The Role of Nuclear Star Clusters in Enhancing Supermassive Black Hole Feeding Rates During Galaxy Mergers

Naiman, Jill; Ramírez-Ruiz, E.; DeBuhr, Jackson; Ma, Chung‐Pei

doi:10.1088/0004-637x/803/2/81

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Naively assuming a roughly constant mass accretion rate onto the SMBH, the former scenario would result into a higher fraction of active galaxies among nucleated vs. non-nucleated. At the same time, the latter scenario, with enhanced fueling, can be expected to be more relevant for nucleated late-types, home to bluer NSCs and thus enhanced gas reservoir for black hole accretion (Antonini et al 2015;Naiman et al 2015;Muratov & Gnedin 2010;see, however, Antonini et al 2015).…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

AGN Activity in Nucleated Galaxies as Measured by Chandra

Foord

Gallo

Hodges-Kluck

et al. 2017

ApJ

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Motivated by theoretical expectations that Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) in galactic centers may provide a favorable environment for super-massive black holes to form and/or efficiently grow, we set out to measure the fraction of nearby nucleated galaxies that also host an Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN). We targeted a distance-limited sample of 98 objects with the Chandra X-ray Telescope, down to a uniform X-ray luminosity threshold of ∼10 38 erg s −1 . The sample is composed of 47 latetypes and 51 early-types, enabling us to further investigate the active fraction as a function of galactic morphology. After correcting for contamination to the nuclear X-ray signal from bright X-ray binaries, we measure an active fraction f =11.2% +7.4 −4.9 (1σ C.L.) across the whole sample, in agreement with previous estimates based on an heterogeneous combination of optical, X-ray and radio diagnostics, by Seth et al. (2008). After accounting for the different stellar mass distributions in our samples, we find no statistically significant difference in the active fraction of early-vs. late-type nucleated galaxies, with f =10.6% +11.9 −4.9 and 10.8% +11.3 −6.3 , respectively. For the early-type nucleated galaxies, we are able to carry out a controlled comparison with a parent sample of non-nucleated galaxies covering the same stellar mass range, finding again no statistically significant difference in the active fraction. Taken at face value, our findings suggest that the presence of a NSC does not facilitate nor enhance accretion-powered emission from a nuclear super-massive black hole. This is true even for late-type nucleated galaxies, home to bluer NSCs and arguably larger gas reservoirs.

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

AGN Activity in Nucleated Galaxies as Measured by Chandra

Foord

Gallo

Hodges-Kluck

et al. 2017

ApJ

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“…Given the wide range of MBH/MNSC that we observe, it seems possible that stochastic late-time fueling and/or merging plays a substantial role in the growth of each component (e.g., Naiman et al 2015). Ultra-compact dwarfs provide an interesting testing ground for how much black hole growth occurs via later-time accretion versus initial formation.…”

Section: Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 94%

Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

Greene,

Strader,

2019

Preprint

107

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We describe ongoing searches for intermediate-mass black holes with MBH≈ 100 − 10 5 M . We review a range of search mechanisms, both dynamical and those that rely on accretion signatures. We find:• Dynamical and accretion signatures alike point to a high fraction of 10 9 − 10 10 M galaxies hosting black holes with MBH ∼ 10 5 M . In contrast, there are no solid detections of black holes in globular clusters.• There are few observational constraints on black holes in any environment with MBH ≈ 100 − 10 4 M .• Considering low-mass galaxies with dynamical black hole masses and constraining limits, we find that the MBH-σ * relation continues unbroken to MBH∼ 10 5 M , albeit with large scatter. We believe the scatter is at least partially driven by a broad range in black hole mass, since the occupation fraction appears to be relatively high in these galaxies.• We fold the observed scaling relations with our empirical limits on occupation fraction and the galaxy mass function to put observational bounds on the black hole mass function in galaxy nuclei.• We are pessimistic that local demographic observations of galaxy nuclei alone could constrain seeding mechanisms, although either highredshift luminosity functions or robust measurements of off-nuclear black holes could begin to discriminate models.

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“…It is likely that the same gas that is feeding star formation also feeds the black hole. In that sense, the presence of an NSC may, in fact, enhance the growth rate of the central black hole (Naiman et al 2015). This notion is supported by the simulations of Hopkins and Quataert (2010a) who find that nuclear star formation is more tightly coupled to the growth of central black holes than the global star formation rate.…”

Section: Massive Black Hole Formation and Growth Within Nscsmentioning

confidence: 80%

Nuclear Star Clusters

Neumayer

2015

Proc. IAU

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We review the current knowledge about nuclear star clusters (NSCs), the spectacularly dense and massive assemblies of stars found at the centers of most galaxies. Recent observational and theoretical work suggest that many NSC properties, including their masses, densities, and stellar populations vary with the properties of their host galaxies. Understanding the formation, growth, and ultimate fate of NSCs therefore is crucial for a complete picture of galaxy evolution. Throughout the review, we attempt to combine and distill the available evidence into a coherent picture of NSC evolution. Combined, this evidence points to a clear transition mass in galaxies of ∼ 10 9 M where the characteristics of nuclear star clusters change. We argue that at lower masses, NSCs are formed primarily from globular clusters that inspiral into the center of the galaxy, while at higher masses, star formation within the nucleus forms the bulk of the NSC. We also discuss the coexistence of NSCs and central black holes, and how their growth may be linked. The extreme densities of NSCs and their interaction with massive black holes lead to a wide range of unique phenomena including tidal disruption and gravitational wave events. Lastly, we review the evidence that many NSCs end up in the halos of massive galaxies stripped of the stars that surrounded them, thus providing valuable tracers of the galaxies' accretion histories.

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The Role of Nuclear Star Clusters in Enhancing Supermassive Black Hole Feeding Rates During Galaxy Mergers

Cited by 14 publications

References 69 publications

AGN Activity in Nucleated Galaxies as Measured by Chandra

AGN Activity in Nucleated Galaxies as Measured by Chandra

Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

Nuclear Star Clusters

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