leave a detectable imprint on the gravitational waveforms observable by LISA, larger peculiar accelerations may be measurable for sufficiently long lived sources. We focus on stellar mass black hole binaries, which will be detectable at low frequencies by LISA and near coalescence by ground based detectors. These sources may have large peculiar accelerations, for instance, if they form in nuclear star clusters or in AGN accretion disks. If that is the case, we find that in an astrophysical population calibrated to the LIGO-Virgo observed merger rate, LISA will be able to measure the peculiar acceleration of a small but significant fraction of the events if the mission lifetime is extended beyond the nominal duration of 4 years. In this scenario LISA will be able to assess whether black hole binaries form close to galactic centers, particularly in AGN disks, and will thus help discriminate between different formation mechanisms. Although for a nominal 4 years LISA mission the peculiar acceleration effect cannot be measured, a consistent fraction of events may be biased by strong peculiar accelerations which, if present, may imprint large systematic errors on some waveform parameters. In particular, estimates of the luminosity distance could be strongly biased and consequently induce large systematic errors on LISA measurements of the Hubble constant with stellar mass black hole binaries.

Synthetic absorption lines for a clumpy medium: a spectral signature for cloud acceleration in AGN?

There is increasing evidence that the highly ionized multiphase components of AGN disk winds may be due to thermal instability. The ions responsible for forming the observed X-ray absorption lines may only exist in relatively cold clumps that can be identified with the so-called 'warm absorbers'. Here we calculate synthetic absorption lines for such warm absorbers from first principles by combining 2D hydrodynamic solutions of a two-phase medium with a dense grid of photoionization models to determine the detailed ionization structure of the gas. Our calculations reveal that cloud disruption, which leads to a highly complicated velocity field (i.e. a clumpy flow), will only mildly affect line shapes and strengths when the cold gas becomes highly mixed but not depleted. Prior to complete disruption, clouds which are optically thin to the driving UV resonance lines will cause absorption at an increasingly blueshifted line of sight velocity as they are accelerated. This behavior will imprint an identifiable signature on the line profile if warm absorbers are enshrouded in an even broader absorption line produced by a high column of intercloud gas. Interestingly, we show that it is possible to develop a spectral diagnostic for cloud acceleration by differencing the absorption components of a doublet line, a result which can be qualitatively understood using a simple partial covering model. Our calculations also permit us to comment on the spectral differences between cloud disruption and ionization changes driven by flux variability. Notably, cloud disruption offers another possibility for explaining absorption line variability.

MIGRATION TRAPS IN DISKS AROUND SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES

ABSTRACT Accretion disks around supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) contain stars, stellar mass black holes, and other stellar remnants, which perturb the disk gas gravitationally. The resulting density perturbations exert torques on the embedded masses causing them to migrate through the disk in a manner analogous to planets in protoplanetary disks. We determine the strength and direction of these torques using an empirical analytic description dependent on local disk gradients, applied to two different analytic, steady-state disk models of SMBH accretion disks. We find that there are radii in such disks where the gas torque changes sign, trapping migrating objects. Our analysis shows that major migration traps generally occur where the disk surface density gradient changes sign from positive to negative, around 20–300R g, where R g = 2GM/c 2 is the Schwarzschild radius. At these traps, massive objects in the AGN disk can accumulate, collide, scatter, and accrete. Intermediate mass black hole formation is likely in these disk locations, which may lead to preferential gap and cavity creation at these radii. Our model thus has significant implications for SMBH growth as well as gravitational wave source populations.

SPACE TELESCOPE AND OPTICAL REVERBERATION MAPPING PROJECT. II.SWIFTANDHSTREVERBERATION MAPPING OF THE ACCRETION DISK OF NGC 5548

Recent intensive Swift monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 5548 yielded 282 usable epochs over 125 days across six UV/optical bands and the X-rays. This is the densest extended AGN UV/optical continuum sampling ever obtained, with a mean sampling rate <0.5 day. Approximately daily HST UV sampling was also obtained. The UV/optical light curves show strong correlations (r_max = 0.57 - 0.90) and the clearest measurement to date of interband lags. These lags are well-fit by a \tau propto \lambda^4/3 wavelength dependence, with a normalization that indicates an unexpectedly large disk radius of 0.35 +/- 0.05 lt-day at 1367 A, assuming a simple face-on model. The U-band shows a marginally larger lag than expected from the fit and surrounding bands, which could be due to Balmer continuum emission from the broad-line region as suggested by Korista and Goad. The UV/X-ray correlation is weaker (r_max < 0.45) and less consistent over time. This indicates that while Swift is beginning to measure UV/optical lags in general agreement with accretion disk theory (although the derived size is larger than predicted), the relationship with X-ray variability is less well understood. Combining this accretion disk size estimate with those from quasar microlensing studies suggests that AGN disk sizes scale approximately linearly with central black hole mass over a wide range of masses.

