The Origin of Cosmic Structures Part 3 — Supermassive Black Holes and Galaxy Cluster Evolution

In Part 1 of this work, we showed that our new model of cosmology can account for the origin of all cosmic structures ranging in size from stars up to superclusters. In this model, at the time of nucleosynthesis, an imprint embedded in the vacuum regulated the creation of the protons (and electrons) that later made up the structures. Immediately after nucleosynthesis and for a considerable period afterward, the evolution was completely determined by the expansion of the universe. Gradually, however, gravitational influences became more important until finally, the expansion of the structures-to-be ceased at their zero velocity points. Stars, galaxies, and galaxy clusters all reached their zero velocity points more or less simultaneously at the usually accepted time of the beginning of galaxy formation. From that point onward, the evolution gravitation came to dominate the evolution although the expansion still exerted its influence. In this paper, we examine the subsequent cluster evolution in some detail. We establish the conditions required to prevent a free-fall collapse of the clusters and then show that galaxies with quasar-like active nuclei located within the cluster were the sources of the necessary radiation. We also show that the required galactic supermassive black holes were a consequence of the initial free-fall collapse of all galaxies.

AGN Lifetimes in UV-selected Galaxies: A Clue to Supermassive Black Hole-galaxy Coevolution

The coevolution between supermassive black holes(SMBHs) and their host galaxies has been proposed for more than a decade,albeit with little direct evidence about black hole accretion activities regulating galaxy star formation at z> 1.In this paper,we study the lifetimes of X-ray active galactic nuclei(AGNs) in UV-selected red sequence(RS),blue cloud(BC) and green valley(GV) galaxies,finding that AGN accretion activities are most prominent in GV galaxies at z ~1.5-2,compared with RS and BC galaxies.We also compare AGN accretion timescales with typical color transition timescales of UV-selected galaxies.We find that the lifetime of GV galaxies at z~1.5-2 is very close to the typical timescale when the AGNs residing in them stay in the high-accretion-rate mode at these redshifts;for BC galaxies,the consistency between the color transition timescale and the black hole strong accretion lifetime is more likely to happen at lower redshifts(z <1).Our results support the scenario where AGN accretion activities govern UV color transitions of host galaxies,making galaxies and their central SMBHs coevolve with each other.

Predicting Supermassive Black Hole Mass with Machine Learning Methods

It is crucial to measure the mass of supermassive black holes(SMBHs)in understanding the co-evolution between the SMBHs and their host galaxies.Previous methods usually require spectral data which are expensive to obtain.We use the AGN catalog from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey project Data Release 7(DR7)to investigate the correlations between SMBH mass and their host galaxy properties.We apply the machine learning algorithms,such as Lasso regression,to establish the correlation between the SMBH mass and various photometric properties of their host galaxies.We find an empirical formula that can predict the SMBH mass according to galaxy luminosity,colors,surface brightness,and concentration.The root-mean-square error is 0.5 dex,comparable to the intrinsic scatter in SMBH mass measurements.The 1σscatter in the relation between the SMBH mass and the combined galaxy properties relation is 0.48 dex,smaller than the scatter in the SMBH mass versus galaxy stellar mass relation.This relation could be used to study the SMBH mass function and the AGN duty cycles in the future.

Observational signatures of close binaries of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei

Inspired by the General Relativity for many decades,experimental physicists and astronomers have a solid dream to detect gravitational waves(GWs)from mergers of black holes,which came true until the excellent performance of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory(LIGO)at hundreds Hz.Nano-Hz GWs are expected to be radiated by close-binaries of supermassive black holes(CB-SMBHs;defined as those with separations less than^0.1 pc)formed during galaxy mergers and detected through the Pulsar Timing Array(PTA)technique.As of the writing,there remains no nano-Hz GWs detection.Searching for CB-SMBHs is also observationally elusive though there exist a number of possible candidates.In this review,we focus on observational signatures of CB-SMBHs from theoretic expectations,simulations and observations.These signatures appear in energy distributions of multiwavelength continuum,long term variations of continuum,jet morphology,reverberation delay maps and spectroastrometry of broad emission lines,AGN type transitions between type-1 and type-2(changing-look),and gaseous dynamics of circumbinary disks,etc.Unlike hundred-Hz GWs from stellar mass black hole binaries,the waveform chirping of nano-Hz GWs is too slow to detect in a reasonable human timescale.We have to resort to electromagnetic observations to measure orbital parameters of CB-SMBHs to test nano-Hz GW properties.Reverberation mapping is a powerful tool for probing kinematics and geometry of ionized gas in the gravitational well of SMBHs(single or binary)and therefore provides a potential way to determine orbital parameters of CB-SMBHs.In particular,a combination of reverberation mapping with spectroastrometry(realized at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer)will further reinforce this capability.The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array(ALMA)and the forthcoming Square Kilometre Array(SKA)are suggested to reveal dynamics of circumbinary disks through molecular emission lines.

