A Correlation Between Black Hole Mass and Dark Matter Halo Concentration in Cosmological Simulations
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2025
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| author | Nino, John K. |
| author_facet | Nino, John K. |
| contents | We report the discovery of a positive correlation between supermassive black hole mass and dark matter halo concentration at fixed halo mass in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Analyzing central galaxies in TNG100 (N = 18,954), EAGLE (N = 1,522), and CAMELS-TNG (N = 6,664), we find partial correlation coefficients of r = +0.24, +0.34, and +0.66 respectively, all highly significant (p < 10^-10). The correlation is absent in SIMBA (r = +0.01, p = 0.09), which employs a torque-limited black hole accretion model rather than the Bondi-based prescription used by the other simulations. Both TNG and EAGLE exhibit a mass-dependent sign transition: the correlation is negative or null at log(M200/Msun) < 11.5 but strongly positive at higher masses. We interpret this pattern as reflecting the coupling between Bondi accretion rates and central gas density structure: halos with higher concentration have denser cores, enabling more efficient black hole growth at fixed halo mass. The absence of the correlation in torque-limited models supports this interpretation. These results suggest that halo concentration may be a fundamental parameter governing black hole-galaxy coevolution. |
| format | Preprint |
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arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_17964 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | A Correlation Between Black Hole Mass and Dark Matter Halo Concentration in Cosmological Simulations Nino, John K. Astrophysics of Galaxies Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics We report the discovery of a positive correlation between supermassive black hole mass and dark matter halo concentration at fixed halo mass in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. Analyzing central galaxies in TNG100 (N = 18,954), EAGLE (N = 1,522), and CAMELS-TNG (N = 6,664), we find partial correlation coefficients of r = +0.24, +0.34, and +0.66 respectively, all highly significant (p < 10^-10). The correlation is absent in SIMBA (r = +0.01, p = 0.09), which employs a torque-limited black hole accretion model rather than the Bondi-based prescription used by the other simulations. Both TNG and EAGLE exhibit a mass-dependent sign transition: the correlation is negative or null at log(M200/Msun) < 11.5 but strongly positive at higher masses. We interpret this pattern as reflecting the coupling between Bondi accretion rates and central gas density structure: halos with higher concentration have denser cores, enabling more efficient black hole growth at fixed halo mass. The absence of the correlation in torque-limited models supports this interpretation. These results suggest that halo concentration may be a fundamental parameter governing black hole-galaxy coevolution. |
| title | A Correlation Between Black Hole Mass and Dark Matter Halo Concentration in Cosmological Simulations |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.17964 |