English

Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from JWST and NANOGrav

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena 2024-04-24 v3 Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology

Abstract

We use the recent statistics of dual active galactic nuclei (AGN) in the James Webb Space TelescopeJames \ Webb \ Space \ Telescope (JWST) data at z3.4z \sim 3.4 to address two aspects of the feedback and evolution scenarios of supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHB). We find that the JWST data provide evidence for the members of a binary black hole being 'lit' at the same time, rather than independently -- a scenario which is consistent with gas-rich mergers being responsible for concurrent AGN activity. This conclusion is supported by the recent NANOGrav Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) measurements, whose upper limits on the stochastic gravitational wave strain amplitude lie below those expected from extrapolating the dual AGN fraction. The results indicate either a 'stalling' of the binaries at the separations probed by NANOGrav, or rapid gas-driven inspirals.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2401.04161,
  title  = {Constraints on Supermassive Black Hole Binaries from JWST and NANOGrav},
  author = {Hamsa Padmanabhan and Abraham Loeb},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2401.04161},
  year   = {2024}
}

Comments

5 pages, 3 figures; references updated, typos corrected, matches version published in A&A Letters