Preprint of the chapter "Black hole formation via gas-dynamical processes ", to be published in the review volume "Formation of the First Black Holes", Latif, M. and Schleicher, D. R. G., eds., World Scientific Publishing Company, 2018, pp 1-22 [see https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/10652]
Understanding the formation of earliest supermassive black holes is a question of prime astrophysical interest. In this chapter, we focus on the formation of massive black holes via gas dynamical processes. The necessary requirement for this mechanism are large inflow rates of about 0.1 solar mass per year. We discuss how to obtain such inflow rates via an isothermal collapse in the presence of atomic hydrogen cooling, and the outcome of such a collapse from three dimensional cosmological simulations in subsection 2.2. Alternatives to an isothermal direct collapse are discussed in subsection 3 which include trace amounts of metals and/or molecular hydrogen. In the end, we briefly discuss future perspectives and potential detection of massive black hole seeds via upcoming missions.
The origin of super-massive black holes in the early universe remains poorly understood.Gravitational collapse of a massive primordial gas cloud is a promising initial process,but theoretical studies have difficulty growing the black hole fast enough.We report numerical simulations of early black hole formation starting from realistic cosmological conditions.Supersonic gas motions left over from the Big Bang prevent early gas cloud formation until rapid gas condensation is triggered in a proto-galactic halo. A protostar is formed in the dense, turbulent gas cloud, and it grows by sporadic mass…
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 di…
In this paper, we explore the possibility of accreting primordial black holes as the source of heating for the collapsing gas in the context of the direct collapse black hole scenario for the formation of super-massive black holes (SMBHs) at high redshifts, $z\sim 6-7$. One of the essential requirements for the direct collapse model to work is to maintain the temperature of the in falling gas at $\approx 10^4$ K. We show that even under the existing abundance limits, the primordial black holes of masses $\gtrsim 10^{-2} \ {\rm M}_\odot$, can heat the collapsing gas to an extent that the ${\rm …
We extend the comparison between the set of local galaxies having dynamically measured black holes with galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We first show that the most up-to-date local black hole samples of early-type galaxies with measurements of effective radii, luminosities, and Sérsic indices of the bulges of their host galaxies, have dynamical mass and Sérsic index distributions consistent with those of SDSS early-type galaxies of similar bulge stellar mass. The host galaxies of local black hole samples thus do not appear structurally different from SDSS galaxies, sharing sim…
The first billion years in the evolution of the Universe mark the formation of the first stars, black holes and galaxies. The radiation from the first galaxies plays an important role in determining the final state of primordial gas collapsing in a neighboring halo. This is due to the fact that the primary coolant for primordial gas is molecular hydrogen, which can be dissociated into atomic hydrogen by Lyman-Werner photons in the energy range $11.2 - 13.6$~eV. While cooling by molecular hydrogen leads to Pop. III star formation, cooling by atomic hydrogen can lead to the formation of a superm…
Supermassive black holes (BH) accrete gas from their surroundings and coalesce with companions during galaxy mergers, and both processes change the BH mass and spin. By means of high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of galaxies, either idealised or embedded within the cosmic web, we explore the effects of interstellar gas dynamics and external perturbations on BH spin evolution. All these physical quantities were evolved on-the-fly in a self-consistent manner. We use a `maximal' model to describe the turbulence induced by stellar feedback to highlight its impact on the angular momentum of…
In this paper we explore a possible route of black hole seed formation that appeal to a model by Davies, Miller & Bellovary who considered the case of the dynamical collapse of a dense cluster of stellar black holes subjected to an inflow of gas. Here, we explore this case in a broad cosmological context. The working hypotheses are that (i) nuclear star clusters form at high redshifts in pre-galactic discs hosted in dark matter halos, providing a suitable environment for the formation of stellar black holes in their cores, (ii) major central inflows of gas occur onto these clusters due to inst…
External accretion events such as a galaxy merger or the accretion of gas from the immediate environment of a galaxy, can create a large misalignment between the gas and the stellar kinematics. Numerical simulations have suggested that misaligned structures may promote the inflow of gas to the nucleus of the galaxy and the accretion of gas by the central supermassive black hole. We show for the first time that galaxies with a strong misalignment between the ionised gas and stellar kinematic angles have a higher observed fraction of active black holes than galaxies with aligned rotation of gas …
Active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback is expected to impact the amount of cold gas in galaxies by driving strong galactic winds, by preventing external gas inflows, or by changing the thermodynamical state of the gas. We use molecular gas mass estimates based on dust absorption (H$α$/H$β$) to study gas content of large samples of type 2 AGN host galaxies in comparison with inactive galaxies. Using sparse principal component and clustering analysis, we analyze a suite of stellar and structural parameters of $\sim 27,100$ face-on, central galaxies at redshift $z = 0.02-0.15$ and with stellar ma…
New observations performed at IRAM Plateau de Bure reveal the absence of molecular gas next to Andromeda's black hole. We derived a 3 sigma upper limit on the molecular gas mass of 4300 Msol for the linewidth of 1000 km/s. This is compatible with infra-red observations which reveal a hole in dust emission next to the black hole. Some gas from stellar feedback is expected from the old eccentric stellar disc population, but it is not accreted close to the black hole. This absence of gas explains the absence of stellar formation observed in this region contrary to what is observed next to Sgr A* …
Supernova theory suggests that black holes of a stellar origin cannot attain masses in the range of 50-135 solar masses in isolation. We argue here that this mass gap is filled in by black holes that grow by gas accretion in dense stellar clusters, such as protoglobular clusters. The accretion proceeds rapidly, during the first 10 megayears of the cluster life, before the remnant gas is depleted. We predict that binaries of black holes within the mass gap can be observed by LIGO.
