TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid Growth of Galactic Supermassive Black Holes through Accreting Giant Molecular Clouds during Major Mergers of Their Host Galaxies
AU - Lin, Chi Hong
AU - Chen, Ke Jung
AU - Hwang, Chorng Yuan
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2023/8/1
Y1 - 2023/8/1
N2 - Understanding the formation of the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) present in the centers of galaxies is a crucial topic in modern astrophysics. Observations have detected SMBHs with masses of 109 M ⊙ in the high-redshift galaxies with z ∼ 7. However, how SMBHs grew to such huge masses within the first billion years after the Big Bang remains elusive. One possible explanation is that SMBHs grow quickly through the frequent mergers of galaxies, which provides sustainable gas to maintain rapid growth. This study presents the hydrodynamics simulations of the SMBHs’ growth with their host galaxies using the GIZMO code. In contrast to previous simulations, we have developed a giant molecular cloud (GMC) model by separating molecular gas particles from atomic gas particles and then evolving them independently. During major mergers, we show that the more massive molecular gas particles’ cloud bears stronger dynamical friction. Consequently, GMCs are substantially accreted onto the galactic centers that grow SMBHs from ∼107 to ∼109 M ⊙ within 300 Myr, which explains the rapid growth of SMBHs, and this accretion also triggers a violent starburst at the galactic center. Furthermore, we examine the impact of minor mergers on the bulge of a Milky Way-like galaxy and find that the size and mass of the bulge can increase from 0.92 to 1.9 kpc and from 4.7
AB - Understanding the formation of the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) present in the centers of galaxies is a crucial topic in modern astrophysics. Observations have detected SMBHs with masses of 109 M ⊙ in the high-redshift galaxies with z ∼ 7. However, how SMBHs grew to such huge masses within the first billion years after the Big Bang remains elusive. One possible explanation is that SMBHs grow quickly through the frequent mergers of galaxies, which provides sustainable gas to maintain rapid growth. This study presents the hydrodynamics simulations of the SMBHs’ growth with their host galaxies using the GIZMO code. In contrast to previous simulations, we have developed a giant molecular cloud (GMC) model by separating molecular gas particles from atomic gas particles and then evolving them independently. During major mergers, we show that the more massive molecular gas particles’ cloud bears stronger dynamical friction. Consequently, GMCs are substantially accreted onto the galactic centers that grow SMBHs from ∼107 to ∼109 M ⊙ within 300 Myr, which explains the rapid growth of SMBHs, and this accretion also triggers a violent starburst at the galactic center. Furthermore, we examine the impact of minor mergers on the bulge of a Milky Way-like galaxy and find that the size and mass of the bulge can increase from 0.92 to 1.9 kpc and from 4.7
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85166050838&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/acd841
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/acd841
M3 - 期刊論文
AN - SCOPUS:85166050838
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 952
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 2
M1 - 121
ER -