Note on the Formation of Supermassive Black Holes

Supermassive black holes formed during the lepton epoch of the Big Bang. What follows is a description of how this may have happened.

The Study of Supermassive Black Holes:From X-ray to Infrared

All massive galaxies host supermassive black holes(SMBH)at their centers,and these objects are often found to be hidden behind large amounts of gas and dust.This circum-nuclear material is what eventually accretes onto the black hole,allowing it to grow,and its structure and evolution has been the subject of intense study in the past decade.In a recent issue of Nature Astronomy,the Chinese Academy of Sciences South America Center

Supermassive black holes triggered by QCD axion bubbles

Supermassive black holes(SMBHs)are ubiquitous in the center of galaxies,although the origin of their massive seeds is still unknown.In this paper,we investigate the formation of SMBHs from the quantum chromodynamics(QCD)axion bubbles.In this case,primordial black holes(PBHs)are considered as the seeds of SMBHs,which are generated from the QCD axion bubbles due to an explicit Peccei–Quinn(PQ)symmetry breaking after inflation.The QCD axion bubbles are formed when the QCD axion starts to oscillate during the QCD phase transition.We consider a general case in which the axion bubbles are formed with the bubble effective angle θ_(eff)∈(0,π],leading to the minimum PBH mass∼■(10^(4)−10^(7))M⊙for the axion decay constant f_(a)∼■(10^(16))GeV.The PBHs at this mass region may account for the seeds of SMBHs.

Impacts of gravitational-wave background from supermassive black hole binaries on the detection of compact binaries by LISA

In the frequency band of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna(LISA),extensive research has been conducted on the impact of foreground confusion noise generated by galactic binaries within the Milky Way Galaxy.Additionally,recent evidence of a stochastic signal,announced by the NANOGrav,EPTA,PPTA,CPTA,and InPTA,indicates that the stochastic gravitational-wave background(SGWB)generated by supermassive black hole binaries(SMBHBs)can contribute strong background noise within the LISA band.Given the presence of such strong noise,it is expected to have significant impacts on LISA's scientific missions.In this study,we investigate the impacts of the SGWB generated by SMBHBs on the detection of individual massive black hole binaries,verified galactic binaries,and extreme mass ratio inspirals in the context of LISA.We find it essential to resolve and eliminate the excess noise from the SGWB to guarantee the success of LISA's missions.

Supermassive Primordial Black Holes for Nano-Hertz Gravitational Waves and High-redshift JWST Galaxies

Recently,observational hints for supermassive black holes have been accumulating,prompting the question:Can primordial black holes(PBHs)be supermassive,particularly with masses M■10^(9)M_(⊙)?A supercritical bubble,containing an inflating baby universe,that nucleated during inflation can evolve into a PBH in our observable universe.We find that when the inflaton slowly transitions past a neighboring vacuum,the nucleation rate of supercritical bubbles inevitably peaks,leading to a mass distribution of multiverse PBHs with a peak mass up to M■10^(11)M_(⊙).Thus,our mechanism naturally provides a primordial origin for supermassive black holes.

Implications for the supermassive black hole binaries from the NANOGrav 15-year data set

Several pulsar timing array(PTA)collaborations,including NANOGrav,EPTA,PPTA,and CPTA,have announced the evidence for a stochastic signal consistent with a stochastic gravitational wave background(SGWB).Supermassive black hole binaries(SMBHBs)are supposed to be the most promising gravitational-wave(GW)sources for this signal.In this paper,we use the NANOGrav 15-year data set to constrain the parameter space in an astro-informed formation model for SMBHBs.Our results prefer a large turn-over eccentricity of the SMBHB orbit when GWs begin to dominate the SMBHB evolution.Furthermore,the SGWB spectrum is extrapolated to the space-borne GW detector frequency band by including inspiral-merge-cutoff phases of SMBHBs,indicating that the SGWB from SMBHBs should be detected by LISA,Taiji and Tian Qin in the near future.

