ABSTRACT
An increasing number of exoplanets have been discovered in the Milky Way galaxy, which is also known to harbour a super-massive black hole (Sagittarius A*) at its centre. Here, we ...investigate how the central black hole (BH) activity may affect the evolution of exoplanets in our Galaxy. Accreting BHs emit high-energy radiation – extreme ultraviolet and X-rays – which can lead to XUV photoevaporation of the planetary atmospheres. We evaluate the atmospheric mass-loss using both theoretical estimates of the BH radiative output and observational constraints on the past activity history of Sgr A*. The resulting mass-loss is analysed as a function of the galactocentric distance. For the first time, we compute the exoplanet atmospheric evolution under BH irradiation by explicitly including the temporal evolution of the central luminosity output (i.e. the BH activity history). We obtain that Sgr A* could have a major impact on exoplanets located in the inner region of the Galaxy (e.g. Galactic bulge); a significant fraction of the atmospheric mass can be removed by BH irradiation; and in extreme cases, the initial atmosphere may be completely stripped away. Such mass-loss can have important consequences on the atmospheric chemistry and potential biological evolution. We discuss the physical implications for planetary habitability, and we also briefly consider the case of stellar-mass BHs. Overall, accreting black holes may play a significant role in the evolution of exoplanets in our Galaxy across cosmic time.
ABSTRACT
Supermassive black holes (with ${M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^9\, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }}$) are observed in the first Gyr of the Universe, and their host galaxies are found to contain unexpectedly large ...amounts of dust and metals. In light of the two empirical facts, we explore the possibility of supercritical accretion and early black hole growth occurring in dusty environments. We generalize the concept of photon trapping to the case of dusty gas and analyse the physical conditions leading to ‘dust photon trapping’. Considering the parameter space dependence, we obtain that the dust photon trapping regime can be more easily realized for larger black hole masses, higher ambient gas densities, and lower gas temperatures. The trapping of photons within the accretion flow implies obscured active galactic nuclei, while it may allow a rapid black hole mass build-up at early times. We discuss the potential role of such dust photon trapping in the supercritical growth of massive black holes in the early Universe.
ABSTRACT
We consider the impact of anisotropic radiation on the active galactic nucleus (AGN) radiative dusty feedback. The radiation pattern originating from the accretion disc is determined by the ...central black hole (BH) spin. Here we analyse how such BH spin-induced angular dependence affects the dynamics and energetics of the radiation pressure-driven outflows, as well as AGN obscuration and BH accretion. In addition, we explore the effect of a spatially varying dust-to-gas ratio on the outflow propagation. We obtain two distinct trends for high-spin and low-spin objects, providing a direct connection between anisotropic feedback and BH spin. In the case of maximum spin, powerful quasi-spherical outflows can propagate on large scales, at all inclination angles with fairly uniform energetics. In contrast, in the case of zero spin, only weaker bipolar outflows can be driven in the polar directions. As a result, high BH spins can efficiently clear out the obscuring gas from most directions, whereas low BH spins can only remove dusty gas from the polar regions, hence also determining the overall AGN obscuration geometry. Due to such anisotropic feedback, high BH spins can prevent accretion of gas from most directions (except in the equatorial plane), while low BH spins allow inflows to proceed from a wider range of directions. This may have important implications for the BH growth in the early Universe. Anisotropic radiative dusty feedback, ruled by the BH spin, may thus play a major role in shaping AGN evolution over cosmic time.
ABSTRACT
Growing observational evidence confirms the existence of massive black holes ($M_{\rm BH} \sim 10^9 \, \mathrm{M}_{\odot }$), accreting at rates close to the Eddington limit, at very high ...redshifts ($z \gtrsim 6\!-\!7$) in the early Universe. Recent observations indicate that the host galaxies of the first quasars are chemically evolved systems, containing unexpectedly large amounts of dust. Such a combination of high luminosities and large dust content should form favourable physical conditions for radiative dusty feedback. We explore the impact of the active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback, driven by radiation pressure on dust, on the early growth of massive black holes. Assuming Eddington-limited exponential black hole growth, we find that the dynamics and energetics of the radiation pressure-driven outflows also follow exponential trends at late times. We obtain modest outflow energetics (with momentum flux $\dot{p} \lesssim L/c$ and kinetic power $\dot{E}_{\rm k} \lesssim 10^{-3} L$), comparable with available observations of quasar-driven outflows at very high redshifts, but significantly lower than typically observed in local quasars and predicted by wind energy-driven models. AGN radiative dusty feedback may thus play an important role in powering galactic outflows in the first quasars in the early Universe.
Galaxy-scale outflows, which are thought to provide the link connecting the central black hole to its host galaxy, are now starting to be observed. However, the physical origin of the mechanism ...driving the observed outflows, whether due to energy-driving or radiation-driving, is still debated; and in some cases, it is not clear whether the central source is an active galactic nucleus (AGN) or a nuclear starburst. Here, we study the role of radiation pressure on dust in driving galactic-scale AGN outflows, and analyse the dynamics of the outflowing shell as a function of the underlying physical parameters. We show that high-velocity outflows (≳1000 km s−1) with large momentum flux (≳10 L/c) can be obtained, by taking into account the effects of radiation trapping. In particular, the high observed values of the momentum boosts can be reproduced, provided that the shell is initially optically thick to the reprocessed infrared radiation. Alternatively, the inferred measurements of the momentum flux may be significantly biased by AGN variability. In this context, the observations of powerful outflows on kiloparsec scales, with no or weak signs of ongoing nuclear activity at the present time, could be re-interpreted as relics of past AGN episodes.
