Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
D-C Kim, Minjin Kim, Ilsang Yoon, E. Momjian, Ji Hoon Kim, J. Letai, A. S. Evans
Summary: In this study, high-resolution adaptive optics imaging observations were used to investigate four kinematically identified recoiling supermassive black hole candidates. The results show that two of the candidates exhibit AGN offsets. However, further analysis suggests that one candidate may be a dual AGN and the measured spatial offset of the other candidate may not be due to a recoil event.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
R. Gilli, C. Norman, F. Calura, F. Vito, R. Decarli, S. Marchesi, K. Iwasawa, A. Comastri, G. Lanzuisi, F. Pozzi, Q. D'Amato, C. Vignali, M. Brusa, M. Mignoli, P. Cox
Summary: We combine results from deep ALMA observations to show that the column density of interstellar medium (ISM) in massive galaxies rapidly increases toward early cosmic epochs. Our study suggests that supermassive black holes in the early Universe are primarily hidden by the ISM in their host galaxies. We have developed an analytic model that successfully reproduces the increase in obscured AGN fraction with redshift observed in deep X-ray surveys. The observed X-ray nebulae impose stringent design constraints on the spatial resolution of future X-ray imaging observatories.
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dieu D. Nguyen, Martin Bureau, Sabine Thater, Kristina Nyland, Mark den Brok, Michele Cappellari, Timothy A. Davis, Jenny E. Greene, Nadine Neumayer, Masatoshi Imanishi, Takuma Izumi, Taiki Kawamuro, Shunsuke Baba, Phuong M. Nguyen, Satoru Iguchi, Takafumi Tsukui, T. N. Lam, Than Ho
Summary: The study utilized ALMA observations to measure the mass of the supermassive black hole in the nearby galaxy NGC 3593, revealing a circumnuclear molecular gas disc and a massive core of cold molecular gas. The mass distribution of the CND and NSC confirmed the presence of the SMBH and aligned with the compiled mass relation.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Alessandro Lupi, Marta Volonteri, Roberto Decarli, Stefano Bovino, Joseph Silk
Summary: Observations of quasars with redshift z greater than or similar to 6 provide insights into the early stages of the most massive black holes and galaxies. Current and future observations focus on tracing different gas phases in these systems, from cold and warm gases to stellar properties. This study uses high-resolution simulations to investigate the gas life cycle in high-redshift quasars and the impact of star formation and black holes on gas properties, showing that molecular gas is the main contributor to obscuration in quasars and molecular outflows are likely due to gas being lifted near the black hole.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
A. Amorim, G. Bourdarot, W. Brandner, Y. Cao, Y. Clenet, R. Davies, P. T. de Zeeuw, J. Dexter, A. Drescher, A. Eckart, F. Eisenhauer, M. Fabricius, N. M. Forster Schreiber, P. J. Garcia, R. Genzel, S. Gillessen, D. Gratadour, S. Honig, M. Kishimoto, S. Lacour, D. Lutz, F. Millour, H. Netzer, T. Ott, T. Paumard, K. Perraut, G. Perrin, B. M. Peterson, P. O. Petrucci, O. Pfuhl, M. A. Prieto, D. Rouan, D. J. D. Santos, J. Shangguan, T. Shimizu, A. Sternberg, C. Straubmeier, E. Sturm, L. J. Tacconi, K. R. W. Tristram, F. Widmann, J. Woillez
Summary: This work focuses on the relation between sizes of the hot dust continuum and the broad-line region (BLR) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). The study shows that the continuum size measured using optical/near-infrared interferometry is roughly twice that measured by reverberation mapping. Both methods show a tight relation between continuum sizes and the H beta BLR size, allowing for the derivation of supermassive black hole (BH) masses with good accuracy. The study also highlights the advantages of continuum-based measurements over traditional methods in terms of time efficiency.
