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Register a new userStar formation in self-gravitating disks in active galactic nuclei. II. Episodic formation of broad line regions
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(abridged) We study the consequence of star formation (SF) in an self-gravity dominated accretion disk in quasars. The warm skins of the SF disk are governed by the radiation from the inner part of the accretion disk to form Compton atmosphere (CAS). The CAS are undergoing four phases to form broad line regions. Phase I is the duration of pure accumulation supplied by the SF disk. During phase II clouds begin to form due to line cooling and sink to the SF disk. Phase III is a period of preventing clouds from sinking to the SF disk through dynamic interaction between clouds and the CAS. Finally, phase IV is an inevitable collapse of the entire CAS through line cooling. This CAS evolution drives the episodic appearance of BLRs. Geometry and dynamics of BLRs can be self-consistently derived from the thermal instability of the CAS during phases II and III by linear analysis. The metallicity gradient of SF disk gives rise to different properties of clouds from outer to inner part of BLRs. We find that clouds have column density N_H < 10^22cm^{-2} in the metal-rich regions whereas they have N_H > 10^22 cm^{-2} in the metal-poor regions. The metal-rich clouds compose the high ionization line (HIL) regions whereas the metal-poor clouds are in low ionization line (LIL) regions. Metal-rich clouds in HIL regions will be blown away by radiation pressure, forming the observed outflows. The LIL regions are episodic due to the mass cycle of clouds with the CAS in response to continuous injection by the SF disk, giving rise to different types of AGNs. Based on SDSS quasar spectra, we identify a spectral sequence in light of emission line equivalent width from Phase I to IV. A key phase in the episodic appearance of the BLRs is bright type II AGNs with no or only weak BLRs. We discuss observational implications and tests of the theoretical predictions of this model.
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It has been suggested that the high metallicity generally observed in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and quasars originates from ongoing star formation in the self-gravitating part of accretion disks around the supermassive black holes. We designate this region as the star forming (SF) disk, in which metals are produced from supernova explosions (SNexp) while at the same time inflows are driven by SNexp-excited turbulent viscosity to accrete onto the SMBHs. In this paper, an equation of metallicity governed by SNexp and radial advection is established to describe the metal distribution and evolution in the SF disk. We find that the metal abundance is enriched at different rates at different positions in the disk, and that a metallicity gradient is set up that evolves for steady-state AGNs. Metallicity as an integrated physical parameter can be used as a probe of the SF disk age during one episode of SMBH activity. In the SF disk, evaporation of molecular clouds heated by SNexp blast waves unavoidably forms hot gas. This heating is eventually balanced by the cooling of the hot gas, but we show that the hot gas will escape from the SF disk before being cooled, and diffuse into the BLRs forming with a typical rate of $sim 1sunmyr$. The diffusion of hot gas from a SF disk depends on ongoing star formation, leading to the metallicity gradients in BLR observed in AGNs. We discuss this and other observable consequences of this scenario.
Self-gravitating accretion disks collapse to star-forming(SF) regions extending to the inner edge of the dusty torus in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). A full set of equations including feedback of star formation is given to describe the dynamics of the regions. We explore the role of supernovae explosion (SNexp), acting to excite turbulent viscosity, in the transportation of angular momentum in the regions within 1pc scale. We find that accretion disks with typical rates in AGNs can be driven by SNexp in the regions and metals are produced spontaneously. The present model predicts a metallicity--luminosity relationship consistent with that observed in AGNs. As relics of SF regions, a ring (or belt) consisting of old stars remains for every episode of supermassive black hole activity. We suggest that multiple stellar rings with random directions interact and form a nuclear star cluster after episodes driven by star formation.
We present a model of star formation in self-gravitating turbulent gas. We treat the turbulent velocity $v_T$ as a dynamical variable, and assume that it is adiabatically heated by the collapse. The theory predicts the run of density, infall velocity, and turbulent velocity, and the rate of star formation in compact massive gas clouds. The turbulent pressure is dynamically important at all radii, a result of the adiabatic heating. The system evolves toward a coherent spatial structure with a fixed run of density, $rho(r,t)torho(r)$; mass flows through this structure onto the central star or star cluster. We define the sphere of influence of the accreted matter by $m_*=M_g(r_*)$, where $m_*$ is the stellar plus disk mass in the nascent star cluster and $M_g(r)$ is the gas mass inside radius $r$. The density is given by a broken power law with a slope $-1.5$ inside $r_*$ and $sim -1.6$ to $-1.8$ outside $r_*$. Both $v_T$ and the infall velocity $|u_r|$ decrease with decreasing $r$ for $r>r_*$; $v_T(r)sim r^p$, the size-linewidth relation, with $papprox0.2-0.3$, explaining the observation that Larsons Law is altered in massive star forming regions. The infall velocity is generally smaller than the turbulent velocity at $r>r_*$. For $r<r_*$, the infall and turbulent velocities are again similar, and both increase with decreasing $r$ as $r^{-1/2}$, with a magnitude about half of the free-fall velocity. The accreted (stellar) mass grows super-linearly with time, $dot M_*=phi M_{rm cl}(t/tau_{ff})^2$, with $phi$ a dimensionless number somewhat less than unity, $M_{rm cl}$ the clump mass and $tau_{ff}$ the free-fall time of the clump. We suggest that small values of p can be used as a tracer of convergent collapsing flows.
We present the first quantified, statistical map of broad-line active galactic nucleus (AGN) frequency with host galaxy color and stellar mass in nearby (0.01 < z < 0.11) galaxies. Aperture photometry and z-band concentration measurements from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) are used to dis- entangle AGN and galaxy emission, resulting in estimates of uncontaminated galaxy rest-frame color, luminosity, and stellar mass. Broad-line AGNs are distributed throughout the blue cloud and green valley at a given stellar mass, and are much rarer in quiescent (red sequence) galaxies. This is in contrast to the published host galaxy properties of weaker narrow-line AGNs, indicating that broad-line AGNs occur during a different phase in galaxy evolution. More luminous broad-line AGNs have bluer host galaxies, even at fixed mass, suggesting that the same processes that fuel nuclear activity also efficiently form stars. The data favor processes that simultaneously fuel both star formation activity and rapid supermassive black hole accretion. If AGNs cause feedback on their host galaxies in the nearby universe, the evidence of galaxy-wide quenching must be delayed until after the broad-line AGN phase.
There is increasing evidence to suggest that AGN activity may be episodic, with a wide range of possible time scales. Radio galaxies exhibit the most striking examples of episodic activity, with two or three distinct pairs of lobes on opposite sides of the active nucleus. Radio emission from earlier cycles of activity are expected to have steep radio spectra due to radiative losses, and hence be detected more easily at low radio frequencies. Inverse-Compton scattered cosmic microwave background radiation could in prinicple probe even lower Lorentz-factor particles, revealing an older population. We illustrate the time scales of episodic activity by considering different radio galaxies, discuss the possiblity of episodic activity in cluster radio sources, and a possible trend for a high incidence of H{sc i} absorption in sources with evidence of episodic activity.
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