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A dynamical measure of the black hole mass in a quasar 11 billion years ago

A dynamical measure of the black hole mass in a quasar 11 billion years ago
A dynamical measure of the black hole mass in a quasar 11 billion years ago

Tight relationships exist in the local Universe between the central stellar properties of galaxies and the mass of their supermassive black hole (SMBH) 1–3. These suggest that galaxies and black holes co-evolve, with the main regulation mechanism being energetic feedback from accretion onto the black hole during its quasar phase 4–6. A crucial question is how the relationship between black holes and galaxies evolves with time; a key epoch to examine this relationship is at the peaks of star formation and black hole growth 8–12 billion years ago (redshifts 1–3) 7. Here we report a dynamical measurement of the mass of the black hole in a luminous quasar at a redshift of 2, with a look back in time of 11 billion years, by spatially resolving the broad-line region (BLR). We detect a 40-μas (0.31-pc) spatial offset between the red and blue photocentres of the Hα line that traces the velocity gradient of a rotating BLR. The flux and differential phase spectra are well reproduced by a thick, moderately inclined disk of gas clouds within the sphere of influence of a central black hole with a mass of 3.2 × 10 8 solar masses. Molecular gas data reveal a dynamical mass for the host galaxy of 6 × 10 11 solar masses, which indicates an undermassive black hole accreting at a super-Eddington rate. This suggests a host galaxy that grew faster than the SMBH, indicating a delay between galaxy and black hole formation for some systems.

Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
0028-0836
281-285
Abuter, R.
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Allouche, F.
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Amorim, A.
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Bailet, C.
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Berdeu, A.
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Berger, J.-P.
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Berio, P.
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Bigioli, A.
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Bourget, P.
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Brandner, W.
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Cao, Y.
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Conzelmann, R.
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Comin, M.
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Clénet, Y.
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Davies, R.
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Defrère, D.
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Drescher, A.
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Eckart, A.
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Édouard, C.
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Eisenhauer, F.
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Fabricius, M.
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Feuchtgruber, H.
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Finger, G.
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Förster Schreiber, N.M.
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Garcia, P.
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Garcia Lopez, R.
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Gao, F.
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Gendron, E.
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Genzel, R.
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Gil, J. P.
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Gillessen, S.
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Gomes, T.
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Hönig, S.F.
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Leftley, J.
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Lewis, S.
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Liu, D.
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Nowak, M.
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Salman, M.
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Santos, D.J.D.
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Sykes, C.
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et al.
Abuter, R.
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Allouche, F.
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Amorim, A.
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Bailet, C.
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Berdeu, A.
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Berio, P.
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Bigioli, A.
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Boebion, O.
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Bolzer, M.-L.
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Bonnet, H.
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Bourdarot, G.
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Bourget, P.
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Brandner, W.
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Cao, Y.
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Conzelmann, R.
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Comin, M.
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Clénet, Y.
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Courtney-Barrer, B.
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Davies, R.
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Delboulbé, A.
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Delplancke-Ströbele, F.
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Dembet, R.
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Dexter, J.
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de Zeeuw, P.T.
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Drescher, A.
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Eckart, A.
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Édouard, C.
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Eisenhauer, F.
aeed4378-2137-4e02-8715-fc9c289a92cd
Fabricius, M.
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Feuchtgruber, H.
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Finger, G.
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Förster Schreiber, N.M.
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Garcia, P.
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Garcia Lopez, R.
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Gao, F.
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Gendron, E.
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Genzel, R.
135237ce-03c9-4b9d-a5b6-3ecdf00d88ab
Gil, J. P.
54baa055-ecf6-4392-a540-0aa32384c327
Gillessen, S.
992e4401-a7cb-46b6-b261-fbe57e5bd1d9
Gomes, T.
ba920321-1182-46da-b576-920f6fc9c22d
Hönig, S.F.
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Leftley, J.
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Lewis, S.
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Liu, D.
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Nowak, M.
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Salman, M.
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Santos, D.J.D.
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Sykes, C.
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Abuter, R., Allouche, F. and Amorim, A. , et al. (2024) A dynamical measure of the black hole mass in a quasar 11 billion years ago. Nature, 627 (8003), 281-285. (doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07053-4).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Tight relationships exist in the local Universe between the central stellar properties of galaxies and the mass of their supermassive black hole (SMBH) 1–3. These suggest that galaxies and black holes co-evolve, with the main regulation mechanism being energetic feedback from accretion onto the black hole during its quasar phase 4–6. A crucial question is how the relationship between black holes and galaxies evolves with time; a key epoch to examine this relationship is at the peaks of star formation and black hole growth 8–12 billion years ago (redshifts 1–3) 7. Here we report a dynamical measurement of the mass of the black hole in a luminous quasar at a redshift of 2, with a look back in time of 11 billion years, by spatially resolving the broad-line region (BLR). We detect a 40-μas (0.31-pc) spatial offset between the red and blue photocentres of the Hα line that traces the velocity gradient of a rotating BLR. The flux and differential phase spectra are well reproduced by a thick, moderately inclined disk of gas clouds within the sphere of influence of a central black hole with a mass of 3.2 × 10 8 solar masses. Molecular gas data reveal a dynamical mass for the host galaxy of 6 × 10 11 solar masses, which indicates an undermassive black hole accreting at a super-Eddington rate. This suggests a host galaxy that grew faster than the SMBH, indicating a delay between galaxy and black hole formation for some systems.

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Accepted/In Press date: 9 January 2024
Published date: 29 January 2024
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2024.
Keywords: Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 489502
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/489502
ISSN: 0028-0836
PURE UUID: 65bc7292-203b-4389-a709-be53f6af7a93
ORCID for J. Leftley: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6009-1803
ORCID for C. Sykes: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3819-3023

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 Apr 2024 16:35
Last modified: 29 Jul 2024 04:01

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Contributors

Author: R. Abuter
Author: F. Allouche
Author: A. Amorim
Author: C. Bailet
Author: A. Berdeu
Author: J.-P. Berger
Author: P. Berio
Author: A. Bigioli
Author: O. Boebion
Author: M.-L. Bolzer
Author: H. Bonnet
Author: G. Bourdarot
Author: P. Bourget
Author: W. Brandner
Author: Y. Cao
Author: R. Conzelmann
Author: M. Comin
Author: Y. Clénet
Author: B. Courtney-Barrer
Author: R. Davies
Author: D. Defrère
Author: A. Delboulbé
Author: F. Delplancke-Ströbele
Author: R. Dembet
Author: J. Dexter
Author: P.T. de Zeeuw
Author: A. Drescher
Author: A. Eckart
Author: C. Édouard
Author: F. Eisenhauer
Author: M. Fabricius
Author: H. Feuchtgruber
Author: G. Finger
Author: N.M. Förster Schreiber
Author: P. Garcia
Author: R. Garcia Lopez
Author: F. Gao
Author: E. Gendron
Author: R. Genzel
Author: J. P. Gil
Author: S. Gillessen
Author: T. Gomes
Author: S.F. Hönig
Author: J. Leftley ORCID iD
Author: S. Lewis
Author: D. Liu
Author: M. Nowak
Author: M. Salman
Author: D.J.D. Santos
Author: C. Sykes ORCID iD
Corporate Author: et al.

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