A population of luminous accreting black holes with hidden mergers
Major galaxy mergers are thought to play an important part in fuelling the growth of supermassive black holes 1 . However, observational support for this hypothesis is mixed, with some studies showing a correlation between merging galaxies and luminous quasars 2 , 3 and others showing no such associ...
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| Veröffentlicht in: | Nature (London) 2018-11, Vol.563 (7730), p.214-216 |
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| creator | Koss, Michael J. Blecha, Laura Bernhard, Phillip Hung, Chao-Ling Lu, Jessica R. Trakhtenbrot, Benny Treister, Ezequiel Weigel, Anna Sartori, Lia F. Mushotzky, Richard Schawinski, Kevin Ricci, Claudio Veilleux, Sylvain Sanders, David B. |
| description | Major galaxy mergers are thought to play an important part in fuelling the growth of supermassive black holes
1
. However, observational support for this hypothesis is mixed, with some studies showing a correlation between merging galaxies and luminous quasars
2
,
3
and others showing no such association
4
,
5
. Recent observations have shown that a black hole is likely to become heavily obscured behind merger-driven gas and dust, even in the early stages of the merger, when the galaxies are well separated
6
–
9
(5 to 40 kiloparsecs). Merger simulations further suggest that such obscuration and black-hole accretion peaks in the final merger stage, when the two galactic nuclei are closely separated
10
(less than 3 kiloparsecs). Resolving this final stage requires a combination of high-spatial-resolution infrared imaging and high-sensitivity hard-X-ray observations to detect highly obscured sources. However, large numbers of obscured luminous accreting supermassive black holes have been recently detected nearby (distances below 250 megaparsecs) in X-ray observations
11
. Here we report high-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes and the discovery of obscured nuclear mergers, the parent populations of supermassive-black-hole mergers. We find that obscured luminous black holes (bolometric luminosity higher than 2 × 10
44
ergs per second) show a significant (
P
|
| doi_str_mv | 10.1038/s41586-018-0652-7 |
| format | Article |
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1
. However, observational support for this hypothesis is mixed, with some studies showing a correlation between merging galaxies and luminous quasars
2
,
3
and others showing no such association
4
,
5
. Recent observations have shown that a black hole is likely to become heavily obscured behind merger-driven gas and dust, even in the early stages of the merger, when the galaxies are well separated
6
–
9
(5 to 40 kiloparsecs). Merger simulations further suggest that such obscuration and black-hole accretion peaks in the final merger stage, when the two galactic nuclei are closely separated
10
(less than 3 kiloparsecs). Resolving this final stage requires a combination of high-spatial-resolution infrared imaging and high-sensitivity hard-X-ray observations to detect highly obscured sources. However, large numbers of obscured luminous accreting supermassive black holes have been recently detected nearby (distances below 250 megaparsecs) in X-ray observations
11
. Here we report high-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes and the discovery of obscured nuclear mergers, the parent populations of supermassive-black-hole mergers. We find that obscured luminous black holes (bolometric luminosity higher than 2 × 10
44
ergs per second) show a significant (
P
< 0.001) excess of late-stage nuclear mergers (17.6 per cent) compared to a sample of inactive galaxies with matching stellar masses and star formation rates (1.1 per cent), in agreement with theoretical predictions. Using hydrodynamic simulations, we confirm that the excess of nuclear mergers is indeed strongest for gas-rich major-merger hosts of obscured luminous black holes in this final stage.