Mergers of gas-rich galaxies are key events in the hierarchical built-up of cosmic structures, and can lead to the formation of massive black hole binaries. By means of high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations we consider the late stages of a gas-rich major merger, detailing the dynamics of two circumnuclear discs, and of the hosted massive black holes during their pairing phase. During the merger gas clumps with masses of a fraction of the black hole mass form because of fragmentation. Such high-density gas is very effective in forming stars, and the most massive clumps can substantially pe…
Using a set of zoomed-in cosmological simulations of high-redshift progenitors of massive galaxies, we isolate and trace the history of gas that is accreted by central supermassive black holes. We determine the origins of the accreted gas, in terms of whether it entered the galaxy during a merger event or was smoothly accreted. Furthermore, we designate whether the smoothly accreted gas is accreted via a cold flow or is shocked upon entry into the halo. For moderate-mass (10^6 - 10^7 Msun) black holes at z ~ 4, there is a preference to accrete cold flow gas than gas of shocked or merger origin…
Cosmological simulations almost invariably estimate the accretion of gas on to supermassive black holes using a Bondi-Hoyle-like prescription. Doing so ignores the effects of the angular momentum of the gas, which may prevent or significantly delay accreting material falling directly on to the black hole. We outline a black hole accretion rate prescription using a modified Bondi-Hoyle formulation that takes into account the angular momentum of the surrounding gas. Meaningful implementation of this modified Bondi-Hoyle formulation is only possible when the inner vorticity distribution is well r…
Dynamical black hole mass measurements in some gas-rich galaxy mergers indicate that they are overmassive relative to their host galaxy properties. Overmassive black holes in these systems present a conflict with the standard progression of galaxy merger - quasar evolution; an alternative explanation is that a nuclear concentration of molecular gas driven inward by the merger is affecting these dynamical black hole mass estimates. We test for the presence of such gas near the two black holes in NGC 6240 using long-baseline ALMA Band 6 observations (beam size 0"06 $\times$ 0"03 or 30 pc$\times$…
Supermassive black hole dynamics during galaxy mergers is crucial in determining the rate of black hole mergers and cosmic black hole growth. As simulations achieve higher resolution, it becomes important to assess whether the black hole dynamics is influenced by the treatment of the interstellar medium in different simulation codes. We here compare simulations of black hole growth in galaxy mergers with two codes: the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics code Gasoline, and the Adaptive Mesh Refinement code Ramses. We seek to identify predictions of these models that are robust despite differences …
We present black hole mass measurements from kinematic modeling of high-spatial resolution integral field spectroscopy of the inner regions of 9 nearby (ultra-)luminous infrared galaxies in a variety of merger stages. These observations were taken with OSIRIS and laser guide star adaptive optics on the Keck I and Keck II telescopes, and reveal gas and stellar kinematics inside the spheres of influence of these supermassive black holes. We find that this sample of black holes are overmassive ($\sim10^{7-9}$ M$_{Sun}$) compared to the expected values based on black hole scaling relations, and su…
Interstellar gas heating is a powerful cosmology-independent observable for exploring the parameter space of primordial black holes (PBHs) formed in the early Universe that could constitute part of the dark matter (DM). We provide a detailed analysis of the various aspects for this observable, such as PBH emission mechanisms. Using observational data from the Leo T dwarf galaxy, we constrain the PBH abundance over a broad mass-range, $M_{\rm PBH} \sim \mathcal{O}(1) M_{\odot}-10^7 M_{\odot}$, relevant for the recently detected gravitational wave signals from intermediate-mass BHs. We also cons…
In this work we discuss the technique of using molecular gas kinematics (or the kinematics of any dynamically cold tracer) to estimate black hole masses. We present a figure of merit that will be useful in defining future observational campaigns, and discuss its implications. We show that, in principle, one can estimate black-hole masses using data that only resolve scales ~2 times the formal black hole sphere of influence, and confirm this by reanalysing lower resolution observations of the molecular gas around the black hole in NGC4526. We go on to discuss the effect that angular resolution,…
