Distant Supermassive Black Holes Research Articles

Inferences on Relations between Distant Supermassive Black Holes and Their Hosts Complemented by the Galaxy Fundamental Plane

The realization of fundamental relations between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies would have profound implications in astrophysics. To add further context to studies of their coevolution, an investigation is carried out to gain insight as to whether quasars and their hosts at earlier epochs follow the local relation between black hole mass (M BH) and stellar velocity dispersion (σ *). We use 584 Sloan Digital Sky Survey quasars at 0.2 < z < 0.8 with black hole measurements and properties of their hosts from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program. An inference of σ * is achieved for each based on the total stellar mass (M *) and size of the host galaxy by using the galaxy mass fundamental plane for inactive galaxies at similar redshifts. In agreement with past studies, quasars occupy elevated positions from the local M BH−σ * relation which can be considered as a flattening of the relation. Based on a simulated sample, we demonstrate that an evolving intrinsic M BH−σ * relation can match the observations. However, we hypothesize that these changes are simply a consequence of a nonevolving intrinsic relationship between M BH and M *. Reassuringly, there is evidence of migration onto the local M BH−σ * for galaxies that are either massive, quiescent or compact. Thus, the bulges of quasar hosts at high redshift are growing and likely to align onto the mass scaling relation with their black holes at later times.

Galactic merger implications for eccentric nuclear discs: a mechanism for disc alignment

ABSTRACT The nucleus of our nearest, large galactic neighbour, M31, contains an eccentric nuclear disc – a disc of stars on eccentric, apsidally aligned orbits around a supermassive black hole (SMBH). Previous studies of eccentric nuclear discs considered only an isolated disc, and did not study their dynamics under galaxy mergers (particularly a perturbing SMBH). Here, we present the first study of how eccentric discs are affected by a galactic merger. We perform N-body simulations to study the disc under a range of different possible SMBH initial conditions. A second SMBH in the disc always disrupts it, but more distant SMBHs can shut off differential precession and stabilize the disc. This results in a more aligned disc, nearly uniform eccentricity profile, and suppression of tidal disruption events compared to the isolated disc. We also discuss implications of our work for the presence of a secondary SMBH in M31.

Accretion disc luminosity for black holes surrounded by dark matter

ABSTRACT We consider the observational properties of a static black hole space–time immersed in a dark matter envelope. We investigate how the modifications to geometry induced by the presence of dark matter affect the luminosity of the black hole’s accretion disc. We show that the same disc luminosity as produced by a black hole in vacuum may be produced by a smaller black hole surrounded by dark matter under certain conditions. In particular, we demonstrate that the luminosity of the disc is markedly altered by the presence of dark matter, suggesting that the mass estimation of distant supermassive black holes may be changed if they are immersed in dark matter. We argue that a similar effect holds in more realistic scenarios, and we discuss the refractive index related to dark matter lensing. Finally, we show how the results presented here may help to explain the observed luminosity of supermassive black holes in the early Universe.

Secular evolution of compact binaries revolving around a spinning massive black hole

The leading order effect of the spin of a distant supermassive black hole (SMBH) on the orbit of compact binary revolving around it appears at the 1.5 post Newtonian (PN) expansion through coupling with the inner and outer orbital angular momenta, and makes an oscillating characteristic contribution to the secular evolution of the compact binary eccentricity over a long time scale compared to the Kozai-Lidov dynamics caused by a non-spinning SMBH.

The effect of nuclear gas distribution on the mass determination of supermassive black holes

Supermassive black holes reside in the nuclei of most galaxies. Accurately determining their mass is key to understand how the population evolves over time and how the black holes relate to their host galaxies. Beyond the local universe, the mass is commonly estimated assuming virialized motion of gas in the close vicinity to the active black holes, traced through broad emission lines. However, this procedure has uncertainties associated with the unknown distribution of the gas clouds. Here we show that the comparison of black hole masses derived from the properties of the central accretion disc with the virial mass estimate provides a correcting factor, for the virial mass estimations, that is inversely proportional to the observed width of the broad emission lines. Our results suggest that line-of-sight inclination of gas in a planar distribution can account for this effect. However, radiation pressure effects on the distribution of gas can also reproduce our findings. Regardless of the physical origin, our findings contribute to mitigate the uncertainties in current black hole mass estimations and, in turn, will help to further understand the evolution of distant supermassive black holes and their host galaxies.

Apparent quasar disc sizes in the “bird’s nest” paradigm

Quasar microlensing effects make it possible to measure the accretion disc sizes around distant supermassive black holes that are still well beyond the spatial resolution of contemporary instrumentation. The sizes measured with this technique appear inconsistent with the standard accretion disc model. Not only are the measured accretion disc sizes larger, but their dependence on wavelength is in most cases completely different from the predictions of the standard model. We suggest that these discrepancies may arise not from non-standard accretion disc structure or systematic errors, as it was proposed before, but rather from scattering and reprocession of the radiation of the disc. In particular, the matter falling from the gaseous torus and presumably feeding the accretion disc may at certain distances become ionized and produce an extended halo that is free from colour gradients. A simple analytical model is proposed assuming that a geometrically thick translucent inflow acts as a scattering mirror changing the apparent spatial properties of the disc. This inflow may be also identified with the broad line region or its inner parts. Such a model is able to explain the basic properties of the apparent disc sizes, primarily their large values and their shallow dependence on wavelength. The only condition required is to scatter significant portion of the luminosity of the disc. This can easily be fulfilled if the scattering inflow has large geometrical thickness and clumpy structure.

