581 research outputs found
New observational Constraints on the Growth of the First Supermassive Black Holes
We constrain the total accreted mass density in supermassive black holes at
z>6, inferred via the upper limit derived from the integrated X-ray emission
from a sample of photometrically selected galaxy candidates. Studying galaxies
obtained from the deepest Hubble Space Telescope images combined with the
Chandra 4 Msec observations of the Chandra Deep Field South, we achieve the
most restrictive constraints on total black hole growth in the early Universe.
We estimate an accreted mass density <1000Mo Mpc^-3 at z~6, significantly lower
than the previous predictions from some existing models of early black hole
growth and earlier prior observations. These results place interesting
constraints on early black growth and mass assembly by accretion and imply one
or more of the following: (1) only a fraction of the luminous galaxies at this
epoch contain active black holes; (2) most black hole growth at early epochs
happens in dusty and/or less massive - as yet undetected - host galaxies; (3)
there is a significant fraction of low-z interlopers in the galaxy sample; (4)
early black hole growth is radiatively inefficient, heavily obscured and/or is
due to black hole mergers as opposed to accretion or (5) the bulk of the black
hole growth occurs at late times. All of these possibilities have important
implications for our understanding of high redshift seed formation models.Comment: ApJ Accepted, 10 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, in emulateapj forma
Major Galaxy Mergers Only Trigger the Most Luminous AGN
Using multiwavelength surveys of active galactic nuclei across a wide range
of bolometric luminosities (10^{43}<L_{bol}(erg/s<5x10^{46}) and redshifts
(0<z<3), we find a strong, redshift-independent correlation between the AGN
luminosity and the fraction of host galaxies undergoing a major merger. That
is, only the most luminous AGN phases are connected to major mergers, while
less luminous AGN appear to be driven by secular processes. Combining this
trend with AGN luminosity functions to assess the overall cosmic growth of
black holes, we find that ~50% by mass is associated with major mergers, while
only 10% of AGN by number, the most luminous, are connected to these violent
events. Our results suggest that to reach the highest AGN luminosities -where
the most massive black holes accreted the bulk of their mass - a major merger
appears to be required. The luminosity dependence of the fraction of AGN
triggered by major mergers can successfully explain why the observed scatter in
the M-\sigma relation for elliptical galaxies is significantly lower than in
spirals. The lack of a significant redshift dependence of the
L_{bol}-f_{merger} relation suggests that downsizing, i.e., the general decline
in AGN and star formation activity with decreasing redshift, is driven by a
decline in the frequency of major mergers combined with a decrease in the
availability of gas at lower redshifts.Comment: Accepted for publication by Astrophysical Journal Letters, 6 pages in
emulateapj format, 3 figure
The Space Density of Compton-thick AGN
We constrain the number density and evolution of Compton-thick Active
Galactic Nuclei (AGN), and their contribution to the extragalactic X-ray
background. In the local Universe we use the wide area surveys from the Swift
and INTEGRAL satellites, while for high redshifts we explore candidate
selections based on mid-IR parameters. We present the properties of a sample of
211 heavily-obscured AGN candidates in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South
(ECDF-S) selecting objects with f24/fR>1000 and R-K>4.5. The X-ray to mid-IR
ratios for these sources are significantly larger than that of star-forming
galaxies and ~2 orders of magnitude smaller than for the general AGN
population, suggesting column densities of NH>5x10^24 cm^-2. The space density
of CT AGN at z~2 derived from these observations is ~10^-5 Mpc^{-3}, finding a
strong evolution in the number of LX>10^44 erg/s sources from z=1.5 to 2.5.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in proceedings for 'X-ray Astronomy
2009', Bologna 09/2009, AIP Conference Series, Eds. A. Comastri, M. Cappi, L.
Angelini; author list fixe
GOODS Discovery of a Significant Population of Obscured AGN
We analysed the optical and infrared properties of X-ray sources in the Great
Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS), a deep multiwavelength survey
covering 0.1 square degrees in two fields. The HST ACS data are well explained
by a unified AGN scheme that postulates roughly 3 times as many obscured as
unobscured AGN, as are the spectroscopic and photometric redshift distributions
once selection effects are considered. Our model predicts infrared number
counts of AGN that agree well with the preliminary Spitzer data, confirming
that large numbers of obscured AGN are present in the early Universe (z>1).Comment: To be published in Growing Black Holes, Proc. Garching Conference,
June 2004, ed. A. Merloni, A. Nayakshin, R. Sunyaev (Springer-Verlag). 10
pp., 4 fi
Lifting the Veil on Obscured Accretion: Active Galactic Nuclei Number Counts and Survey Strategies for Imaging Hard X-Ray Missions
Finding and characterizing the population of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that produces the X-ray background (XRB) is necessary to connect the history of accretion to observations of galaxy evolution at longer wavelengths. The year 2012 will see the deployment of the first hard X-ray imaging telescope which, through deep extragalactic surveys, will be able to measure the AGN population at the energies where the XRB peaks (~20-30 keV). Here, we present predictions of AGN number counts in three hard X-ray bandpasses: 6-10 keV, 10-30 keV, and 30-60 keV. Separate predictions are presented for the number counts of Compton thick AGNs, the most heavily obscured active galaxies. The number counts are calculated for five different models of the XRB that differ in the assumed hard X-ray luminosity function, the evolution of the Compton thick AGNs, and the underlying AGN spectral model. The majority of the hard X-ray number counts will be Compton thin AGNs, but there is a greater than tenfold increase in the Compton thick number counts from the 6-10 keV to the 10-30 keV band. The Compton thick population shows enough variation that a hard X-ray number counts measurement will constrain the models. The computed number counts are used to consider various survey strategies for the NuSTAR mission, assuming a total exposure time of 6.2 Ms. We find that multiple surveys will allow a measurement of Compton thick evolution. The predictions presented here should be useful for all future imaging hard X-ray missions
Major Galaxy Mergers and the Growth of Supermassive Black Holes in Quasars
Despite observed strong correlations between central supermassive black holes
(SMBHs) and star-formation in galactic nuclei, uncertainties exist in our
understanding of their coupling. We present observations of the ratio of
heavily-obscured to unobscured quasars as a function of cosmic epoch up to z~3,
and show that a simple physical model describing mergers of massive, gas-rich
galaxies matches these observations. In the context of this model, every
obscured and unobscured quasar represent two distinct phases that result from a
massive galaxy merger event. Much of the mass growth of the SMBH occurs during
the heavily-obscured phase. These observations provide additional evidence for
a causal link between gas-rich galaxy mergers, accretion onto the nuclear SMBH
and coeval star formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in Science. Published by Science Express on
March 25th. 17 pages, 5 figures, including supplemental online materia
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