Beecroft Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology

Abstract:

Supermassive black holes (BH) accrete gas from their surroundings and coalesce with companions during galaxy mergers, and both processes change the BH mass and spin. By means of high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of galaxies, either idealised or embedded within the cosmic web, we explore the effects of interstellar gas dynamics and external perturbations on BH spin evolution. All these physical quantities were evolved on-the-fly in a self-consistent manner. We use a 'maximal' model to describe the turbulence induced by stellar feedback to highlight its impact on the angular momentum of the gas accreted by the BH. Periods of intense star formation are followed by phases where stellar feedback drives large-scale outflows and hot bubbles. We find that BH accretion is synchronised with star formation, as only when gas is cold and dense do both processes take place. During such periods, gas motion is dominated by consistent rotation. On the other hand, when stellar feedback becomes substantial, turbulent motion randomises gas angular momentum. However BH accretion is strongly suppressed in that case, as cold and dense gas is lacking. In our cosmological simulation, at very early times (z>6), the galactic disc has not yet settled and no preferred direction exists for the angular momentum of the accreted gas, so the BH spin remains low. As the gas settles into a disc (6>z>3), the BH spin then rapidly reaches its maximal value. At lower redshifts (z<3), even when galaxy mergers flip the direction of the angular momentum of the accreted gas, causing it to counter-rotate, the BH spin magnitude only decreases modestly and temporarily. Should this be a typical evolution scenario for BH, it potentially has dramatic consequences regarding their origin and assembly, as accretion on maximally spinning BH embedded in thin Shakura-Sunyaev disc is significantly reduced.

Abstract:

Supermassive black holes (BH) accrete gas from their surroundings and coalesce with companions during galaxy mergers, and both processes change the BH mass and spin. By means of high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations of galaxies, either idealised or embedded within the cosmic web, we explore the effects of interstellar gas dynamics and external perturbations on BH spin evolution. All these physical quantities were evolved on-the-fly in a self-consistent manner. We use a 'maximal' model to describe the turbulence induced by stellar feedback to highlight its impact on the angular momentum of the gas accreted by the BH. Periods of intense star formation are followed by phases where stellar feedback drives large-scale outflows and hot bubbles. We find that BH accretion is synchronised with star formation, as only when gas is cold and dense do both processes take place. During such periods, gas motion is dominated by consistent rotation. On the other hand, when stellar feedback becomes substantial, turbulent motion randomises gas angular momentum. However BH accretion is strongly suppressed in that case, as cold and dense gas is lacking. In our cosmological simulation, at very early times (z>6), the galactic disc has not yet settled and no preferred direction exists for the angular momentum of the accreted gas, so the BH spin remains low. As the gas settles into a disc (6>z>3), the BH spin then rapidly reaches its maximal value. At lower redshifts (z<3), even when galaxy mergers flip the direction of the angular momentum of the accreted gas, causing it to counter-rotate, the BH spin magnitude only decreases modestly and temporarily. Should this be a typical evolution scenario for BH, it potentially has dramatic consequences regarding their origin and assembly, as accretion on maximally spinning BH embedded in thin Shakura-Sunyaev disc is significantly reduced.

Abstract:

<jats:p>We present a generalisation of the standard pseudo- <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mi>C</mml:mi><mml:mo>ℓ</mml:mo></mml:msub></mml:math> approach for power spectrum estimation to the case of spin- <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>s</mml:mi></mml:math> fields weighted by a general positive-definite weight matrix that couples the different spin components of the field (e.g.  <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>Q</mml:mi></mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mi>U</mml:mi></mml:math> maps in CMB polarisation analyses, or <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mi>γ</mml:mi><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:msub></mml:math> shear components in weak lensing). Relevant use cases are, for example, data with significantly anisotropic noise properties, or situations in which different masks must be applied to the different field components. The weight matrix map is separated into a spin-0 part, which corresponds to the “mask” in the standard pseudo- <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:msub><mml:mi>C</mml:mi><mml:mo>ℓ</mml:mo></mml:msub></mml:math> approach, and a spin- <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mi>s</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> part sourced solely by the anisotropic elements of the matrix, leading to additional coupling between angular scales and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>E</mml:mi><mml:mi>/</mml:mi><mml:mi>B</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> modes. The general expressions for the mode-coupling coefficients involving the power spectra of these anisotropic weight components are derived and validated. The generalised algorithm is as computationally efficient as the standard approach. We implement the method in the public code NaMaster.</jats:p>

Abstract:

<jats:p>We use the projected clustering of quasars in the Gaia-unWISE quasar catalog, Quaia, and its cross-correlation with CMB lensing data from Planck, to measure the large-scale turnover of the matter power spectrum, associated with the size of the horizon at the epoch of matter-radiation equality. The turnover is detected with a significance of between <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mn>2.3</mml:mn></mml:math> and <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mn>3.1</mml:mn><mml:mi>σ</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math>, depending on the method used to quantify it. From this measurement, the equality scale is determined at the <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mrow><mml:mo>∼</mml:mo><mml:mn>20</mml:mn><mml:mi>%</mml:mi></mml:mrow></mml:math> level. Using the turnover scale as a standard ruler alone (suppressing information from the large-scale curvature of the power spectrum), in combination with supernova data through an inverse distance ladder approach, we measure the current expansion rate to be . The addition of information coming from the power spectrum curvature approximately halves the standard ruler uncertainty. Our measurement in combination with calibrated supernovae from Pantheon <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><mml:mo>+</mml:mo></mml:math> and SH0ES constrains the CMB temperature to be , independently of CMB data. Alternatively, assuming the value of from COBE-FIRAS, we can constrain the effective number of relativistic species in the early Universe to be .</jats:p>