ARRIVAL TIME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GRAVITATIONAL WAVES AND ELECTROMAGNETIC SIGNALS DUE TO GRAVITATIONAL LENSING

ABSTRACT In this study we demonstrate that general relativity predicts arrival time differences between gravitational wave (GW) and electromagnetic (EM) signals caused by the wave effects in gravitational lensing. The GW signals can arrive earlier than the EM signals in some cases if the GW/EM signals have passed through a lens, even if both signals were emitted simultaneously by a source. GW wavelengths are much larger than EM wavelengths; therefore, the propagation of the GWs does not follow the laws of geometrical optics, including the Shapiro time delay, if the lens mass is less than approximately 105 M ⊙(f/Hz)−1, where f is the GW frequency. The arrival time difference can reach ∼0.1 s (f/Hz)−1 if the signals have passed by a lens of mass ∼8000 M ⊙(f/Hz)−1 with the impact parameter smaller than the Einstein radius; therefore, it is more prominent for lower GW frequencies. For example, when a distant supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) in a galactic center is lensed by an intervening galaxy, the time lag becomes of the order of 10 days. Future pulsar timing arrays including the Square Kilometre Array and X-ray detectors may detect several time lags by measuring the orbital phase differences between the GW/EM signals in the SMBHBs. Gravitational lensing imprints a characteristic modulation on a chirp waveform; therefore, we can deduce whether a measured arrival time lag arises from intrinsic source properties or gravitational lensing. Determination of arrival time differences would be extremely useful in multimessenger observations and tests of general relativity.

Modified evolution of stellar binaries from supermassive black hole binaries

The evolution of main sequence binaries resided in the galactic centre is influenced a lot by the central super massive black hole (SMBH). Due to this perturbation, the stars in a dense environment are likely to experience mergers or collisions through secular or non-secular interactions. In this work, we study the dynamics of the stellar binaries at galactic center, perturbed by another distant SMBH. Geometrically, such a four-body system is supposed to be decomposed into the inner triple (SMBH-star-star) and the outer triple (SMBH-stellar binary-SMBH). We survey the parameter space and determine the criteria analytically for the stellar mergers and the tidal disruption events (TDEs). For a relative distant and equal masses SMBH binary, the stars have more opportunities to merge as a result from the Lidov-Kozai(LK) oscillations in the inner triple. With a sample of tight stellar binaries, our numerical experiments reveal that a significant fraction of the binaries, ~70 per cent, experience merger eventually. Whereas the majority of the stellar TDEs are likely to occur at a close periapses to the SMBH, induced by the outer Kozai effect. The tidal disruptions are found numerically as many as ~10 per cent for a close SMBH binary that is enhanced significantly than the one without the external SMBH. These effects require the outer perturber to have an inclined orbit (>=40 degree) relatively to the inner orbital plane and may lead to a burst of the extremely astronomical events associated with the detection of the SMBH binary.

Outflows from the first quasars

Black holes are best known for pulling matter in. But a distant supermassive black hole, observed as it was when the Universe was less than a billion years old, has been seen pushing gas out of its host galaxy.

Time-Domain Studies of Gravitationally Lensed Quasars

AbstractWe present an overview and current results of an ongoing optical/NIR monitoring of seven gravitationally-lensed quasars (GLQs) with the 2-m Liverpool Robotic Telescope. The photometric data from the first seven years (2005–2011) of this programme are leading to high-quality light curves, which in turn are being used as key tools for different standard and novel studies. While brightness records of non-lensed distant quasars may contain unrecognized extrinsic variations, one can disentangle intrinsic from extrinsic signals in certain GLQs. Thus, some GLQs in our sample allow us to assess their extrinsic and intrinsic variations; we then discuss the origin of both kinds of fluctuations. We also demonstrate the usefulness of GLQ time-domain data for obtaining successful reverberation maps of the inner regions of accretion disks around distant supermassive black holes, and for estimating the redshifts of distant lensing galaxies.

Accretion disk winds as the jet suppression mechanism in the microquasar GRS 1915+105

Stellar-mass black holes with relativistic jets, also known as microquasars, mimic the behaviour of quasars and active galactic nuclei. Because timescales around stellar-mass black holes are orders of magnitude smaller than those around more distant supermassive black holes, microquasars are ideal nearby 'laboratories' for studying the evolution of accretion disks and jet formation in black-hole systems. Whereas studies of black holes have revealed a complex array of accretion activity, the mechanisms that trigger and suppress jet formation remain a mystery. Here we report the presence of a broad emission line in the faint, hard states and narrow absorption lines in the bright, soft states of the microquasar GRS 1915+105. ('Hard' and 'soft' denote the character of the emitted X-rays.) Because the hard states exhibit prominent radio jets, we argue that the broad emission line arises when the jet illuminates the inner accretion disk. The jet is weak or absent during the soft states, and we show that the absorption lines originate when the powerful radiation field around the black hole drives a hot wind off the accretion disk. Our analysis shows that this wind carries enough mass away from the disk to halt the flow of matter into the radio jet.

Tracing activity in distant supermassive black holes with X-rays

Supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies have long been thought to be the engines of quasars, which emit more energy than any other sources in the Universe. In the local Universe, dormant supermassive black holes have been detected through the motions of stars and gas near the galactic centres. In the distant Universe, high energy X-ray observations are now revealing the accretion of matter onto supermassive black holes, even when the black holes are highly obscured by gas and dust. Great advances are being made in obtaining a cosmic census of supermassive black holes. The duration, times, and mass inflow rates to these black holes are being traced via multiwavelength follow-up observations with ground-based telescopes and a time history of the accretion is thereby being reconstructed.