We show that binaries of stellar-mass black holes formed inside a young protoglobular cluster, can grow rapidly inside the cluster's core by accretion of the intracluster gas, before the gas may be depleted from the core. A black hole with mass of the order of eight solar masses can grow to values of the order of thirty five solar masses in accordance with recent gravitational waves signals observed by LIGO. Due to the black hole mass increase, a binary may also harden. The growth of binary black holes in a dense protoglobular cluster through mass accretion indicates a potentially important fo…
We perform numerical simulations of clouds in the Galactic Centre (GC) engulfing the nuclear super-massive black hole and show that this mechanism leads to the formation of gaseous accretion discs with properties that are similar to the expected gaseous progenitor discs that fragmented into the observed stellar disc in the GC. As soon as the cloud hits the black hole, gas with opposite angular momentum relative to the black hole collides downstream. This process leads to redistribution of angular momentum and dissipation of kinetic energy, resulting in a compact gaseous accretion disc. A param…
A massive black hole exists in almost every galaxy. They occasionally radiate a vast amount of light by releasing gravitational energy of accreting gas, with a cumulative active period of only a few $10^8$ years, so-called the duty cycle of the Active Galactic Nuclei. Namely, many galaxies today host a starving massive black hole. Although galaxy collisions have been thought to enhance nucleus activity, the origin of the duty cycle, especially the shutdown process, is a still critical issue. Here we show that galaxy collisions are also capable of suppressing black hole fueling by using an anal…
We explore the hardening of a massive black hole binary embedded in a circum-binary gas disc when the binary and the gas are coplanar and the gas is counter-rotating. The secondary black hole, revolving in the direction opposite to the gas, experiences a drag from gas-dynamical friction and from direct accretion of part of it. Using two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamical grid simulations we investigate the effect of changing the accretion prescriptions on the dynamics of the secondary black hole which in turn affect the binary hardening and eccentricity evolution. We find that realistic accretion…
We study the accretion of modified Chaplygin gas upon different types of black hole. Modified Chaplygin gas is one of the best candidates for a combined model of dark matter and dark energy. In addition, from a field theoretical point of view the modified Chaplygin gas model is equivalent to that of a scalar field having a self-interacting potential. We formulate the equations related to both spherical accretion and disc accretion, and respective winds. The corresponding numerical solutions of the flow, particularly of velocity, are presented and are analyzed. We show that the accretion-wind s…
Recycled Gas Dominates the Metal-rich Fuel of Supermassive Black Holes
University of Seoul（首尔大学）；Flatiron Institute（平托研究所）；Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik（马克斯·普朗克天体物理研究所）；Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne（洛桑联邦理工学院）；Sejong University（世宗大学）；Seoul National University（首尔国立大学）
The processes driving gas accretion on to supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are still poorly understood. Angular momentum conservation prevents gas within $\sim10\,$pc of the black hole from reaching radii $\sim10^{-3}\,$pc where viscous accretion becomes efficient. Here we present simulations of the collapse of a clumpy shell of swept-up isothermal gas, which is assumed to have formed as a result of feedback from a previous episode of AGN activity. The gas falls towards the SMBH forming clumps and streams, which intersect, collide, and often form a disc. These collisions promote partial cancel…
Emission line observations of circumnuclear gas disks in the ALMA era have begun to resolve molecular gas tracer kinematics near supermassive black holes (BHs), enabling highly precise mass determination in the best cases. The ngVLA is capable of extremely high spatial resolution imaging of the CO(1-0) transition at 115 GHz for nearby galaxies. Furthermore, its high (anticipated) emission line sensitivity suggests this array can produce benchmark BH mass measurements. We discuss lessons learned from gas-dynamical modeling of recent ALMA data sets and also compare ALMA and ngVLA CO simulations …
The Eddington ratio ($λ_{\rm Edd}$) of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) is a fundamental parameter that governs the cosmic growth of SMBHs. Although gas mass accretion onto SMBHs is sustained when they are surrounded by large amounts of gas, little is known about the molecular content of galaxies, particularly those hosting super-Eddington SMBHs ($λ_{\rm Edd} > 1$: the key phase of SMBH growth). Here, we compiled reported optical and $^{12}$CO(1--0) data of local quasars to characterize their hosts. We found that higher $λ_{\rm Edd}$ SMBHs tend to reside in gas rich (i.e., high gas mass to ste…
