Mass Of Central Black Hole Research Articles

Circumgalactic Oxygen Absorption and Feedback

Abstract O vi absorption in quasar spectra caused by intervening circumgalactic atmospheres suggests a downturn in the atmospheric column density in sightlines passing beyond about 100 kpc from central star-forming galaxies. This turnover supports the hypothesis that the oxygen originates in the central galaxies. When converted into oxygen space density using an Abel integral inversion, the O vi columns require M ⊙ of oxygen concentrated near 100 kpc. Circumgalactic gas within this radius cools in less than 1 Gyr and radiates erg s−1 overall. The feedback power necessary to maintain such oxygen-rich atmospheres for many Gyr cannot be easily supplied by galactic supernovae. However, massive central black holes in star-forming galaxies may generate sufficient accretion power and intermittent shock waves at to balance circumgalactic radiation losses in late-type galaxies. The relative absence of O vi absorption observed in early-type, passive galaxies may arise from enhanced AGN feedback from their more massive central black holes.

Shocks in the relativistic transonic accretion with low angular momentum

We perform 1D/2D/3D relativistic hydrodynamical simulations of accretion flows with low angular momentum, filling the gap between spherically symmetric Bondi accretion and disc-like accretion flows. Scenarios with different directional distributions of angular momentum of falling matter and varying values of key parameters such as spin of central black hole, energy and angular momentum of matter are considered. In some of the scenarios the shock front is formed. We identify ranges of parameters for which the shock after formation moves towards or outwards the central black hole or the long lasting oscillating shock is observed. The frequencies of oscillations of shock positions which can cause flaring in mass accretion rate are extracted. The results are scalable with mass of central black hole and can be compared to the quasi-periodic oscillations of selected microquasars (such as GRS 1915+105, XTE J1550-564 or IGR J17091-3624), as well as to the supermassive black holes in the centres of weakly active galaxies, such as Sgr $A^{*}$.

Optical monitoring of BL Lac object S5 0716+714 and FSRQ 3C 273 from 2000 to 2014

Using the 1.56m telescope at the Shanghai Observatory (ShAO), China, we monitored two sources, BL Lac object S5 0716+714 and Flat Spectrum Radio Quasar (FSRQ) 3C 273. For S5 0716+714, we report 4969 sets of CCD (Charge-coupled Device) photometrical optical observations (1369 for V band, 1861 for R band and 1739 for I band) in the monitoring time from Dec.4, 2000 to Apr.5, 2014. For 3C 273, we report 460 observations (138 for V band, 146 for R band and 176 for I band) in the monitoring time from Mar. 28, 2006 to Apr. 9, 2014. The observations provide us with a large amount of data to analyze the short-term and long-term optical variabilities. Based on the variable timescales, we can estimate the central black hole mass and the Doppler factor. An abundance of multi-band observations can help us to analyze the relations between the brightness and spectrum. We use Gaussian fitting to analyze the intra-day light curves and obtain the intra-day variability (IDV) timescales. We use the discrete correlation function (DCF) method and Jurkevich method to analyze the quasi-periodic variability. Based on the VRI observations, we use the linear fitting to analyze the relations between brightness and spectrum. The two sources both show IDV properties for S5 0716+714. The timescales are in the range from 17.3 minutes to 4.82 hours; for 3C273, the timescale is 35.6 minutes. Based on the periodic analysis methods, we find the periods P(V) = 24.24 days, P(R)=24.12 days, P(I)=24.82 days for S5 0716+714, and P = 12.99, 21.76 yr for 3C273. The two sources displayed the "bluer-when-brighter" spectral evolution properties. S5 0716+714 and 3C 273 are frequently studied objects. The violent optical variability and IDV may come from the jet. Gaussian fitting can be used to analyze IDVs. The relations between brightness (flux density) and spectrum are strongly influenced by the frequency.