High-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes show an excess of late-stage mergers in obscured luminous black holes compared with inactive galaxies of similar stellar masses and star formation rates.</description><identifier>ISSN: 0028-0836</identifier><identifier>EISSN: 1476-4687</identifier><identifier>DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0652-7</identifier><identifier>PMID: 30405225</identifier><language>eng</language><publisher>London: Nature Publishing Group UK</publisher><subject>639/33/34/863 ; 639/33/34/864 ; Acquisitions and mergers ; Astronomical research ; Bands ; Black holes ; Black holes (Astronomy) ; Bolometers ; Correlation analysis ; Cosmic dust ; Deposition ; Galactic nuclei ; Galaxies ; Galaxy mergers & collisions ; Humanities and Social Sciences ; Infrared imaging ; Letter ; Luminosity ; multidisciplinary ; Natural history ; Observations ; Optics ; Quasars ; Science ; Science (multidisciplinary) ; Simulation ; Space telescopes ; Spatial discrimination ; Star & galaxy formation ; Star formation ; Stars & galaxies ; Supermassive black holes</subject><ispartof>Nature (London), 2018-11, Vol.563 (7730), p.214-216</ispartof><rights>Springer Nature Limited 2018</rights><rights>COPYRIGHT 2018 Nature Publishing Group</rights><rights>Copyright Nature Publishing Group Nov 8, 2018</rights><lds50>peer_reviewed</lds50><woscitedreferencessubscribed>false</woscitedreferencessubscribed><citedby>FETCH-LOGICAL-c574t-a944d7f3f12446eb26b43dc074db65dc665f4a4538079dc35b4d72c3318d7bfe3</citedby><cites>FETCH-LOGICAL-c574t-a944d7f3f12446eb26b43dc074db65dc665f4a4538079dc35b4d72c3318d7bfe3</cites></display><links><openurl>$$Topenurl_article</openurl><openurlfulltext>$$Topenurlfull_article</openurlfulltext><thumbnail>$$Tsyndetics_thumb_exl</thumbnail><linktopdf>$$Uhttps://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1038/s41586-018-0652-7$$EPDF$$P50$$Gspringer$$H</linktopdf><linktohtml>$$Uhttps://link.springer.com/10.1038/s41586-018-0652-7$$EHTML$$P50$$Gspringer$$H</linktohtml><link.rule.ids>314,776,780,27901,27902,41464,42533,51294</link.rule.ids><backlink>$$Uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30405225$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed$$Hfree_for_read</backlink></links><search><creatorcontrib>Koss, Michael J.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Blecha, Laura</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Bernhard, Phillip</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Hung, Chao-Ling</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Lu, Jessica R.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Trakhtenbrot, Benny</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Treister, Ezequiel</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Weigel, Anna</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Sartori, Lia F.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Mushotzky, Richard</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Schawinski, Kevin</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Ricci, Claudio</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Veilleux, Sylvain</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Sanders, David B.</creatorcontrib><title>A population of luminous accreting black holes with hidden mergers</title><title>Nature (London)</title><addtitle>Nature</addtitle><addtitle>Nature</addtitle><description>Major galaxy mergers are thought to play an important part in fuelling the growth of supermassive black holes
1
. However, observational support for this hypothesis is mixed, with some studies showing a correlation between merging galaxies and luminous quasars
2
,
3
and others showing no such association
4
,
5
. Recent observations have shown that a black hole is likely to become heavily obscured behind merger-driven gas and dust, even in the early stages of the merger, when the galaxies are well separated
6
–
9
(5 to 40 kiloparsecs). Merger simulations further suggest that such obscuration and black-hole accretion peaks in the final merger stage, when the two galactic nuclei are closely separated
10
(less than 3 kiloparsecs). Resolving this final stage requires a combination of high-spatial-resolution infrared imaging and high-sensitivity hard-X-ray observations to detect highly obscured sources. However, large numbers of obscured luminous accreting supermassive black holes have been recently detected nearby (distances below 250 megaparsecs) in X-ray observations
11
. Here we report high-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes and the discovery of obscured nuclear mergers, the parent populations of supermassive-black-hole mergers. We find that obscured luminous black holes (bolometric luminosity higher than 2 × 10
44
ergs per second) show a significant (
P
< 0.001) excess of late-stage nuclear mergers (17.6 per cent) compared to a sample of inactive galaxies with matching stellar masses and star formation rates (1.1 per cent), in agreement with theoretical predictions. Using hydrodynamic simulations, we confirm that the excess of nuclear mergers is indeed strongest for gas-rich major-merger hosts of obscured luminous black holes in this final stage.