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Federica Sassano, Pedro R. Capelo, Lucio Mayer, Raffaella Schneider, Rosa Valiante
Summary: The study investigates the sustained accretion of gas-rich proto-galaxies onto black holes at super-Eddington rates. Results show that regardless of the sub-grid model used, accretion is rapidly quenched after around 1 million years, resulting in black holes reaching a maximum mass of about 10^4 times the mass of the Sun.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Dieu D. Nguyen, Takuma Izumi, Sabine Thater, Masatoshi Imanishi, Taiki Kawamuro, Shunsuke Baba, Suzuka Nakano, Jean L. Turner, Kotaro Kohno, Satoki Matsushita, Sergio Martin, David S. Meier, Phuong M. Nguyen, Lam T. Nguyen
Summary: This study presents a SMBH mass measurement in the galaxy NGC 7469 using ALMA observations, revealing new features and proposing a new method for mass derivation. The new mass result is higher than previous methods and can be used to determine the RM dimensionless scaling factor for the AGN BLR.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lindsey Byrne, Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere, Jonathan Stern, Daniel Angles-Alcazar, Sarah Wellons, Alexander B. Gurvich, Philip F. Hopkins
Summary: Several recent simulations of galaxy formation have predicted two main phases of supermassive black hole (BH) accretion: an early, highly intermittent phase, followed by a phase of accelerated growth. This study explores the physical factors that drive the transition in BH accretion through cosmological zoom-in simulations, ranging from dwarf galaxies to those large enough to host luminous quasars. The results reveal that various properties, such as halo mass, galaxy stellar mass, and depth of the central gravitational potential, correlate with accelerated BH fuelling.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
A. Georgakakis, I Papadakis, M. Paolillo
Summary: An empirical model is proposed to link the demographics of active galactic nuclei (AGN) to their X-ray variability properties, based on observational measurements of AGN incidence in galaxies. The study finds that the amplitude of the power spectrum density (PSD) depends on the physical properties of accretion events, and current observational measurements of ensemble excess variance are consistent with the black hole mass versus stellar mass relation.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Marta Volonteri, Melanie Habouzit, Monica Colpi
Summary: JWST is discovering star-forming 'candidate' galaxies with photometric redshifts z > 9 and little attenuation. The discovery of massive black holes (MBHs) in these galaxies is challenging due to their faint unobscured emission and the difficulty in detection via various methods. Only overmassive MBHs, accreting at high Eddington rates, can be detected, pointing to the presence of heavy MBH seeds. The number density of JWST candidate galaxies far exceeds that of high redshift quasar hosts.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
M. Singha, B. Husemann, T. Urrutia, C. P. O'Dea, J. Scharwachter, M. Gaspari, F. Combes, R. Nevin, B. A. Terrazas, M. Perez-Torres, T. Rose, T. A. Davis, G. R. Tremblay, J. Neumann, I Smirnova-Pinchukova, S. A. Baum
Summary: In this study, spatially resolved IFU spectroscopy was used to analyze the spatial location of ionized gas outflows in a sample of 39 luminous type 1 AGN. The results showed that some [O III] emission lines were unresolved, while others were extended on kiloparsec scales. The presence of both compact and extended emission lines is independent of AGN luminosity and inclination effects, suggesting other factors such as time delays and mechanical feedback may influence the properties of ionized gas outflows.
ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
A. Diana, A. Caccianiga, L. Ighina, S. Belladitta, A. Moretti, R. Della Ceca
Summary: This study presents the evolution of space density for the most massive black holes hosted in jetted active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from z = 1.5 to z = 5.5. The findings show a peak in space density at z ~ 3, which is higher than that observed in the total AGN population. The study also highlights a slight decrease in the ratio of jetted AGNs to total AGNs at high redshifts.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Yong-Jie Chen, Jun-Rong Liu, Shuo Zhai, Zhu-Heng Yao, Yan-Rong Li, Pu Du, Chen Hu, Wei-Jian Guo, Ming Xiao, Yu-Yang Songsheng, Jian-Min Wang
Summary: In this study, optical and mid-infrared light curves were compiled to measure the time lags between different wavelengths and constrain the relationships between torus sizes and AGN properties. The results show that the torus sizes are correlated with black hole mass and accretion rate. This study is important for understanding the formation and evolution of AGNs.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Olmo Piana, Pratika Dayal, Marta Volonteri, Tirthankar Roy Choudhury
Summary: The study using the Delphi semi-analytic model investigates the mass assembly and properties of high-redshift black holes, showing the crucial role of gas accretion from the interstellar medium in the growth of supermassive black holes.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jian-Min Wang, Yu-Yang Songsheng, Yan-Rong Li, Pu Du