First Spectroscopic Confirmations of z ∼ 7.0 Lyα Emitting Galaxies in the LAGER Survey

Abstract Narrowband imaging is a highly successful approach for finding large numbers of high-redshift Lyα emitting galaxies (LAEs) up to z ∼ 6.6. However, at z ≳ 7 there are as of yet only three narrowband selected LAEs with spectroscopic confirmations (two at z ∼ 6.9–7.0, one at z ∼ 7.3), which hinders extensive studies on cosmic reionization and galaxy evolution at this key epoch. We have selected 23 candidate z ∼ 6.9 LAEs in COSMOS field with the large area narrowband survey Lyman-Alpha Galaxies at the End of Reionization (LAGER). In this work, we present spectroscopic follow-up observations of 12 candidates using the Inamori Magellan Areal Camera and Spectrograph on Magellan. For nine of these, the observations are sufficiently deep to detect the expected lines. Lyα emission lines are identified in six sources (yielding a success rate of 2/3), including three luminous LAEs with Lyα luminosities of L Lyα ∼ 1043.5 erg s−1, the highest among known spectroscopically confirmed galaxies at ≳7.0. This triples the sample size of spectroscopically confirmed narrowband selected LAEs at z ≳ 7, and confirms the bright-end bump in the Lyα luminosity function we previously derived based on the photometric sample, supporting a patchy reionization scenario. Two luminous LAEs appear physically linked with a projected distance of 1.1 pMpc and velocity difference of ∼170 km s−1. They likely sit in a common ionized bubble produced by themselves or with close neighbors, which reduces the intergalactic medium attenuation of Lyα. A tentative narrow N v λ1240 line is seen in one source, hinting at activity of a central massive black hole with metal-rich line-emitting gas.

A peculiar multiwavelength flare in the blazar 3C 454.3

The blazar 3C454.3 exhibited a strong flare seen in gamma-rays, X-rays, and optical/NIR bands during 3--12 December 2009. Emission in the V and J bands rose more gradually than did the gamma-rays and soft X-rays, though all peaked at nearly the same time. Optical polarization measurements showed dramatic changes during the flare, with a strong anti-correlation between optical flux and degree of polarization (which rose from ~ 3% to ~ 20%) during the declining phase of the flare. The flare was accompanied by large rapid swings in polarization angle of ~ 170 degree. This combination of behaviors appear to be unique. We have cm-band radio data during the same period but they show no correlation with variations at higher frequencies. Such peculiar behavior may be explained using jet models incorporating fully relativistic effects with a dominant source region moving along a helical path or by a shock-in-jet model incorporating three-dimensional radiation transfer if there is a dominant helical magnetic field. We find that spectral energy distributions at different times during the flare can be fit using modified one-zone models where only the magnetic field strength and particle break frequencies and normalizations need change. An optical spectrum taken at nearly the same time provides an estimate for the central black hole mass of ~ 2.3 * 10^9 M_sun. We also consider two weaker flares seen during the $\sim 200$ d span over which multi-band data are available. In one of them, the V and J bands appear to lead the $\gamma$-ray and X-ray bands by a few days; in the other, all variations are simultaneous.

A Multi-wavelength Study of the Turbulent Central Engine of the Low-mass AGN Hosted by NGC 404

Abstract The nearby dwarf galaxy NGC 404 harbors a low-luminosity active galactic nucleus powered by the lowest-mass (<150,000 M ⊙) central massive black hole (MBH), with a dynamical mass constraint, currently known, thus providing a rare low-redshift analog to the MBH “seeds” that formed in the early universe. Here, we present new imaging of the nucleus of NGC 404 at 12–18 GHz with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and observations of the CO(2–1) line with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). For the first time, we have successfully resolved the nuclear radio emission, revealing a centrally peaked, extended source spanning 17 pc. Combined with previous VLA observations, our new data place a tight constraint on the radio spectral index and indicate an optically thin synchrotron origin for the emission. The peak of the resolved radio source coincides with the dynamical center of NGC 404, the center of a rotating disk of molecular gas, and the position of a compact, hard X-ray source. We also present evidence for shocks in the NGC 404 nucleus from archival narrowband HST imaging, Chandra X-ray data, and Spitzer mid-infrared spectroscopy, and discuss possible origins for the shock excitation. Given the morphology, location, and steep spectral index of the resolved radio source, as well as constraints on nuclear star formation from the ALMA CO(2–1) data, we find the most likely scenario for the origin of the radio source in the center of NGC 404 to be a radio outflow associated with a confined jet driven by the active nucleus.