High-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes show an excess of late-stage mergers in obscured luminous black holes compared with inactive galaxies of similar stellar masses and star formation rates.</description><subject>639/33/34/863</subject><subject>639/33/34/864</subject><subject>Acquisitions and mergers</subject><subject>Astronomical research</subject><subject>Bands</subject><subject>Black holes</subject><subject>Black holes (Astronomy)</subject><subject>Bolometers</subject><subject>Correlation analysis</subject><subject>Cosmic dust</subject><subject>Deposition</subject><subject>Galactic nuclei</subject><subject>Galaxies</subject><subject>Galaxy mergers & collisions</subject><subject>Humanities and Social Sciences</subject><subject>Infrared imaging</subject><subject>Letter</subject><subject>Luminosity</subject><subject>multidisciplinary</subject><subject>Natural history</subject><subject>Observations</subject><subject>Optics</subject><subject>Quasars</subject><subject>Science</subject><subject>Science (multidisciplinary)</subject><subject>Simulation</subject><subject>Space telescopes</subject><subject>Spatial discrimination</subject><subject>Star & galaxy formation</subject><subject>Star formation</subject><subject>Stars & galaxies</subject><subject>Supermassive black 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population of luminous accreting black holes with hidden mergers</title><author>Koss, Michael J. ; Blecha, Laura ; Bernhard, Phillip ; Hung, Chao-Ling ; Lu, Jessica R. ; Trakhtenbrot, Benny ; Treister, Ezequiel ; Weigel, Anna ; Sartori, Lia F. ; Mushotzky, Richard ; Schawinski, Kevin ; Ricci, Claudio ; Veilleux, Sylvain ; Sanders, David B.</author></sort><facets><frbrtype>5</frbrtype><frbrgroupid>cdi_FETCH-LOGICAL-c574t-a944d7f3f12446eb26b43dc074db65dc665f4a4538079dc35b4d72c3318d7bfe3</frbrgroupid><rsrctype>articles</rsrctype><prefilter>articles</prefilter><language>eng</language><creationdate>2018</creationdate><topic>639/33/34/863</topic><topic>639/33/34/864</topic><topic>Acquisitions and mergers</topic><topic>Astronomical research</topic><topic>Bands</topic><topic>Black holes</topic><topic>Black holes (Astronomy)</topic><topic>Bolometers</topic><topic>Correlation analysis</topic><topic>Cosmic dust</topic><topic>Deposition</topic><topic>Galactic nuclei</topic><topic>Galaxies</topic><topic>Galaxy mergers & collisions</topic><topic>Humanities and Social Sciences</topic><topic>Infrared imaging</topic><topic>Letter</topic><topic>Luminosity</topic><topic>multidisciplinary</topic><topic>Natural history</topic><topic>Observations</topic><topic>Optics</topic><topic>Quasars</topic><topic>Science</topic><topic>Science (multidisciplinary)</topic><topic>Simulation</topic><topic>Space telescopes</topic><topic>Spatial discrimination</topic><topic>Star & galaxy formation</topic><topic>Star formation</topic><topic>Stars & galaxies</topic><topic>Supermassive black holes</topic><toplevel>peer_reviewed</toplevel><toplevel>online_resources</toplevel><creatorcontrib>Koss, Michael J.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Blecha, Laura</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Bernhard, Phillip</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Hung, Chao-Ling</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Lu, Jessica R.</creatorcontrib><creatorcontrib>Trakhtenbrot, 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Phillip</au><au>Hung, Chao-Ling</au><au>Lu, Jessica R.</au><au>Trakhtenbrot, Benny</au><au>Treister, Ezequiel</au><au>Weigel, Anna</au><au>Sartori, Lia F.</au><au>Mushotzky, Richard</au><au>Schawinski, Kevin</au><au>Ricci, Claudio</au><au>Veilleux, Sylvain</au><au>Sanders, David B.</au><format>journal</format><genre>article</genre><ristype>JOUR</ristype><atitle>A population of luminous accreting black holes with hidden mergers</atitle><jtitle>Nature (London)</jtitle><stitle>Nature</stitle><addtitle>Nature</addtitle><date>2018-11</date><risdate>2018</risdate><volume>563</volume><issue>7730</issue><spage>214</spage><epage>216</epage><pages>214-216</pages><issn>0028-0836</issn><eissn>1476-4687</eissn><abstract>Major galaxy mergers are thought to play an important part in fuelling the growth of supermassive black holes