The AGN Feedback in Compact Galaxies:On the Impact of a More Massive Central Black Hole

We conduct high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations using the MACER framework to investigate the interplay between the interstellar medium,active galactic nuclei(AGN)feedback and black hole(BH)feeding in a massive compact galaxy,with an emphasis on the impact of different central BH masses.We find that with a more massive central BH,high-speed outflows are more prominent,and the gas fraction in the compact galaxy is reduced.Due to the lower gas density and higher gas temperature,the compact galaxy with a more massive BH(MAS galaxy)remains predominantly single-phase with the cooling time t_(cool)■100t_(ff).In contrast,the compact galaxy with the reference BH mass(REF galaxy)maintains a higher gas fraction with a shorter cooling time,slightly more multiphase gas and less prominent outflows.We further demonstrate that the difference in gas thermal states and kinematics is caused by the stronger AGN feedback in the compact galaxy with a more massive BH,where the AGN wind power is twice as much as that with the reference BH.Since the AGN feedback efficiently suppresses the inflow rate and the BH feeding rate,the BH mass growth is significant in neither the compact galaxy with the reference BH nor that with the more massive BH,only by 24%and 11%of the initial BH mass,respectively,over the entire evolution time of 10 Gyr.We thus posit that without ex situ mass supply from mergers,the massive BHs in compact galaxies cannot grow significantly via gas accretion during the late phase,but might have already formed by the end of the rapid early phase of galaxy formation.

Variations of broad emission lines from periodicity QSOs under the interpretation of supermassive binary black holes with misaligned circumbinary broad line regions

Quasars with periodic light curves are considered as candidates of supermassive binary black hole(BBH)systems.One way for further confirmations may be searching for other characteristic signatures,such as those in their broad emission lines(BELs),if any,which require a thorough understanding on the response of BELs to the BBH systems.In Ji et al.(2021),we have investigated the response of circumbinary broad line region(BLR)to the central active secondary black hole under the relativistic Doppler boosting(BBH-DB)and intrinsic variation(BBH-IntDB)dominant mechanisms for continuum variation by assuming the middle plane of the BLR aligned with the BBH orbital plane.In this paper,we explore how the BEL profiles vary when the BLR is misaligned from the BBH orbital plane with different offset angles under both the BBH-DB and BBH-IntDB scenarios.Given a fixed inclination angle of the BBH orbital plane viewed in edge-on and similar continuum light curves produced by the two scenarios,increasing offset angles make the initial opening angle of the circumbinary BLR enlarged due to orbital precession caused by the BBH system,especially for clouds in the inner region,which result in Lorentzlike BEL profiles for the BBH-DB model but still Gaussion-like profiles for the BBH-IntDB model at the vertical BLR case.The amplitude of profile variations decreases with increasing offset angles for the BBHDB scenario,while keeps nearly constant for the BBH-IntDB scenario,since the Doppler boosting effect is motion direction preferred but the intrinsic variation is radiated isotropically.If the circumbinary BLR is composed of a coplanar and a vertical components with their number of clouds following the mass ratio of the BBHs,then the bi-BLR features are more significant for the BBH-IntDB model that requires larger mass ratio to generate similar continuum variation than the BBH-DB model.

The role of mergers and gas accretion in black hole growth and galaxy evolution

We use a semi-analytic galaxy formation model to study the co-evolution of supermassive black holes(SMBHs) with their host galaxies.Although the coalescence of SMBHs is not important,the quasarmode accretion induced by mergers plays a dominant role in the growth of SMBHs.Mergers play a more important role in the growth of SMBH host galaxies than in the SMBH growth.It is the combined contribution from quasar mode accretion and mergers to the SMBH growth and the combined contribution from starburst and mergers to their host galaxy growth that determine the observed scaling relation between the SMBH masses and their host galaxy masses.We also find that mergers are more important in the growth of SMBH host galaxies compared to normal galaxies which share the same stellar mass range as the SMBH host galaxies.

Has LIGO detected primordial black hole dark matter?——tidal disruption in binary black hole formation

The frequent detection of binary mergers of^30 M⊙black holes(BHs)by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory(LIGO)rekindled researchers’interest in primordial BHs(PBHs)being dark matter(DM).In this work,we investigated PBHs distributed as DM with a monochromatic mass of 30 M⊙and examined the encounter-capture scenario of binary formation,where the densest central region of DM halo dominates.Thus,we paid special attention to the tidal effect by the supermassive black hole(SMBH)present.In doing so,we discovered a necessary tool called loss zone that complements the usage of loss cone.We found that the tidal effect is not prominent in affecting binary formation,which also turned out to be insufficient in explaining the totality of LIGO’s event rate estimation,especially due to a microlensing event constraining the DM fraction in PBH at the mass of interest from near unity to an order smaller.Meanwhile,an early-universe binary formation scenario proves so prevailing that the LIGO signal in turn constrains the PBH fraction below one percent.Thus,people should put more faith in alternative PBH windows and other DM candidates.

Black holes as the source of dark energy:A stringent test with high-redshift JWST AGNs

Studies have proposed that there is evidence for cosmological coupling of black holes(BHs)with an index of k≈3;hence,BHs serve as the astrophysical source of dark energy.However,the data sample is limited for the redshifts of≤2.5.In recent years,the James Webb Space Telescope(JWST)has detected many high-redshift active galactic nuclei(AGNs)and quasars.Among the JWST NIRSpec-/NIRCam-resolved AGNs,three are determined to be in early-type host galaxies with a redshift of z~4.5-7.However,their M_(*)and MBH are in tension with the predicted cosmological coupling of black holes with k=3 at a confidence level of~2σ,which challenges the hypothesis that BHs serve as the origin of dark energy.Future work on high-redshift AGNs using the JWST will further assess such a hypothesis by identifying more early-type host galaxies in the higher mass range.