Summary: This paper discusses the fate of mini-discs around binary supermassive black holes in three different regimes and studies the accretion behavior and radiation features in these states, which helps us to better understand the evolution of binary supermassive black hole systems.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Yanlong Shi, Kyle Kremer, Michael Y. Grudic, Hannalore J. Gerling-Dunsmore, Philip F. Hopkins
Summary: By studying magnetized, star-forming dense gas complexes, we find that stellar feedback plays a key role in the growth of black holes. In lower-density cloud complexes, stellar feedback disrupts the clouds and limits black hole growth in the interstellar medium. However, in denser cloud complexes, stellar feedback generates strong shocks and dense clumps, allowing randomly initialized black hole seeds to encounter dense clumps and undergo super-Eddington accretion. This results in rapid black hole growth even for low-mass seeds.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Philip F. Hopkins
Summary: This article introduces a popular numerical method for modeling the dynamics of cosmic rays, which discretizes the spectrum as a piecewise power law in momentum space. The authors derive a rigorous treatment of the terms and show that the variation within each bin can be accurately accounted for with simple correction coefficients. This eliminates errors without adding computational cost and retains conservation.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jonah C. Rose, Paul Torrey, Mark Vogelsberger, Stephanie O'Neil
Summary: We use cosmological zoom-in simulations to study the interaction between self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) and baryons, and its effects on the evolution of Milky Way-like galaxies. We also propose modified dark matter-only simulations that can approximate the effects of hydrodynamics on the dark matter halo while simplifying the analysis. Our findings indicate that baryons have a greater impact on the thermal structure of the central region of the halo compared to SIDM scatterings. Furthermore, the new thermal structure caused by baryon contraction leads to cuspier central densities in the Milky Way-like halo due to the removal of thermal support by SIDM scatterings.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Alexander B. Gurvich, Jonathan Stern, Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere, Philip F. Hopkins, Andrew Wetzel, Jorge Moreno, Christopher C. Hayward, Alexander J. Richings, Zachary Hafen
Summary: Recent observations and simulations have shown that galaxies undergo substantial evolution from clumpy, irregular, and bursty star formation rates (SFRs) to rotationally supported and steady thin discs similar to those seen in the local Universe. In this study, we analyze three FIRE-2 simulated galaxies with similar mass to the Milky Way at redshift z = 0 to better understand the progenitors of local disc galaxies. We find that all three galaxies transition from bursty to steady SFRs between redshifts z = 0.5 and z = 0.8, coinciding with the emergence of a rotationally supported interstellar medium (ISM) in less than 1 billion years (Gyr).
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Alex M. Garcia, Paul Torrey, Z. S. Hemler, Lars Hernquist, Lisa J. Kewley, Erica J. Nelson, Kathryn Grasha, Henry R. M. Zovaro, Qian-Hui Chen
Summary: We present radial gas-phase metallicity profiles, gradients, and break radii in star-forming galaxies at redshift z = 0-3 using the TNG50-1 simulation. The profiles reveal a steep inner gradient and a flat outer gradient, with a break radius marking the transition region. We find that the break radius shows a positive trend with mass that weakens with redshift, and when normalized by stellar half-mass radius, the relation with mass and redshift becomes weaker.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ethan D. Jahn, Laura Sales, Federico Marinacci, Mark Vogelsberger, Paul Torrey, Jia Qi, Aaron Smith, Hui Li, Rahul Kannan, Jan D. Burger, Jesus Zavala
Summary: The tension between the density profiles in simulated and observed galaxies has long been a challenge. However, the SMUGGLE galaxy formation model implemented in the arepo code is able to form constant-density cores in dwarf galaxies. It is found that the ability to resolve a multiphase interstellar medium at high densities is a more reliable indicator of core formation than any individual model parameter. The presence of non-circular motion and the need for careful modeling in the inner regions of dwarfs highlight the complexity of inferring the true distribution of dark matter.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Stephanie O'Neil, Mark Vogelsberger, Saniya Heeba, Katelin Schutz, Jonah C. Rose, Paul Torrey, Josh Borrow, Ryan Low, Rakshak Adhikari, Mikhail Medvedev, Tracy R. Slatyer, Jesus Zavala
Summary: Self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) can alleviate discrepancies between simulated cold dark matter (CDM) and observed galactic properties. We propose a physically motivated SIDM model with a nearly degenerate excited state that allows for both elastic and inelastic scattering. Our simulations show that up-scattering reactions increase the central densities of the main halo, but coring still occurs due to elastic and down-scattering effects.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Iryna S. Butsky, Shreya Nakum, Sam B. Ponnada, Cameron B. Hummels, Suoqing Ji, Philip F. Hopkins
