Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5
JWST observations have unveiled faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at high redshift that provide insights into the formation of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). However, disentangling their stellar from AGN light is challenging. Here, we use an empirical approach to infer the average stellar mass...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade886 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849409879344676864 |
|---|---|
| author | Jorryt Matthee Rohan P. Naidu Gauri Kotiwale Lukas J. Furtak Ivan Kramarenko Ruari Mackenzie Jenny Greene Angela Adamo Rychard J. Bouwens Claudia Di Cesare Anna-Christina Eilers Anna de Graaff Kasper E. Heintz Daichi Kashino Michael V. Maseda Sandro Tacchella Alberto Torralba |
| author_facet | Jorryt Matthee Rohan P. Naidu Gauri Kotiwale Lukas J. Furtak Ivan Kramarenko Ruari Mackenzie Jenny Greene Angela Adamo Rychard J. Bouwens Claudia Di Cesare Anna-Christina Eilers Anna de Graaff Kasper E. Heintz Daichi Kashino Michael V. Maseda Sandro Tacchella Alberto Torralba |
| author_sort | Jorryt Matthee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | JWST observations have unveiled faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at high redshift that provide insights into the formation of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). However, disentangling their stellar from AGN light is challenging. Here, we use an empirical approach to infer the average stellar mass of five faint broad-line (BL) H α emitters at z = 4–5 with BH masses ≈6 × 10 ^6 M _⊙ , with a method independent of their spectral energy distribution (SED). We use the deep JWST/NIRcam grism survey “All the Little Things” to measure the overdensities around BL-H α emitters and around a spectroscopic reference sample of ∼300 galaxies. In our reference sample, we find that megaparsec-scale overdensity correlates with stellar mass. Their large-scale environments suggest that BL-H α emitters are hosted by galaxies with stellar masses ≈5 × 10 ^7 M _⊙ , ≈40 times lower than those inferred from galaxy-only SED fits. Adding measurements around more luminous z ≈ 6 AGNs, we find tentative correlations between line width, BH mass, and the overdensity, suggestive of a steep BH to halo mass relation. The main implications are (1) when BH masses are taken at face value, we confirm extremely high BH to stellar mass ratios of ≈10%, (2) the galaxies of low stellar mass that host growing SMBHs are in tension with typical hydrodynamical simulations, except those without feedback, (3) a 1% duty cycle implied by the host mass hints at super-Eddington accretion, (4) the masses are at odds with an interpretation of the line broadening in terms of high stellar density, (5) our results imply a luminosity-dependent diversity of galaxy masses, environments, and SEDs among AGN samples. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5d7a35d09654e8b9ceb05c309a0cca2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5d7a35d09654e8b9ceb05c309a0cca22025-08-20T03:35:20ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01988224610.3847/1538-4357/ade886Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5Jorryt Matthee0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2871-127XRohan P. Naidu1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3997-5705Gauri Kotiwale2https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1062-0253Lukas J. Furtak3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6278-032XIvan Kramarenko4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5346-6048Ruari Mackenzie5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0417-385XJenny Greene6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5612-3427Angela Adamo7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8192-8091Rychard J. Bouwens8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4989-2471Claudia Di Cesare9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1408-7373Anna-Christina Eilers10https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2895-6218Anna de Graaff11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2380-9801Kasper E. Heintz12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9389-7413Daichi Kashino13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9044-1747Michael V. Maseda14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0695-4414Sandro Tacchella15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8224-4505Alberto Torralba16https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5586-6950Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) , Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria ; jorryt.matthee@ista.ac.atMIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , 70 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USAInstitute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) , Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria ; jorryt.matthee@ista.ac.atDepartment of Physics, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev , P.O. Box 653, Be’er-Sheva 84105, IsraelInstitute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) , Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria ; jorryt.matthee@ista.ac.atDepartment of Physics, ETH Zürich , Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, Zürich, 8093, SwitzerlandDepartment of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University , Princeton, NJ 08544, USAThe Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University , AlbaNova, SE-10691 Stockholm, SwedenLeiden Observatory, Leiden University , NL-2300 RA Leiden, The