Merging History of Massive Galaxies at 3

The observational data of high redshift galaxies become increasingly abundant,especially since the operation of the James Webb Space Telescope,which allows us to verify and optimize the galaxy formation model at high redshifts.In this work,we investigate the merging history of massive galaxies at 3<z<6 using a well-developed semi-analytic galaxy formation catalog.We find that the major merger rate increases with redshift up to 3 and then flattens.The fraction of wet mergers,during which the sum of the cold gas mass is higher than the sum of the stellar mass in two merging galaxies,also increases from~34%at z=0 to 96%at z=3.Interestingly,almost all major mergers are wet at z>3.This can be attributed to the high fraction(>50%)of cold gas at z>3.In addition,we study some special systems of massive merging galaxies at 3<z<6,including the massive gas-rich major merging systems and extreme dense proto-clusters,and investigate the supermassive black hole-dark matter halo mass relation and dual active galactic nuclei.We find that the galaxy formation model reproduces the incidence of those observed massive galaxies,but fails to reproduce the relation between the supermassive black hole mass and the dark matter halo mass at z~6.The latter requires more careful estimates of the supermassive black hole masses observationally.Otherwise,it could suggest modifications of the modeling of the supermassive black hole growth at high redshifts.

Matter Reactors

In a previous paper, we proposed that a QCD gas that may be a possible candidate for the general theory of gravity (GR) ether may be comprised of ud~du~ exotic mesons. A method to determine the effective mass of the ud~du~ exotic meson and the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) metric scale factor equation of state dimensionless parameter, w, by measuring the pseudo-first order β decay rates expected to be inversely proportional to the QCD gas atmospheric density was given. Here, we propose to measure the β decay rate, t1/2, and the earth distance to the milky-way galaxy super massive black hole (SMBH), hSMBH, at the earth aphelion each year for several years, and fit the data with the linear curve: -lnt1/2 = ahSMBH + b. The slope parameter, a, and the free parameter, b, may be used to calculate the Kerr spin parameter and determine if the QCD gas density on the ergosphere remains constant in time, or alternatively, grows in time according to Corley and Jacobson’s proposed black hole laser process.

Gamma-Ray Bursts and Fermi Bubbles

According to a recent calculation, 1058 erg of radiant energy was released by Sgr A*, when it formed the Fermi bubbles. Here, it is argued that this explosion constituted a long gamma-ray burst. .

About 300 days Optical Quasi-periodic Oscillations in the Long-term Light Curves of the Blazar PKS 2155-304

Based on the long-term light curves collected from the Catalina Sky Survey(CSS)(from 2005 to 2013)and the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae(ASAS-SN)(from 2014 to 2018),optical quasi-periodic oscillations(QPOs)about 300 days can be well determined in the well-known blazar PKS 2155-304 through four different methods:the generalized Lomb-Scargle periodogram(GLSP)method,the weighted wavelet Z-transform technique,the epoch-folded method and the redfit method.The GLSP determined significance level for the periodicity is higher than 99.9999%based on a false alarm probability.The redfit provided confidence level for the periodicity is higher than 99%in the ASAS-SN light curve,after considering the effects of red noise.Based on continuous autoregressive process created artificial light curves,the probability of detecting fake QPOs is lower than 0.8%.The determined optical periodicity of 300 days from the CSS and ASAS-SN light curves is well consistent with the reported optical periodicity in the literature.Moreover,three possible models are discussed to explain the optical QPOs in PKS 2155-304:the relativistic frame-dragging effect,the binary black hole model and the jet precession model.

The Final Size of the Universe Based on the Elasticity of the Fabric of Spacetime

We investigate the fabric of spacetime, its ability to stretch, curve, and expand. Through our continuous studies of accretion disks located at the core of galaxies, it is our conclusion that these disks are separate from the host galaxy stellar disk. Our research has also determined that the radius of accretion disks in spiral galaxies follow a consistent ratio according to the circumference of their adjacent supermassive black hole based on its Schwarzchild radius. We present evidence suggesting that galactic accretion disks are a key element to understand galaxy formation and can provide a precise calculation to how much the fabric of space will stretch. Once the degree of the elasticity of spacetime was established, we applied these measurements to the size of the universe at 380,000 years of age based on the imagery of the cosmic microwave background. This calculation provided us with the maximum diameter the universe will reach, an exact time when the universe will stop expanding, and where we are today within that timeline.