We study the connection between the large-scale dynamics and the gas fueling toward a central black hole via the analysis of a Milky Way-like simulation at sub-parsec resolution. This allows us to follow a set of processes at various scales (e.g., the triggering of inward gas motion towards inner resonances via the large-scale bar, the connection to the central black hole via mini spirals) in a self-consistent manner. This simulation provides further insights on the role of shear for the inhibition of star formation within the bar in regions with significant amount of gas. We also witness the …
The impact of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) on star formation has implications for our understanding of the relationships between supermassive black holes and their galaxies, as well as for the growth of galaxies over the history of the Universe. We report on a high-resolution multi-phase study of the nuclear environment in the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 2110 using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, and the Very Large Telescope/SINFONI. We identify a region that is markedly weak in low-excitation CO $2\rightarrow1$ emission from cold molecular gas, bu…
We investigate the relationship between black hole accretion and star formation in a sample of 453 $z\approx0.3$ type 1 active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We use available CO observations to demonstrate that the combination of nebular dust extinction and metallicity provides reliable estimates of the molecular gas mass even for the host galaxies of type 1 AGNs. Consistent with other similar but significantly smaller samples, we reaffirm the notion that powerful AGNs have comparable gas content as nearby star-forming galaxies and that AGN feedback does not deplete the host of cold gas instantaneous…
Born in rapidly evolving mini-halos during the first billion years of the Universe, super- massive black holes (SMBH) feed from gas flows spanning many orders of magnitude, from the cosmic web in which they are embedded to their event horizon. As such, accretion onto SMBHs constitutes a formidable challenge to tackle numerically, and currently requires the use of sub-grid models to handle the flow on small, unresolved scales. In this paper, we study the impact of resolution on the accretion pattern of SMBHs initially inserted at the heart of dense galactic gas clouds, using a custom super-Lagr…
We present high-quality fluid dynamical simulations of isothermal gas flows in a rotating barred potential. We show that a large quantity of gas is driven right into the nucleus of a model galaxy when the potential lacks a central mass concentration, but the inflow stalls at a nuclear ring in comparison simulations that include a central massive object. The radius of the nuclear gas ring increases linearly with the mass of the central object. We argue that bars drive gas right into the nucleus in the early stages of disk galaxy formation, where a nuclear star cluster and perhaps a massive blac…
Spectroscopic and photometric observations show that many globular clusters host multiple stellar populations, challenging the common paradigm that globular clusters are "simple stellar populations" composed of stars of uniform age and chemical composition. The chemical abundances of second-generation (SG) stars constrain the sources of gas out of which these stars must have formed, indicating that the gas must contain matter processed through the high-temperature CNO cycle. First-generation massive Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) stars have been proposed as the source of this gas. In a previous…
We present a positive correlation between the mass of dense molecular gas ($M_{\rm dense}$) of $\sim 100$ pc scale circumnuclear disks (CNDs) and the black hole mass accretion rate ($\dot{M}_{\rm BH}$) in total 10 Seyfert galaxies, based on data compiled from the literature and an archive (median aperture $θ_{\rm med}$ = 220 pc). A typical $M_{\rm dense}$ of CNDs is 10$^{7-8}$ $M_\odot$, estimated from the luminosity of the dense gas tracer, the HCN($1-0$) emission line. Because dense molecular gas is the site of star formation, this correlation is virtually equivalent to the one between nucle…
The dynamical formation of stellar-mass black hole-black hole binaries has long been a promising source of gravitational waves for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Mass segregation, gravitational focusing, and multibody dynamical interactions naturally increase the interaction rate between the most massive black holes in dense stellar systems, eventually leading them to merge. We find that dynamical interactions, particularly three-body binary formation, enhance the merger rate of black hole binaries with total mass M_tot roughly as ~M_tot^beta, with beta >~ 4. W…