Summary: Recent theoretical studies suggest that the circumgalactic medium (CGM) surrounding low-redshift L galaxies may have significant non-thermal pressure support in the form of cosmic rays. However, the specific model of cosmic ray transport employed in these predictions lacks theoretical and observational constraints. This work proposes a new observational constraint for calculating the lower limit of the effective cosmic ray transport rate, demonstrating a relationship between the transport rate and observable galaxy properties. The findings suggest strong evidence for an effective transport rate in the diffuse CGM.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Fangzhou Jiang, Andrew Benson, Philip F. Hopkins, Oren Slone, Mariangela Lisanti, Manoj Kaplinghat, Annika H. G. Peter, Zhichao Carton Zeng, Xiaolong Du, Shengqi Yang, Xuejian Shen
Summary: We have developed a semi-analytic procedure that combines the isothermal Jeans model and the model of adiabatic halo contraction to compute the density profile of self-interacting dark matter (SIDM) haloes influenced by the presence of galaxies. This model agrees well with cosmological SIDM simulations and provides insights into the diverse halo response to baryonic effects in SIDM.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Robert Feldmann, Eliot Quataert, Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere, Philip F. Hopkins, Onur Catmabacak, Dusan Keres, Luigi Bassini, Mauro Bernardini, James S. Bullock, Elia Cenci, Jindra Gensior, Lichen Liang, Jorge Moreno, Andrew Wetzel
Summary: We have introduced a suite of cosmological volume simulations to study galaxy evolution. The principal simulation, FIREbox, captures the multiphase nature of the interstellar medium in a fully cosmological setting and provides a representative sample of galaxies. By validating the simulation predictions against observational data, we find that the properties of simulated galaxies broadly agree with observations, but there are some discrepancies at late times. Despite this, FIREbox offers a baseline prediction of galaxy formation theory and highlights modeling challenges for future galaxy simulations.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sandip Roy, Xuejian Shen, Mariangela Lisanti, David Curtin, Norman Murray, Philip F. Hopkins
Summary: This study demonstrates that even a small fraction of dissipative dark matter can significantly impact galactic evolution. The simulations show that dark matter with standard model-like masses and couplings can cool to form a rotating dark disk and a prominent bulge in the central galaxy.
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Jonathan Mercedes-Feliz, Daniel Angles-Alcazar, Christopher C. Hayward, Rachel K. Cochrane, Bryan A. Terrazas, Sarah Wellons, Alexander J. Richings, Claude-Andre Faucher-Giguere, Jorge Moreno, Kung Yi Su, Philip F. Hopkins, Eliot Quataert, Dusan Keres
Summary: The feedback from supermassive black holes can have both positive and negative effects on star formation in galaxies. Strong quasar winds can drive the formation of a gas cavity and suppress star formation, but also lead to local positive feedback. The overall impact on global galaxy growth is minor.
MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Leon Chang, Lois Gardner, Carol House, Catherine Daly, Adrian Allsopp, Daniel Roiz de Sa, Marie-Anne Shaw, Philip M. Hopkins
Summary: This study investigated gene expression in male subjects with a history of exertional heat illness or susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia and found a common underlying pathophysiology between these two conditions. The study also showed that heat tolerance tests can elevate expression of inflammatory response genes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Andrej Obuljen, Marko Simonovic, Aurel Schneider, Robert Feldmann
Summary: In this study, an analytical forward model based on perturbation theory is used to predict the neutral hydrogen (HI) overdensity maps at low redshifts. The model is compared to the simulated HI from the IllustrisTNG magneto-hydrodynamical simulation TNG300-1 to assess its performance. The results show that HI is a biased tracer of the underlying matter field and the model accurately describes the simulated HI power spectrum. The model also provides a simple and efficient way to generate accurate HI mock data.
Article
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sultan Hassan, Christopher C. Lovell, Piero Madau, Marc Huertas-Company, Rachel S. Somerville, Blakesley Burkhart, Keri L. Dixon, Robert Feldmann, Tjitske K. Starkenburg, John F. Wu, Christian Kragh Jespersen, Joseph D. Gelfand, Ankita Bera
Summary: New observational capabilities provide important constraints on models of the epoch of first light in the Universe. Recent JWST observations of the UV radiation background at cosmic dawn have implications for radio experiments detecting the redshifted 21 cm hyperfine transition of neutral hydrogen. The declining UV luminosity density inferred from JWST early galaxy data suggests a possible detection at low frequencies, but uncertainties from cosmic variance and galaxy luminosity function make it difficult to confirm the cosmic 21 cm absorption signal.
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
(2023)