On the morphological dichotomies observed in the powerful radio galaxies

We study environment and host galaxy properties of powerful radio galaxies with different radio morphologies from compact sources to very extended double lobed radio galaxies and with different optical spectra classified as high excitation (HERG; quasar-mode) and low excitation (LERG; jet-mode) radio galaxies. We use a complete sample of morphologically classified radio sources from [1] and perform three different analyses: i) we compare compact radio sources with the extended sources from the same class of excitation. ii) we compare HERGs with the LERGs using a combined sample of compact and extended sources. iii) we investigate the origin of different morphologies observed in the very extended powerful radio galaxies, historically classified as Fanaroff-Riley (FR) radio galaxies of type I and type II by comparing a sample of FRIs with the FRIIs from the same excitation class. We discuss the results and what causes the differences in each comparison. The role of host galaxy and the central super massive black hole, and the galaxy interactions are all investigated.

Dynamical Friction and the Evolution of Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: The Final Hundred-parsec Problem

Abstract The supermassive black holes originally in the nuclei of two merging galaxies will form a binary in the remnant core. The early evolution of the massive binary is driven by dynamical friction before the binary becomes “hard” and eventually reaches coalescence through gravitational-wave emission. We consider the dynamical friction evolution of massive binaries consisting of a secondary hole orbiting inside a stellar cusp dominated by a more massive central black hole. In our treatment, we include the frictional force from stars moving faster than the inspiralling object, which is neglected in the standard Chandrasekhar treatment. We show that the binary eccentricity increases if the stellar cusp density profile rises less steeply than . In cusps shallower than , the frictional timescale can become very long due to the deficit of stars moving slower than the massive body. Although including fast stars increases the decay rate, low mass-ratio binaries ( ) in sufficiently massive galaxies have decay timescales longer than one Hubble time. During such minor mergers, the secondary hole stalls on an eccentric orbit at a distance of order one-tenth the influence radius of the primary hole (i.e., for massive ellipticals). We calculate the expected number of stalled satellites as a function of the host galaxy mass and show that the brightest cluster galaxies should have of such satellites orbiting within their cores. Our results could provide an explanation for a number of observations, which include multiple nuclei in core ellipticals, off-center AGNs, and eccentric nuclear disks.

The X-ray continuum time-lags and intrinsic coherence in AGN

We present the results from a systematic analysis of the X-ray continuum (`hard') time-lags and intrinsic coherence between the $2-4\,\mathrm{keV}$ and various energy bands in the $0.3-10\,\mathrm{keV}$ range, for ten X-ray bright and highly variable active galactic nuclei (AGN). We used all available archival \textit{XMM-Newton} data, and estimated the time-lags following Epitropakis \& Papadakis (2016). By performing extensive numerical simulations, we arrived at useful guidelines for computing intrinsic coherence estimates that are minimally biased, have known errors, and are (approximately) Gaussian distributed. Owing to the way we estimated the time-lags and intrinsic coherence, we were able to do a proper model fitting to the data. Regarding the continuum time-lags, we are able to demonstrate that they have a power-law dependence on frequency, with a slope of $-1$, and that their amplitude scales with the logarithm of the light-curve mean-energy ratio. We also find that their amplitude increases with the square root of the X-ray Eddington ratio. Regarding the intrinsic coherence, we found that it is approximately constant at low frequencies. It then decreases exponentially at frequencies higher than a characteristic `break frequency.' Both the low-frequency constant intrinsic-coherence value and the break frequency have a logarithmic dependence on the light-curve mean-energy ratio. Neither the low-frequency constant intrinsic-coherence value, nor the break frequency exhibit a universal scaling with either the central black hole mass, or the the X-ray Eddington ratio. Our results could constrain various theoretical models of AGN X-ray variability.

The Relation Between Globular Cluster Systems and Supermassive Black Holes in Spiral Galaxies: The Case Study of NGC 4258

