BASS XXXVII: The Role of Radiative Feedback in the Growth and Obscuration Properties of Nearby Supermassive Black Holes
Creators
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Ricci, C.1, 2
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Ananna, T. T.3
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Temple, M. J.1
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Urry, C. M.4
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Koss, M. J.5, 6
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Trakhtenbrot, B.7
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Ueda, Y.8
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Stern, D.9, 10
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Bauer, F. E.11, 12
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Treister, E.11
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Privon, G. C.13, 14
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Oh, K.15
- Paltani, S.16
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Stalevski, M.17, 18
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Ho, L. C.2
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Fabian, A. C.19
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Mushotzky, R.20
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Chang, C. S.21
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Ricci, F.22, 23
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Kakkad, D.24
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Sartori, L.25
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Baer, R.25
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Caglar, T.26
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Powell, M.27
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Harrison, F.10
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1.
Diego Portales University
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2.
Peking University
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3.
Dartmouth College
- 4. Yale Center for Astronomy & Astrophysics, Physics Department, P.O. Box 208120, New Haven, CT 06520-8120, USA
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5.
Eureka Scientific
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6.
Space Science Institute
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7.
Tel Aviv University
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8.
Kyoto University
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Jet Propulsion Lab
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10.
California Institute of Technology
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11.
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
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12.
Millennium Institute of Astrophysics
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13.
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
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14.
University of Florida
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15.
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
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16.
University of Geneva
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17.
Astronomical Observatory
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Ghent University
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19.
University of Cambridge
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20.
University of Maryland, College Park
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21.
Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array
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University of Bologna
- 23. INAF Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, via Gobetti 93/3, I-40129 Bologna, Italy
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Space Telescope Science Institute
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ETH Zurich
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Leiden University
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Stanford University
Abstract
We study the relation between obscuration and supermassive black hole (SMBH) accretion using a large sample of hard X-ray selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs). We find a strong decrease in the fraction of obscured sources above the Eddington limit for dusty gas () confirming earlier results, and consistent with the radiation-regulated unification model. This also explains the difference in the Eddington ratio distribution functions (ERDFs) of type 1 and type 2 AGNs obtained by a recent study. The break in the ERDF of nearby AGNs is at . This corresponds to the λEdd where AGNs transition from having most of their sky covered by obscuring material to being mostly devoid of absorbing material. A similar trend is observed for the luminosity function, which implies that most of the SMBH growth in the local universe happens when the AGN is covered by a large reservoir of gas and dust. These results could be explained with a radiation-regulated growth model, in which AGNs move in the NH–λEdd plane during their life cycle. The growth episode starts with the AGN mostly unobscured and accreting at low λEdd. As the SMBH is further fueled, λEdd, NH and the covering factor increase, leading the AGN to be preferentially observed as obscured. Once λEdd reaches the Eddington limit for dusty gas, the covering factor and NH rapidly decrease, leading the AGN to be typically observed as unobscured. As the remaining fuel is depleted, the SMBH goes back into a quiescent phase.
Copyright and License
Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Acknowledgement
We thank the referee for a positive and helpful report, which helped us to improve the quality of the paper. We thank G. Lansbury for sharing some of the data of his 2020 paper with us.
Funding
We acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation of China (11721303, 11991052, 12011540375) and the China Manned Space Project (CMS-CSST-2021-A04, CMS-CSST-2021-A06) (LH), Fondecyt Iniciacion grant 11190831 (CR) and ANID BASAL project FB210003 (CR, FEB, ET); NASA through ADAP award NNH16CT03C (MK); the Israel Science Foundation through grant No. 1849/19 (BT); the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, through grant agreement No. 950533 (BT); Fondecyt fellowship No. 3220516 (MT); the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute under the R&D program (project No. 2022-1-868-04) supervised by the Ministry of Science and ICT (KO); the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2020R1C1C1005462) (KO); RIN MIUR 2017 project "black hole winds and the Baryon Life Cycle of Galaxies: the stone-guest at the galaxy evolution supper," contract 2017PH3WAT (FR); the ANID—Millennium Science Initiative Program—ICN12_009 (FEB), CATA-Basal—ACE210002 (FEB, ET), FONDECYT Regular—1190818 (FEB, ET) and 1200495 (FEB, ET), Núcleo Milenio NCN_058 (ET), the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, PROMIS 6060916, BOWIE, and by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia through contract No. 451-03-9/2022-14/200002 (MS).
Facilities
Swift
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Additional details
Additional titles
- Alternative title (English)
- BASS 37
Dates
- Accepted
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2022-08-30Accepted
- Available
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2022-10-13Published online