Inferring Obscured Cosmic Black Hole Accretion History from AGN Found by JWST/MIRI CEERS Survey

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Hsieh, Cheng-An, Goto, Tomotsugu, Ling, Chih-Teng, Kim, Seong Jin, Hashimoto, Tetsuya, Chien, Tom C. -C., Chen, Amos Y. -A.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Hsieh, Cheng-An
Goto, Tomotsugu
Ling, Chih-Teng
Kim, Seong Jin
Hashimoto, Tetsuya
Chien, Tom C. -C.
Chen, Amos Y. -A.
author_facet Hsieh, Cheng-An
Goto, Tomotsugu
Ling, Chih-Teng
Kim, Seong Jin
Hashimoto, Tetsuya
Chien, Tom C. -C.
Chen, Amos Y. -A.
contents This study presents the black hole accretion history (BHAH) of obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) identified from the JWST CEERS survey by Chien et al. (2024) using mid-infrared (MIR) SED fitting. We compute black hole accretion rates (BHARs) to estimate the black hole accretion density (BHAD), $ρ_{L_{\mathrm{disk}}}$, across $0 < z < 4.25$. MIR luminosity functions (LFs) are also constructed for these sources, modeled with modified Schechter and double power law forms, and corresponding BHAD, $ρ_{\mathrm{LF}}$, is derived by integrating the LFs and multiplying by the luminosity. Both $ρ_{\mathrm{LF}}$ extend to luminosities as low as $10^7 \, L_{\odot}$, two orders of magnitude fainter than pre-JWST studies. Our results show that BHAD peaks between redshifts 1 and 3, with the peak varying by method and model, $z \approx 1$--2 for $ρ_{L_{\mathrm{disk}}}$ and the double power law, and $z \approx 2$--3 for the modified Schechter function. A scenario where AGN activity peaks before cosmic star formation would challenge existing black hole formation theories, but our present study, based on early JWST observations, provides an initial exploration of this possibility. At $z \sim 3$, $ρ_{\mathrm{LF}}$ appears higher than X-ray estimates, suggesting that MIR observations are more effective in detecting obscured AGNs missed by X-ray observations. However, given the overlapping error bars, this difference remains within the uncertainties and requires confirmation with larger samples. These findings highlight the potential of JWST surveys to enhance the understanding of co-evolution between galaxies and AGNs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_24308
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Inferring Obscured Cosmic Black Hole Accretion History from AGN Found by JWST/MIRI CEERS Survey
Hsieh, Cheng-An
Goto, Tomotsugu
Ling, Chih-Teng
Kim, Seong Jin
Hashimoto, Tetsuya
Chien, Tom C. -C.
Chen, Amos Y. -A.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
This study presents the black hole accretion history (BHAH) of obscured active galactic nuclei (AGNs) identified from the JWST CEERS survey by Chien et al. (2024) using mid-infrared (MIR) SED fitting. We compute black hole accretion rates (BHARs) to estimate the black hole accretion density (BHAD), $ρ_{L_{\mathrm{disk}}}$, across $0 < z < 4.25$. MIR luminosity functions (LFs) are also constructed for these sources, modeled with modified Schechter and double power law forms, and corresponding BHAD, $ρ_{\mathrm{LF}}$, is derived by integrating the LFs and multiplying by the luminosity. Both $ρ_{\mathrm{LF}}$ extend to luminosities as low as $10^7 \, L_{\odot}$, two orders of magnitude fainter than pre-JWST studies. Our results show that BHAD peaks between redshifts 1 and 3, with the peak varying by method and model, $z \approx 1$--2 for $ρ_{L_{\mathrm{disk}}}$ and the double power law, and $z \approx 2$--3 for the modified Schechter function. A scenario where AGN activity peaks before cosmic star formation would challenge existing black hole formation theories, but our present study, based on early JWST observations, provides an initial exploration of this possibility. At $z \sim 3$, $ρ_{\mathrm{LF}}$ appears higher than X-ray estimates, suggesting that MIR observations are more effective in detecting obscured AGNs missed by X-ray observations. However, given the overlapping error bars, this difference remains within the uncertainties and requires confirmation with larger samples. These findings highlight the potential of JWST surveys to enhance the understanding of co-evolution between galaxies and AGNs.
title Inferring Obscured Cosmic Black Hole Accretion History from AGN Found by JWST/MIRI CEERS Survey
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.24308