Black hole feedback in the luminous quasar PDS 456
Finding the necessary negative feedback
The evolution of galaxies seems to be tied to the growth of the supermassive black holes at their centers, but it's not entirely clear why. Models have suggested a mechanism in which the growth of the black hole results in an outflow of gas that interrupts star formation. However, evidence for enough of this negative feedback has been lacking. Nardini et al. now see a signature in x-ray spectra of a strong persistent outflow in the quasar PDS 456. They estimate a broad solid angle spanned by the wind that enables a far greater impact on the host galaxy than narrower jet outflows.
Science, this issue p. 860
Abstract
The evolution of galaxies is connected to the growth of supermassive black holes in their centers. During the quasar phase, a huge luminosity is released as matter falls onto the black hole, and radiation-driven winds can transfer most of this energy back to the host galaxy. Over five different epochs, we detected the signatures of a nearly spherical stream of highly ionized gas in the broadband x-ray spectra of the luminous quasar PDS 456. This persistent wind is expelled at relativistic speeds from the inner accretion disk, and its wide aperture suggests an effective coupling with the ambient gas. The outflow’s kinetic power larger than 1046 ergs per second is enough to provide the feedback required by models of black hole and host galaxy coevolution.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Already a Subscriber?Sign In
Supplementary Material
Summary
Materials and Methods
Supplementary Text
Figs. S1 to S5
Tables S1 to S3
Resources
File (nardini-sm.pdf)
References and Notes
1
King A. R., Black hole outflows. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 402, 1516–1522 (2010).
2
Tombesi F., Cappi M., Reeves J. N., Palumbo G. G. C., Yaqoob T., Braito V., Dadina M., Evidence for ultra-fast outflows in radio-quiet AGNs. I. Detection and statistical incidence of Fe K-shell absorption lines. Astron. Astrophys. 521, A57 (2010).
3
Gofford J., Reeves J. N., Tombesi F., Braito V., Turner T. J., Miller L., Cappi M., The Suzaku view of highly ionized outflows in AGN - I. Statistical detection and global absorber properties. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 430, 60–80 (2013).
4
Silk J., Rees M. J., Quasars and galaxy formation. Astron. Astrophys. 331, L1 (1998).
5
Kormendy J., Ho L. C., Coevolution (or not) of supermassive black holes and host galaxies. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 51, 511–653 (2013).
6
Reeves J. N., O’Brien P. T., Ward M. J., A massive x-ray outflow from the quasar PDS 456. Astrophys. J. 593, L65–L68 (2003).
7
Reeves J. N., O’Brien P. T., Braito V., Behar E., Miller L., Turner T. J., Fabian A. C., Kaspi S., Mushotzky R., Ward M., A Compton-thick wind in the high-luminosity quasar, PDS 456. Astrophys. J. 701, 493–507 (2009).
8
Reeves J. N., Braito V., Gofford J., Sim S. A., Behar E., Costa M., Kaspi S., Matzeu G., Miller L., O’Brien P., Turner T. J., Ward M., Variability of the high-velocity outflow in the quasar PDS 456. Astrophys. J. 780, 45 (2014).
9
Materials and methods are available as supplementary materials on Science Online.
10
Done C., Sobolewska M. A., Gierliński M., Schurch N. J., The iron K feature in narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies: Evidence for a P Cygni profile? Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 374, L15–L19 (2007).
11
Kaastra J. S., Kriss G. A., Cappi M., Mehdipour M., Petrucci P.-O., Steenbrugge K. C., Arav N., Behar E., Bianchi S., Boissay R., Branduardi-Raymont G., Chamberlain C., Costantini E., Ely J. C., Ebrero J., Di Gesu L., Harrison F. A., Kaspi S., Malzac J., De Marco B., Matt G., Nandra K., Paltani S., Person R., Peterson B. M., Pinto C., Ponti G., Pozo Nuñez F., De Rosa A., Seta H., Ursini F., de Vries C. P., Walton D. J., Whewell M., A fast and long-lived outflow from the supermassive black hole in NGC 5548. Science 345, 64–68 (2014).
12
Gallo L. C., Fabian A. C., The origin of blueshifted absorption features in the x-ray spectrum of PG 1211+143: Outflow or disk. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 434, L66–L69 (2013).
13
Pounds K. A., Reeves J. N., Quantifying the fast outflow in the luminous Seyfert galaxy PG 1211+143. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 397, 249–257 (2009).