Abstract
The increasing observational evidence of galactic outflows is considered as a sign of active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback in action. However, the physical mechanism responsible for ...driving the observed outflows remains unclear, and whether it is due to momentum, energy, or radiation is still a matter of debate. The observed outflow energetics, in particular the large measured values of the momentum ratio ($\dot{p}/(L/c) \sim 10$) and energy ratio ($\dot{E}_{\rm k}/L \sim 0.05$), seems to favour the energy-driving mechanism; and most observational works have focused their comparison with wind energy-driven models. Here, we show that AGN radiation pressure on dust can adequately reproduce the observed outflow energetics (mass outflow rate, momentum flux, and kinetic power), as well as the scalings with luminosity, provided that the effects of radiation trapping are properly taken into account. In particular, we predict a sublinear scaling for the mass outflow rate ($\dot{M} \propto L^{1/2}$) and a superlinear scaling for the kinetic power ($\dot{E}_{\rm k} \propto L^{3/2}$), in agreement with the observational scaling relations reported in the most recent compilation of AGN outflow data. We conclude that AGN radiative feedback can account for the global outflow energetics, at least equally well as the wind energy-driving mechanism, and therefore both physical models should be considered in the interpretation of future AGN outflow observations.
Binary black hole (BBH) mergers are the primary sources of gravitational wave (GW) events detected by LIGO/Virgo. Binary black holes embedded in the accretion discs of active galactic nuclei (AGN) ...are possible candidates for such GW events. We have developed an idealised analytic model for the orbital evolution of BBHs in AGN accretion discs by combining the evolution equations of disc-binary interaction and GW inspiral. We investigated the coupled “disc+GW”-driven evolution of BBHs transitioning from the disc-driven regime at large orbital separations into the GW-driven regime at small separations. In this evolution channel, BBH mergers are accelerated by a combination of orbital decay and orbital eccentricity growth in the disc-dominated regime. We provide a quantification of the resulting merger timescale
τ
merger
, and analyse its dependence on both the accretion disc and binary orbital parameters. By computing the evolution of the orbital eccentricity as a function of the GW frequency, we predict that most binaries in AGN discs should have significant residual eccentricities (
e
∼ 0.01 − 0.1), potentially detectable by LISA. We further discuss the potentials and caveats of this particular BBH-in-AGN channel in the framework of binary evolutionary paths.
ABSTRACT
Binary black hole (BBH) evolution in the discs of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is a promising channel for gravitational wave (GW)-driven mergers. It is, however, unclear whether binaries ...interacting with the surrounding disc undergo orbital contraction or expansion. We develop a simple analytical model of accreting BBHs in AGN discs to follow the orbital evolution from the disc-dominated regime at large separations into the GW-driven regime at small separations (the coupled ‘disc + GW’-driven evolution). We obtain that accreting binaries expand in thick discs with aspect ratio greater than a critical value (>hcrit); whereas accreting binaries contract and eventually merge in thin discs (<hcrit). Interestingly, accreting BBHs can experience faster mergers compared to non-accreting counterparts, with a non-monotonic dependence on the disc aspect ratio. The orbital contraction is usually coupled with eccentricity growth in the disc-dominated regime, which lead to accelerated inspirals in the GW-driven regime. We quantify the resulting BBH merger time-scales in AGN discs (τmerger ∼ 105–107 yr) and estimate the associated GW merger rates ($\mathcal {R} \sim (0.2 {\small --} 5) \, \text{Gpc}^{-3} \text{yr}^{-1}$). Overall, accreting binaries may efficiently contract and merge in thin discs, hence this particular BBH-in-AGN channel may provide a non-negligible contribution to the observed GW merger event rate.
The majority of gravitational wave (GW) events detected so far by LIGO/Virgo originate from binary black hole (BBH) mergers. Among the different binary evolution paths, the merger of BBHs in ...accretion discs of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is a possible source of GW detections. We consider an idealised analytical model of the orbital evolution of BBHs embedded in an AGN accretion disc. In this framework, the disc–binary interaction increases the orbital eccentricity and decreases the orbital separation, driving the BBH into a regime where GW emission eventually leads to coalescence. We compute the resulting GW merger rate density from this channel based on a weighted average of the merger timescales of a population of BBHs radially distributed within the AGN accretion disc. The predicted merger rates broadly lie in the range ℛ ∼ (0.002−18) Gpc
−3
yr
−1
. We analyse the dependence of the merger rate density on both the accretion disc and binary orbital parameters, emphasising the important role of the orbital eccentricity. We discuss the astrophysical implications of this particular BBH-in-AGN formation channel in the broader context of binary evolution scenarios.
PDF
