Cosmology

Abstract:

The interaction of gravitational waves (GWs) with matter is thought to be typically negligible in the Universe. We identify an exception in the case of resonant interactions, where GWs emitted by a background binary system, such as an inspiraling supermassive black hole (SMBH) binary, cause a resonant response in a stellar-mass foreground binary and the frequencies of the two systems become, and remain, synchronized. We point out that this previously unexplored dynamical phenomenon is not only possible, but can lead to $\mathcal{O}(30)$ binary systems becoming resonantly locked in the host galaxy of merging SMBHs of mass ${10}^{8.5-11}{M}_{\odot }$ , each of which has a significantly reduced merger time. We predict $\mathcal{O}({10}^{10})$ binary systems have been locked in the Universe’s history. Resonant locking could be detected through anomalous inspiral of binary systems.

Abstract:

Abstract We investigate the relationship between disc winds, radio jets, accretion rates and black hole masses of a sample of ∼100k quasars at z ≈ 2. Combining spectra from the 17th data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with radio fluxes from the 2nd data release of the Low Frequency ARray (LOFAR) Two-Meter Sky Survey (LoTSS), we statistically characterise a radio loud and radio quiet population using a two-component Gaussian Mixture model, and perform population matching in black hole mass and Eddington fraction. We determine how the fraction of radio loud sources changes across this parameter space, finding that jets are most efficiently produced in quasars with either a very massive central black hole (MBH > 109M⊙) or one that is rapidly accreting (λEdd > 0.3). We also show that there are differences in the blueshift of the $\textrm {C}\, \rm \small {IV}$ λ1549Å line and the equivalent width of the $\rm {He}\, \rm \small {II}$ λ1640Å line in radio loud and radio quiet quasars that persist even after accounting for differences in the mass and accretion rate of the central black hole. Generally, we find an anti-correlation between the inferred presence of disc winds and jets, which we suggest is mediated by differences in the quasars’ spectral energy distributions. The latter result is shown through the close coupling between tracers of wind kinematics and the ionising flux– which holds for both radio loud and radio quiet sources, despite differences between their emission line properties– and is hinted at by a different Baldwin effect in the two populations.

Abstract:

The unexpectedly high abundance of galaxies at $z>11$ revealed by JWST has sparked a debate on the nature of early galaxies and the physical mechanisms regulating their formation. The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has begun to provide vital insights on their gas and dust content, but so far only for extreme ‘blue monsters’. Here we present new, deep ALMA observations of JADES-GS-z11-0, a more typical (sub- $L^{*}$ ) $z>11$ galaxy that bridges the discovery space of JWST and the Hubble Space Telescope. These data confirm the presence of the [O III] 88 $\mu$ m line at $4.5\sigma$ significance, precisely at the redshift of several faint emission lines previously seen with JWST/NIRSpec, while the underlying dust continuum remains undetected ( $F_{\nu }<9.0\mathrm{\mu }\mathrm{J}\mathrm{y}$ ), implying an obscured star formation rate (SFR) of ${\mathrm{\text{SFR}}}_{\mathrm{\text{IR}}}\lesssim 6{\mathrm{M}}_{\mathrm{\odot }}\mathrm{y}{\mathrm{r}}^{\mathrm{-}\mathrm{1}}$ and dust mass of $M_{\mathrm{\text{dust}}}\lesssim 1.0\times {10}^6{\mathrm{M}}_{\mathrm{\odot }}$ (all $3\sigma$ ). The accurate ALMA redshift of $z_{\mathrm{\text{[O III]}}}=11.1221\pm 0.0006$ ( $\gtrsim 5\times$ refined over NIRSpec) helps confirm that redshifts measured purely from the Lyman- $\alpha$ break, even spectroscopically, should properly take into account the effects of potential damped Lyman- $\alpha$ absorption (DLA) systems to avoid systematic overestimates of up to $\Delta z\approx 0.5$ . The [O III] 88 $\mu$ m luminosity of $L_{\mathrm{\text{[O III]}}}=(1.1\pm 0.3)\times {10}^8{\mathrm{L}}_{\mathrm{\odot }}$ , meanwhile, agrees well with the scaling relation for local metal-poor dwarfs given the SFR measured by NIRCam, NIRSpec, and MIRI. The spatially resolved MIRI and ALMA emission also underscores that JADES-GS-z11-0 is likely to consist of two low-mass components that are undergoing strong bursts of star formation yet are already pre-enriched in oxygen ( $\sim 30\%$ solar), only 400 Myr after the Big Bang.

Abstract:

Abstract Consider a system of point masses in a spherical potential. In such systems objects execute planar orbits covering two-dimensional rings or annuli, represented by the angular-momentum vectors, which slowly reorient due to the persistent weak gravitational interaction between different rings. This process, called vector resonant relaxation, is much faster than other processes which change the size/shape of the rings. The interaction is strongest between objects with closely aligned angular-momentum vectors. In this paper, we show that nearly parallel angular-momentum vectors may form stable bound pairs in angular-momentum space. We examine the stability of such pairs against an external massive perturber, and determine the critical separation analogous to the Hill radius or tidal radius in the three-body problem, where the angular-momentum pairs are marginally disrupted, as a function of the perturber’s mass, the orbital inclination, and the radial distance. Angular-momentum pairs or multiples closer than the critical inclination will remain bound and evolve together in angular-momentum-direction space under any external influence, such as anisotropic density fluctuations, or massive perturbers. This study has applications in various astrophysical contexts, including galactic nuclei, in particular the Milky Way’s Galactic centre, globular clusters, or planetary systems. In nuclear star clusters with a central super-massive black hole, we apply this criterion to the disc of young, massive stars, and show that clusters in angular-momentum space may be used to constrain the presence of intermediate-mass black holes or the mass of the nearby gaseous torus.

Abstract:

Jellyfish galaxies provide direct evidence of ram pressure stripping in cluster environments. We investigate the role of magnetic fields in the formation of jellyfish galaxies with a multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) using radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We impose magnetized (magnetohydrodynamic; MHD) and nonmagnetized (hydrodynamic; HD) winds on the gas-rich dwarf galaxies containing the magnetized or nonmagnetized ISM. The MHD winds strip the disk gas more effectively than the HD winds because of the magnetic force acting against the local density gradient, which results in remarkably different ram pressure stripped features. The magnetic fields induced by the MHD winds generate a strong magnetic pressure, which forms smoothed disks and tail gas features. Since the stripped ISM in MHD wind cases travels while being nearly isolated from the intracluster medium (ICM), the stripped ISM mostly forms stars within 20 kpc of the galactic disks. In contrast, nonmagnetized winds facilitate the efficient mixing of the stripped ISM with the ICM, resulting in the formation of abundant warm clouds that cool and collapse in the distant (∼50–100 kpc) tails at times of a few hundred Myr. Consequently, distant tail star formation occurs only in the HD wind runs. Finally, despite the different tail features, the star formation rates in the disk remain similar owing to the interplay between the increased gas stripping and the gas density increase in the disks of the MHD wind runs. These results suggest that the magnetized ICM may have a significant influence on jellyfish galaxies, whereas the magnetized ISM play a minor role.