14
Arav N., Borguet B., Chamberlain C., Edmonds D., Danforth C., Quasar outflows and AGN feedback in the extreme UV: HST/COS observations of HE 0238−1904. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 436, 3286–3305 (2013).
15
Krongold Y., Nicastro F., Elvis M., Brickhouse N., Binette L., Mathur S., Jimenez-Bailon E., The compact, conical, accretion-disk warm absorber of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051 and its implications for IGM-galaxy feedback processes. Astrophys. J. 659, 1022–1039 (2007).
16
Tombesi F., Cappi M., Reeves J. N., Braito V., Evidence for ultrafast outflows in radio-quiet AGNs. III. Location and energetics. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 422, L1–L5 (2012).
17
Proga D., Stone J. M., Kallman T. R., Dynamics of line-driven disk winds in active galactic nuclei. Astrophys. J. 543, 686–696 (2000).
18
Gofford J., Reeves J. N., Braito V., Nardini E., Costa M. T., Matzeu G. A., O’Brien P., Ward M., Turner T. J., Miller L., Revealing the location and structure of the accretion disk wind in PDS 456. Astrophys. J. 784, 77 (2014).
19
Di Matteo T., Springel V., Hernquist L., Energy input from quasars regulates the growth and activity of black holes and their host galaxies. Nature 433, 604–607 (2005).
20
Hopkins P. F., Elvis M., Quasar feedback: More bang for your buck. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 401, 7–14 (2010).
21
Zubovas K., King A., Clearing out a galaxy. Astrophys. J. 745, L34 (2012).
22
Cicone C., Maiolino R., Sturm E., Graciá-Carpio J., Feruglio C., Neri R., Aalto S., Davies R., Fiore F., Fischer J., García-Burillo S., González-Alfonso E., Hailey-Dunsheath S., Piconcelli E., Veilleux S., Massive molecular outflows and evidence for AGN feedback from CO observations. Astron. Astrophys. 562, A21 (2014).
23
Ferrarese L., Merritt D., A fundamental relation between supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. Astrophys. J. 539, L9–L12 (2000).
24
Gebhardt K., Bender R., Bower G., Dressler A., Faber S. M., Filippenko A. V., Green R., Grillmair C., Ho L. C., Kormendy J., Lauer T. R., Magorrian J., Pinkney J., Richstone D., Tremaine S., A relationship between nuclear black hole mass and galaxy velocity dispersion. Astrophys. J. 539, L13–L16 (2000).
25
King A. R., Black holes, galaxy formation, and the MBH–σ relation. Astrophys. J. 596, L27–L29 (2003).
26
Jahnke K., Macciò A. V., The non-causal origin of the black-hole–galaxy scaling relations. Astrophys. J. 734, 92 (2011).
27
McQuillin R. C., McLaughlin D. E., Black hole wind speeds and the M–σ relation. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 434, 1332–1338 (2013).
28
Jansen F., Lumb D., Altieri B., Clavel J., Ehle M., Erd C., Gabriel C., Guainazzi M., Gondoin P., Much R., Munoz R., Santos M., Schartel N., Texier D., Vacanti G., XMM–Newton observatory. I. The spacecraft and operations. Astron. Astrophys. 365, L1–L6 (2001).
29
Harrison F. A., Craig W. W., Christensen F. E., Hailey C. J., Zhang W. W., Boggs S. E., Stern D., Cook W. R., Forster K., Giommi P., Grefenstette B. W., Kim Y., Kitaguchi T., Koglin J. E., Madsen K. K., Mao P. H., Miyasaka H., Mori K., Perri M., Pivovaroff M. J., Puccetti S., Rana V. R., Westergaard N. J., Willis J., Zoglauer A., An H., Bachetti M., Barrière N. M., Bellm E. C., Bhalerao V., Brejnholt N. F., Fuerst F., Liebe C. C., Markwardt C. B., Nynka M., Vogel J. K., Walton D. J., Wik D. R., Alexander D. M., Cominsky L. R., Hornschemeier A. E., Hornstrup A., Kaspi V. M., Madejski G. M., Matt G., Molendi S., Smith D. M., Tomsick J. A., Ajello M., Ballantyne D. R., Baloković M., Barret D., Bauer F. E., Blandford R. D., Brandt W. N., Brenneman L. W., Chiang J., Chakrabarty D., Chenevez J., Comastri A., Dufour F., Elvis M., Fabian A. C., Farrah D., Fryer C. L., Gotthelf E. V., Grindlay J. E., Helfand D. J., Krivonos R., Meier D. L., Miller J. M., Natalucci L., Ogle P., Ofek E. O., Ptak A., Reynolds S. P., Rigby J. R., Tagliaferri G., Thorsett S. E., Treister E., Urry C. M., The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR ) high energy x-ray mission. Astrophys. J. 770, 103 (2013).