Abstract We aim to explore the relationship between globular cluster total number, N GC , and central black hole mass, M •, in spiral galaxies, and compare it with that recently reported for ellipticals. We present results for the Sbc galaxy NGC 4258, from Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope data. Thanks to water masers with Keplerian rotation in a circumnuclear disk, NGC 4258 has the most precisely measured extragalactic distance and supermassive black hole mass to date. The globular cluster (GC) candidate selection is based on the ( u * − i ′ ) versus ( i ′ − K s ) diagram, which is a superb tool to distinguish GCs from foreground stars, background galaxies, and young stellar clusters, and hence can provide the best number counts of GCs from photometry alone, virtually free of contamination, even if the galaxy is not completely edge-on. The mean optical and optical-near-infrared colors of the clusters are consistent with those of the Milky Way and M 31, after extinction is taken into account. We directly identify 39 GC candidates; after completeness correction, GC luminosity function extrapolation, and correction for spatial coverage, we calculate a total N GC = 144 ± 31 − 36 + 38 (random and systematic uncertainties, respectively). We have thus increased to six the sample of spiral galaxies with measurements of both M • and N GC . NGC 4258 has a specific frequency S N = 0.4 ± 0.1 (random uncertainty), and is consistent within 2σ with the N GC versus M • correlation followed by elliptical galaxies. The Milky Way continues to be the only spiral that deviates significantly from the relation.

THE EFFECT OF AGN FEEDBACK ON THE INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM OF EARLY-TYPE GALAXIES: 2D HYDRODYNAMICAL SIMULATIONS OF THE LOW-ROTATION CASE

ABSTRACT We present two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations for the evolution of early-type galaxies containing central massive black holes (MBHs), starting at an age of . The code contains accurate and physically consistent radiative and mechanical active galactic nucleus (AGN) wind feedback, with parsec-scale central resolution. Mass input comes from stellar evolution; energy input includes Type Ia (SNIa) and II supernovae and stellar heating; star formation (SF) is included. Realistic, axisymmetric dynamical galaxy models are built solving the Jeans’ equations. The lowest mass models ( ) develop global outflows sustained by SNIa heating, ending with a lower amount of hot gas and new stars. In more massive models, nuclear outbursts last to the present epoch, with large and frequent fluctuations in nuclear emission and from the gas ( ). Each burst lasts years, during which cold, inflowing, and hot, outflowing gas phases coexist. The relation for the gas matches that of local galaxies. AGN activity causes positive feedback for SF. Roughly half of the total mass loss is recycled into new stars ( ), just ≃3% of it is accreted on the MBH, the remainder being ejected from the galaxy. The ratio between the mass of gas expelled to that in new stars, the load factor, is . Rounder galaxy shapes lead to larger final MBH masses, , and . Almost all of the time is spent at very low nuclear luminosities, yet one quarter of the total energy is emitted at an Eddington ratio . The duty-cycle of AGN activity is approximately 4%.

Hypervelocity stars from young stellar clusters in the Galactic Centre

The enormous velocities of the so called hypervelocity stars (HVSs) derive, likely, from close interactions with massive black holes, binary stars encounters or supernova explosions. In this paper, we investigate the origin of hypervelocity stars as consequence of the close interaction between the Milky Way central massive black hole and a passing-by young stellar cluster. We found that both single and binary HVSs may be generated in a burst-like event, as the cluster passes near the orbital pericentre. High velocity stars will move close to the initial cluster orbital plane and in the direction of the cluster orbital motion at the pericentre. The binary fraction of these HVS jets depends on the primordial binary fraction in the young cluster. The level of initial mass segregation determines the value of the average mass of the ejected stars. Some binary stars will merge, continuing their travel across and out of the Galaxy as blue stragglers.

ON THE NEWTONIAN AND SPIN-INDUCED PERTURBATIONS FELT BY THE STARS ORBITING AROUND THE MASSIVE BLACK HOLE IN THE GALACTIC CENTER

ABSTRACT The S-stars discovered in the Galactic center are expected to provide unique dynamical tests of the Kerr metric of the massive black hole (MBH) that they orbit. In order to obtain unbiased measurements of its spin and the related relativistic effects, a comprehensive understanding of the gravitational perturbations of the stars and stellar remnants around the MBH is quite essential. Here, we study the perturbations on the observables of a typical target star, i.e., the apparent orbital motion and the redshift, due to both the spin-induced relativistic effects and the Newtonian attractions of a single object or a cluster of disturbing objects. We find that, in most cases, the Newtonian perturbations on the observables are mainly attributed to the perturbed orbital period of the target star rather than the Newtonian orbital precessions. Looking at the currently detected star S2/S0-2, we find that its spin-induced effects are very likely obscured by the gravitational perturbations from the star S0-102 alone. We also investigate and discuss the Newtonian perturbations on a hypothetical S-star located inside the orbits of those currently detected. By considering a number of possible stellar distributions near the central MBH, we find that the spin-induced effects on the apparent position and redshift dominate over the stellar perturbations for target stars with orbital semimajor axis smaller than 100–400 au if the MBH is maximally spinning. Our results suggest that, in principle, the stellar perturbations can be removed because they have morphologies distinct from those of the relativistic Kerr-type signatures.