NetherlandsInstitute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) , Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria ; jorryt.matthee@ista.ac.atMIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, MA 02139, USAMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Königstuhl 17, D-69117, Heidelberg, GermanyDepartment of Astronomy, University of Geneva , Chemin Pegasi 51, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland; Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN) , Copenhagen, Denmark; Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen , Jagtvej 128, København N, DK-2200, DenmarkNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JapanDepartment of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison , 475 N. Charter Street, Madison, WI 53706, USAKavli Institute for Cosmology, University of Cambridge , Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge , 19 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UKInstitute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) , Am Campus 1, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria ; jorryt.matthee@ista.ac.at; Observatori Astronòmic de la Universitat de València , Ed. Instituts d’Investigació, Parc Científic. C/ Catedrático José Beltrán, n2, 46980 Paterna, Valencia, Spain; Departament d’Astronomia i Astrofísica, Universitat de València , 46100 Burjassot, SpainJWST observations have unveiled faint active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at high redshift that provide insights into the formation of supermassive black holes (SMBHs). However, disentangling their stellar from AGN light is challenging. Here, we use an empirical approach to infer the average stellar mass of five faint broad-line (BL) H α emitters at z = 4–5 with BH masses ≈6 × 10 ^6 M _⊙ , with a method independent of their spectral energy distribution (SED). We use the deep JWST/NIRcam grism survey “All the Little Things” to measure the overdensities around BL-H α emitters and around a spectroscopic reference sample of ∼300 galaxies. In our reference sample, we find that megaparsec-scale overdensity correlates with stellar mass. Their large-scale environments suggest that BL-H α emitters are hosted by galaxies with stellar masses ≈5 × 10 ^7 M _⊙ , ≈40 times lower than those inferred from galaxy-only SED fits. Adding measurements around more luminous z ≈ 6 AGNs, we find tentative correlations between line width, BH mass, and the overdensity, suggestive of a steep BH to halo mass relation. The main implications are (1) when BH masses are taken at face value, we confirm extremely high BH to stellar mass ratios of ≈10%, (2) the galaxies of low stellar mass that host growing SMBHs are in tension with typical hydrodynamical simulations, except those without feedback, (3) a 1% duty cycle implied by the host mass hints at super-Eddington accretion, (4) the masses are at odds with an interpretation of the line broadening in terms of high stellar density, (5) our results imply a luminosity-dependent diversity of galaxy masses, environments, and SEDs among AGN samples.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade886AGN host galaxiesHigh-redshift galaxiesEarly universeQuasarsEmission line galaxiesGalaxies |
| spellingShingle | Jorryt Matthee Rohan P. Naidu Gauri Kotiwale Lukas J. Furtak Ivan Kramarenko Ruari Mackenzie Jenny Greene Angela Adamo Rychard J. Bouwens Claudia Di Cesare Anna-Christina Eilers Anna de Graaff Kasper E. Heintz Daichi Kashino Michael V. Maseda Sandro Tacchella Alberto Torralba Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5 The Astrophysical Journal AGN host galaxies High-redshift galaxies Early universe Quasars Emission line galaxies Galaxies |
| title | Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5 |
| title_full | Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5 |
| title_fullStr | Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5 |
| title_short | Environmental Evidence for Overly Massive Black Holes in Low-mass Galaxies and a Black Hole–Halo Mass Relation at z ∼ 5 |
| title_sort | environmental evidence for overly massive black holes in low mass galaxies and a black hole halo mass relation at z ∼ 5 |
| topic | AGN host galaxies High-redshift galaxies Early universe Quasars Emission line galaxies Galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade886 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jorrytmatthee environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT rohanpnaidu environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT gaurikotiwale environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT lukasjfurtak environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT ivankramarenko environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT ruarimackenzie environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT jennygreene environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT angelaadamo environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT rychardjbouwens environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT claudiadicesare environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT annachristinaeilers environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT annadegraaff environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT kaspereheintz environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT daichikashino environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT michaelvmaseda environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT sandrotacchella environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 AT albertotorralba environmentalevidenceforoverlymassiveblackholesinlowmassgalaxiesandablackholehalomassrelationatz5 |