The role of collective effects and secular mass migration on galactic transformation

AbstractDuring the lifetime of a galaxy, secular radial mass redistribution is expected to gradually build up a bulge and transform the Hubble type from late to early. The dominant dynamical process responsible for this transformation is a collective instability mediated by density-wave collisionless shocks (Zhang 1996, 1998, 1999). The ability of this new mechanism to secularly redistribute the STELLAR mass provides a general pathway for the formation and evolution of the majority of Hubble types, ranging from late type disk galaxiess to disky ellipticals. ATLAS3D results (Cappellari et al. 2013) showed that spirals and S0s and disky ellipticals form a continuous trend of evolution which also coincides with the aging of the stellar population of galactic disks. The importance of stellar accretion is also revealed in the results of the COSMOS team which showed that the evolution of the black-hole-mass/bulge-mass correlation since z = 1 was mainly due to the mass redistribution on pre-existing STELLAR disks which were already in place by z = 1 (Cisternas et al. 2011). The weaker correlation between the masses of late-type bulges and AGNs observed at any given epoch in our view is a result of the quicker initial onset of accretion events in AGN disks compared to that in galactic disks, since the dynamical timescale is shorter for smaller AGN accretion disks.The same secular dynamical process can produce and maintain the well-known scaling relations and universal rotation curves of observed galaxies during their Hubble-type transformation (Zhang 2008), as well as reproduce many other observed structural and kinematic properties of galaxies such as the size-line-width relation of the interstellar medium and the age-velocity dispersion relation of solar neighborhood stars in our own Galaxy. A by-product of this analysis is a powerful new method for locating the multiple corotation resonances in galaxies (Zhang &amp; Buta 2007; Buta &amp; Zhang 2009).The current work also highlights the connection between collective effects in galactic dynamics and nonequilibrium phase transition processes in other branches of physics such as fluid turbulence and spontaneous breaking of gauge symmetry in high-energy physics. The continuous build-up of the Hubble sequence of galaxies through secular mass accretion also hints at the baryonic nature of galactic dark matter and poses challenges to the existing LCDM paradigm, since the well-known adiabatic compression process during baryonic mass inflow produced by secular evolution would lead to a concentration of the cold dark matter to the central region of early-type galaxies, which is not observed.

Intermediate mass black holes in AGN discs - I. Production and growth

Here we propose a mechanism for efficiently growing intermediate mass black holes (IMBH) in disks around supermassive black holes. Stellar mass objects can efficiently agglomerate when facilitated by the gas disk. Stars, compact objects and binaries can migrate, accrete and merge within disks around supermassive black holes. While dynamical heating by cusp stars excites the velocity dispersion of nuclear cluster objects (NCOs) in the disk, gas in the disk damps NCO orbits. If gas damping dominates, NCOs remain in the disk with circularized orbits and large collision cross-sections. IMBH seeds can grow extremely rapidly by collisions with disk NCOs at low relative velocities, allowing for super-Eddington growth rates. Once an IMBH seed has cleared out its feeding zone of disk NCOs, growth of IMBH seeds can become dominated by gas accretion from the AGN disk. However, the IMBH can migrate in the disk and expand its feeding zone, permitting a super-Eddington accretion rate to continue. Growth of IMBH seeds via NCO collisions is enhanced by a pile-up of migrators. We highlight the remarkable parallel between the growth of IMBH in AGN disks with models of giant planet growth in protoplanetary disks. If an IMBH becomes massive enough it can open a gap in the AGN disk. IMBH migration in AGN disks may stall, allowing them to survive the end of the AGN phase and remain in galactic nuclei. Our proposed mechanisms should be more efficient at growing IMBH in AGN disks than the standard model of IMBH growth in stellar clusters. Dynamical heating of disk NCOs by cusp stars is transferred to the gas in a AGN disk helping to maintain the outer disk against gravitational instability. Model predictions, observational constraints and implications are discussed in a companion paper (Paper II).

THE TORQUING OF CIRCUMNUCLEAR ACCRETION DISKS BY STARS AND THE EVOLUTION OF MASSIVE BLACK HOLES

An accreting massive black hole (MBH) in a galactic nucleus is surrounded by a dense stellar cluster. We analyze and simulate numerically the evolution of a thin accretion disk due to its internal viscous torques, due to the frame-dragging torques of a spinning MBH (the Bardeen-Petterson effect) and due to the orbit-averaged gravitational torques by the stars (Resonant Relaxation). We show that the evolution of the MBH mass accretion rate, the MBH spin growth rate, and the covering fraction of the disk relative to the central ionizing continuum source, are all strongly coupled to the stochastic fluctuations of the stellar potential via the warps that the stellar torques excite in the disk. These lead to fluctuations by factors of up to a few in these quantities over a wide range of timescales, with most of the power on timescales >~(M_bh/M_d)P(R_d), where M_bh and M_d are the masses of the MBH and disk, and P is the orbital period at the disk's mass-weighted mean radius R_d. The response of the disk is stronger the lighter it is and the more centrally concentrated the stellar cusp. As proof of concept, we simulate the evolution of the low-mass maser disk in NGC4258, and show that its observed O(10 deg) warp can be driven by the stellar torques. We also show that the frame-dragging of a massive AGN disk couples the stochastic stellar torques to the MBH spin and can excite a jitter of a few degrees in its direction relative to that of the disk's outer regions.