Long-term optical spectral monitoring of NGC 7469

We present the results of the long-term (20-year period, from 1996 to 2015) optical spectral monitoring of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 7469. The variation in the light-curves of the broad He II {\lambda}4686A H{\beta} and H{\alpha} lines, and the continuum at 5100A and 6300A have been explored. The maximum of activity was in 1998, and the variability in the continuum and lines seems to have two periods of around 1200 and 2600 days, however these periodicities should be taken with caution because of the red-noise. Beside these periods, there are several short-term (1-5 days) flare-like events in the light-curves. There are good correlations between the continuum fluxes and H{\alpha} and H{\beta} line fluxes, but significantly smaller correlation between the He II and continuum. We found that the time-lags between the continuum and broad lines are different for H{\beta} (~20 l.d.) and H{\alpha} (~3 l.d.), and that He II also has a smaller lag (~2-3 l.d.). The H{\alpha} and H{\beta} line profiles show a slight red asymmetry, and the broad line profiles did not changed in the 20-year period. Using the lags and widths of H{\alpha} and H{\beta} we estimated the central black hole mass and found that it is ~(1-6)x$10^7 M_{\odot}$, which is in agreement with previous reverberation estimates.

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.

Star formation in AGNs at the hundred parsec scale using MIR high-resolution images

It has been well established in the past decades that the central black hole masses of galaxies correlate with dynamical properties of their harbouring bulges. This notion begs the question of whether there are causal connections between the AGN and its immediate vicinity in the host galaxy. In this paper we analyse the presence of circumnuclear star formation in a sample of 15 AGN using mid-infrared observations. The data consist of a set of 11.3{\mm} PAH emission and reference continuum images, taken with ground based telescopes, with sub-arcsecond resolution. By comparing our star formation estimates with AGN accretion rates, derived from X-ray luminosities, we investigate the validity of theoretical predictions for the AGN-starburst connection. Our main results are: i) circumnuclear star formation is found, at distances as low as tens of parsecs from the nucleus, in nearly half of our sample (7/15); ii) star formation luminosities are correlated with the bolometric luminosity of the AGN ($L_{AGN}$) only for objects with $L_{AGN} \ge 10^{42}\,\,{\rm erg\,\,s^{-1}}$; iii) low luminosity AGNs ($L_{AGN} < 10^{42}\,\,{\rm erg\,\,s^{-1}}$) seem to have starburst luminosities far greater than their bolometric luminosities.

A possible influence on standard model of quasars and active galactic nuclei in strong magnetic field

Recent observational evidence indicates that the center of our Milky Way harbours a super-massive object with ultra-strong radial magnetic field (Eatough et al., 2013). Here we demonstrate that the radiations observed in the vicinity of the Galactic Center (GC) (Falcke and Marko 2013) cannot be emitted by the gas of the accretion disk since the accreting plasma is prevented from approaching to the GC by the abnormally strong radial magnetic field. These fields obstruct the infalling accretion flow from the inner region of the disk and the central massive black hole in the standard model. It is expected that the observed radiations near the Galactic Center cannot be generated by the central black hole. We also demonstrate that the observed ultra-strong radial magnetic field near the Galactic Center ( Eatough et al., 2013) cannot be generated by the - turbulence dynamo mechanism of Parker since preliminary qualitative estimate in terms of this mechanism gives a magnetic field strength six orders of magnitude smaller than the observed field strength at . However, both these difficulties or the dilemma of the standard model can be overcome if the central black hole in the standard model is replaced by a supper-massive stellar object containing magnetic monopoles ( SMSOMM, Peng and Chou, 2001). The observed power peaking of the thermal radiation is essentially the same as our theoretical prediction. In addition, the discovery of the ultra-strong radial magnetic field near the Galactic Center can be naturally explained and is consistent with the prediction of our model( Peng and Chou 2001). Furthermore, the observed ultra-strong radial magnetic field in the vicinity of the Galactic Center may be considered as the astronomical evidence for the existence of magnetic monopoles as predicted by the Grand Unified Theory of particle physics.

