AGN feedback in merging galaxies with a SMUGGLE multiphase ISM

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Sivasankaran, Aneesh, Blecha, Laura, Torrey, Paul, Kelley, Luke Zoltan, Bhowmick, Aklant, Vogelsberger, Mark, Hernquist, Lars, Marinacci, Federico, Sales, Laura V.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Sivasankaran, Aneesh
Blecha, Laura
Torrey, Paul
Kelley, Luke Zoltan
Bhowmick, Aklant
Vogelsberger, Mark
Hernquist, Lars
Marinacci, Federico
Sales, Laura V.
author_facet Sivasankaran, Aneesh
Blecha, Laura
Torrey, Paul
Kelley, Luke Zoltan
Bhowmick, Aklant
Vogelsberger, Mark
Hernquist, Lars
Marinacci, Federico
Sales, Laura V.
contents We study fast nuclear winds driven by Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) feedback in merging galaxies using high-resolution hydrodynamics simulations. We use Stars and MUltiphase Gas in GaLaxiEs (SMUGGLE) to explicitly model the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) and employ sub-grid dynamical friction for massive black holes (BHs). Furthermore, we use a super-Lagrangian refinement scheme to resolve AGN feedback coupling to the ISM at $\sim10-100\,$pc scales. By comparison between merging and isolated galaxies, with and without AGN feedback, we identify trends in the complex interplay between dynamics, BH fueling and feedback, and star formation and feedback. We consider three galaxy types: Milky Way analogs, Sbc-type galaxies, and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) analogs. The synergy between AGN feedback and merger dynamics is strongest in the Milky Way-like mergers, where the AGN winds are energetically dominant and entrain more gas when the initially thin disks become thick and amorphous during the merger. In contrast, the merger of thicker, vigorously star-forming Sbc galaxies is not strongly impacted by AGN feedback until star formation declines in the post-merger phase. Finally, while the sub-grid dynamical friction prescription effectively retains BHs in galactic nuclei during more massive mergers, the clumpy multiphase ISM induces significant wandering of low-mass BHs $\mathrm{(<10^5M_\odot)}$ in the shallow potentials of the SMC-like galaxies. These low-mass BHs wander at distances $\gtrsim 2$ kpc from the galactic center, yielding negligible BH accretion and feedback. This has implications for LISA event rates and present a further challenge to understanding the rapid growth of $z\sim7-10$ quasars discovered by JWST.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_13024
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle AGN feedback in merging galaxies with a SMUGGLE multiphase ISM
Sivasankaran, Aneesh
Blecha, Laura
Torrey, Paul
Kelley, Luke Zoltan
Bhowmick, Aklant
Vogelsberger, Mark
Hernquist, Lars
Marinacci, Federico
Sales, Laura V.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We study fast nuclear winds driven by Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) feedback in merging galaxies using high-resolution hydrodynamics simulations. We use Stars and MUltiphase Gas in GaLaxiEs (SMUGGLE) to explicitly model the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) and employ sub-grid dynamical friction for massive black holes (BHs). Furthermore, we use a super-Lagrangian refinement scheme to resolve AGN feedback coupling to the ISM at $\sim10-100\,$pc scales. By comparison between merging and isolated galaxies, with and without AGN feedback, we identify trends in the complex interplay between dynamics, BH fueling and feedback, and star formation and feedback. We consider three galaxy types: Milky Way analogs, Sbc-type galaxies, and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) analogs. The synergy between AGN feedback and merger dynamics is strongest in the Milky Way-like mergers, where the AGN winds are energetically dominant and entrain more gas when the initially thin disks become thick and amorphous during the merger. In contrast, the merger of thicker, vigorously star-forming Sbc galaxies is not strongly impacted by AGN feedback until star formation declines in the post-merger phase. Finally, while the sub-grid dynamical friction prescription effectively retains BHs in galactic nuclei during more massive mergers, the clumpy multiphase ISM induces significant wandering of low-mass BHs $\mathrm{(<10^5M_\odot)}$ in the shallow potentials of the SMC-like galaxies. These low-mass BHs wander at distances $\gtrsim 2$ kpc from the galactic center, yielding negligible BH accretion and feedback. This has implications for LISA event rates and present a further challenge to understanding the rapid growth of $z\sim7-10$ quasars discovered by JWST.
title AGN feedback in merging galaxies with a SMUGGLE multiphase ISM
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.13024