1
. However, observational support for this hypothesis is mixed, with some studies showing a correlation between merging galaxies and luminous quasars
2
,
3
and others showing no such association
4
,
5
. Recent observations have shown that a black hole is likely to become heavily obscured behind merger-driven gas and dust, even in the early stages of the merger, when the galaxies are well separated
6
–
9
(5 to 40 kiloparsecs). Merger simulations further suggest that such obscuration and black-hole accretion peaks in the final merger stage, when the two galactic nuclei are closely separated
10
(less than 3 kiloparsecs). Resolving this final stage requires a combination of high-spatial-resolution infrared imaging and high-sensitivity hard-X-ray observations to detect highly obscured sources. However, large numbers of obscured luminous accreting supermassive black holes have been recently detected nearby (distances below 250 megaparsecs) in X-ray observations
11
. Here we report high-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes and the discovery of obscured nuclear mergers, the parent populations of supermassive-black-hole mergers. We find that obscured luminous black holes (bolometric luminosity higher than 2 × 10
44
ergs per second) show a significant (
P
< 0.001) excess of late-stage nuclear mergers (17.6 per cent) compared to a sample of inactive galaxies with matching stellar masses and star formation rates (1.1 per cent), in agreement with theoretical predictions. Using hydrodynamic simulations, we confirm that the excess of nuclear mergers is indeed strongest for gas-rich major-merger hosts of obscured luminous black holes in this final stage.
High-resolution infrared observations of hard-X-ray-selected black holes show an excess of late-stage mergers in obscured luminous black holes compared with inactive galaxies of similar stellar masses and star formation rates.</abstract><cop>London</cop><pub>Nature Publishing Group UK</pub><pmid>30405225</pmid><doi>10.1038/s41586-018-0652-7</doi><tpages>3</tpages></addata></record> |
| fulltext | fulltext |
| identifier | ISSN: 0028-0836 |
| ispartof | Nature (London), 2018-11, Vol.563 (7730), p.214-216 |
| issn | 0028-0836 1476-4687 |
| language | eng |
| recordid | cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_2131233034 |
| source | Nature Journals Online; SpringerLink Journals - AutoHoldings |
| subjects | 639/33/34/863 639/33/34/864 Acquisitions and mergers Astronomical research Bands Black holes Black holes (Astronomy) Bolometers Correlation analysis Cosmic dust Deposition Galactic nuclei Galaxies Galaxy mergers & collisions Humanities and Social Sciences Infrared imaging Letter Luminosity multidisciplinary Natural history Observations Optics Quasars Science Science (multidisciplinary) Simulation Space telescopes Spatial discrimination Star & galaxy formation Star formation Stars & galaxies Supermassive black holes |
| title | A population of luminous accreting black holes with hidden mergers |
| url | https://sfx.bib-bvb.de/sfx_tum?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2025-02-05T03%3A02%3A29IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-gale_proqu&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=A%20population%20of%20luminous%20accreting%20black%20holes%20with%20hidden%20mergers&rft.jtitle=Nature%20(London)&rft.au=Koss,%20Michael%20J.&rft.date=2018-11&rft.volume=563&rft.issue=7730&rft.spage=214&rft.epage=216&rft.pages=214-216&rft.issn=0028-0836&rft.eissn=1476-4687&rft_id=info:doi/10.1038/s41586-018-0652-7&rft_dat=%3Cgale_proqu%3EA573119731%3C/gale_proqu%3E%3Curl%3E%3C/url%3E&disable_directlink=true&sfx.directlink=off&sfx.report_link=0&rft_id=info:oai/&rft_pqid=2137401919&rft_id=info:pmid/30405225&rft_galeid=A573119731&rfr_iscdi=true |