Looking for blazars in a sample of unidentified high-energy emittingFermisources

Context. Based on their overwhelming dominance among associated Fermi gamma ray catalogue sources, it is expected that a large fraction of the unidentified Fermi objects are blazars. Through crossmatching between the positions of unidentified gamma ray sources from the First Fermi Catalog of gamma ray sources emitting above 10 GeV (1FHL) and the ROSAT and Swift XRT catalogues of X ray objects and between pointed XRT observations, a sample of 36 potential associations was found in previous works with less than 15 arcsec of positional offset. One third of them have recently been classified; the remainder, though believed to belong to the blazar class, still lack spectroscopic classifications. Aims. We study the optical spectrum of the putative counterparts of these unidentified gamma ray sources in order to find their redshifts and to determine their nature and main spectral characteristics. Methods. An observational campaign was carried out on the putative counterparts of 13 1FHL sources using medium resolution optical spectroscopy from the Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna in Loiano, Italy; the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo and the Nordic Optical Telescope, both in the Canary Islands, Spain; and the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional San Pedro Martir in Baja California, Mexico. Results. We were able to classify 14 new objects based on their continuum shapes and spectral features. Conclusions. Twelve new blazars were found, along with one new quasar and one new narrow line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) to be potentially associated with the 1FHL sources of our sample. Redshifts or lower limits were obtained when possible alongside central black hole mass and luminosity estimates for the NLS1 and the quasar.

THE LOST DWARFS OF CENTAURUS A AND THE FORMATION OF ITS DARK GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

ABSTRACT We present theoretical constraints for the formation of the newly discovered dark star clusters (DSCs) with high mass-to-light ( ) ratios, from Taylor et al. These compact stellar systems photometrically resemble globular clusters (GCs) but have dynamical ratios of ∼10–100, closer to the expectations for dwarf galaxies. The baryonic properties of the DSCs suggest that their host dark matter halos likely virialized at high redshift with . We use a new set of high-resolution N-body simulations of Centaurus A to determine whether there is a set of z = 0 subhalos whose properties are in line with these observations. While we find such a set of subhalos, when we extrapolate the dark matter density profiles into the inner 20 pc, no dark matter halo associated with Centaurus A in our simulations, at any redshift, can replicate the extremely high central mass densities of the DSCs. Among the most likely options for explaining 105– within subhalos of 10 pc diameter is the presence of a central massive black hole (BH). We therefore propose that the DSCs are remnant cusps of stellar systems surrounding the central BHs of dwarf galaxies that have been almost completely destroyed by interactions with Centaurus A.

Bar-driven evolution and quenching of spiral galaxies in cosmological simulations

We analyse the output of the hi-res cosmological zoom-in simulation ErisBH to study self-consistently the formation of a strong stellar bar in a Milky Way-type galaxy and its effect on the galactic structure, on the central gas distribution and on star formation. The simulation includes radiative cooling, star formation, SN feedback and a central massive black hole which is undergoing gas accretion and is heating the surroundings via thermal AGN feedback. A large central region in the ErisBH disk becomes bar-unstable after z~1.4, but a clear bar-like structure starts to grow significantly only after z~0.4, possibly triggered by the interaction with a massive satellite. At z~0.1 the bar reaches its maximum radial extent of l~2.2 kpc. As the bar grows, it becomes prone to buckling instability, which we quantify based on the anisotropy of the stellar velocity dispersion. The actual buckling event is observable at z~0.1, resulting in the formation of a boxy-peanut bulge clearly discernible in the edge-on view of the galaxy at z=0. The bar in ErisBH does not dissolve during the formation of the bulge but remains strongly non-axisymmetric down to the resolution limit of ~100 pc at z=0. During its early growth, the bar exerts a strong torque on the gas within its extent and drives gas inflows that enhance the nuclear star formation on sub-kpc scales. Later on the infalling gas is nearly all consumed into stars and, to a lesser extent, accreted onto the central black hole, leaving behind a gas-depleted region within the central ~2 kpc. Observations would more likely identify a prominent, large-scale bar at the stage when the galactic central region has already been quenched. Bar-driven quenching may play an important role in disk-dominated galaxies at all redshift. [Abridged]