The first supermassive black holes: indications from models for future observations
Abstract
We present an exploration of the expected detection of the earliest active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in the Universe from state-of-art galaxy formation and evolution semi-analytic models and hydrodynamical simulations. We estimate the number and radiative characteristics of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at z ≥ 6, a redshift range that will be intensively explored by the next generation of telescopes, in particular in the radio through the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and at high energies with ESA's Athena X-ray Observatory. We find that Athena will be able to observe over 5000 AGN deg^(−2) at the Epoch of Re-ionization (EoR), 6 ≤ z ≤ 10. Similarly, for the same redshift range the models/simulations suggest that SKA will detect at least 400 AGN deg^(−2). Additionally, we stress the importance of the volume of the simulation box as well as the initial physical conditions of the models/simulations on their effect on the luminosity functions (LFs) and the creation of the most massive SMBHs that we currently observe at the EoR. Furthermore, following the evolution of the accretion mode of the SMBHs in each model/simulation, we show that, while the quasar dominates over the radio mode at the EoR, detection at radio wavelengths still reaches significant numbers even at the highest redshifts. Finally, we present the effect that the radiative efficiency has on the LFs by comparing results produced with a constant value for the radiative efficiency and more complex calculations based on the spin of each SMBH.
Additional Information
© 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model). Accepted 2019 February 15. Received 2019 February 14; in original form 2018 November 22. Published: 26 February 2019. SA, JA, IM, and CP gratefully acknowledge support from the Science and Technology Foundation (FCT, Portugal) through the research grants UID/FIS/04434/2019, PTDC/FIS-AST/29245/2017, SFRH/BPD/95578/2013, and SFRH/BPD/90559/2012. HM thanks the opportunity given by the ALMA Partnership to work at the Joint ALMA Observatory via its Fellowship programme. HM acknowledges support by FCT via the post-doctoral fellowship SFRH/BPD/97986/2013. CDPL is funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE150100618) and by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D), through project number CE170100013. The GALFORM runs used the DiRAC Data Centric system at Durham University, operated by the Institute for Computational Cosmology on behalf of the STFC DiRAC HPC Facility (www.dirac.ac.uk). This equipment was funded by BIS National E-infrastructure capital grant ST/K00042X/1, STFC capital grants ST/H008519/1 and ST/K00087X/1, STFC DiRAC Operations grant ST/K003267/1, and Durham University. The work done using GALFORM was supported by the Science and Technology facilities Council ST/L00075X/1. AJG acknowledges an STFC studentship funded by STFC grant ST/N50404X/1. We acknowledge the support from the teams developing the models presented in this paper, for making their data available. We acknowledge the Virgo Consortium for making their simulation data available. The EAGLE simulations were performed using the DiRAC-2 facility at Durham, managed by the ICC, and the PRACE facility Curie based in France at TGCC, CEA, Bruyères-le-Châtel. The Millennium Simulation databases used in this paper and the web application providing online access to them were constructed as part of the activities of the German Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (GAVO).Attached Files
Published - stz551.pdf
Accepted Version - 1902.07982.pdf
Files
Name | Size | Download all |
---|---|---|
md5:fa25f6a8db55565ebfc3a3bceb941690
|
5.2 MB | Preview Download |
md5:423ab8c4a51eabe6f42c225d01a896a2
|
3.2 MB | Preview Download |
Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 97585
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20190801-111823214
- UID/FIS/04434/2019
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
- PTDC/FIS-AST/29245/2017
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
- SFRH/BPD/95578/2013
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
- SFRH/BPD/90559/2012
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
- SFRH/BPD/97986/2013
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)
- DE150100618
- Australian Research Council
- CE170100013
- Australian Research Council
- ST/K00042X/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- ST/H008519/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- ST/K00087X/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- ST/K003267/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- Durham University
- ST/L00075X/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- ST/N50404X/1
- Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
- Created
-
2019-08-01Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)