30
Cardelli J. A., Clayton G. C., Mathis J. S., The relationship between infrared, optical, and ultraviolet extinction. Astrophys. J. 345, 245 (1989).
31
Torres C. A. O., Quast G. R., Coziol R., Jablonski F., de la Reza R., Lépine J. R. D., Gregório-Hetem J., Discovery of a luminous quasar in the nearby universe. Astrophys. J. 488, L19–L22 (1997).
32
O’Brien P. T., Reeves J. N., Simpson C., Ward M. J., The connection between ultraviolet and x-ray outflows in active galactic nuclei: The case of PDS 456. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 360, L25–L29 (2005).
33
Lamers H. J. G. L. M., Cerruti-Sola M., Perinotto M., The ‘SEI’ method for accurate and efficient calculations of line profiles in spherically symmetric stellar winds. Astrophys. J. 314, 726 (1987).
34
Ramírez J. M., Bautista M., Kallman T., Line asymmetry in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 3783. Astrophys. J. 627, 166–176 (2005).
35
Kallman T., Bautista M., Photoionization and high-density gas. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 133, 221–253 (2001).
36
B. M. Peterson, An Introduction to Active Galactic Nuclei (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1997)
37
Blustin A. J., Page M. J., Fuerst S. V., Branduardi-Raymont G., Ashton C. E., The nature and origin of Seyfert warm absorbers. Astron. Astrophys. 431, 111–125 (2005).
38
McKernan B., Yaqoob T., Reynolds C. S., A soft x-ray study of type I active galactic nuclei observed with Chandra high-energy transmission grating spectrometer. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 379, 1359–1372 (2007).
39
Wilms J., Allen A., McCray R., On the absorption of x-rays in the interstellar medium. Astrophys. J. 542, 914–924 (2000).
40
Kalberla P. M. W., Burton W. B., Hartmann D., Arnal E. M., Bajaja E., Morras R., Pöppel W. G. L., The Leiden/Argentine/Bonn (LAB) survey of Galactic HI. Final data release of the combined LDS and IAR surveys with improved stray-radiation corrections. Astron. Astrophys. 440, 775–782 (2005).
41
Behar E., Kaspi S., Reeves J., Turner T. J., Mushotzky R., O’Brien P. T., Remarkable spectral variability of PDS 456. Astrophys. J. 712, 26–37 (2010).
42
Gallo L. C., Fabian A. C., How the effects of resonant absorption on black hole reflection spectra can mimic high-velocity outflows. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 418, L59–L63 (2011).
43
Magdziarz P., Zdziarski A. A., Angle-dependent Compton reflection of x-rays and gamma-rays. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 273, 837 (1995).
44
García J., Dauser T., Reynolds C. S., Kallman T. R., McClintock J. E., Wilms J., Eikmann W., X-ray reflected spectra from accretion disk models. III. A complete grid of ionized reflection calculations. Astrophys. J. 768, 146 (2013).
45
Dauser T., Garcia J., Wilms J., Bock M., Brenneman L. W., Falanga M., Fukumura K., Reynolds C. S., Irradiation of an accretion disk by a jet: General properties and implications for spin measurements of black holes. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 430, 1694–1708 (2013).
46
Ross R. R., Fabian A. C., The effects of photoionization on x-ray reflection spectra in active galactic nuclei. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 261, 74–82 (1993).
47
García J., Dauser T., Lohfink A., Kallman T. R., Steiner J. F., McClintock J. E., Brenneman L., Wilms J., Eikmann W., Reynolds C. S., Tombesi F., Improved reflection models of black hole accretion disks: Treating the angular distribution of x-rays. Astrophys. J. 782, 76 (2014).
48
Miniutti G., Fabian A. C., A light bending model for the x-ray temporal and spectral properties of accreting black holes. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 349, 1435–1448 (2004).
49
Walton D. J., Reis R. C., Fabian A. C., Explaining the hard excesses in active galactic nuclei. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 408, 601–606 (2010).
50
Shlosman I., Vitello P., Winds from accretion disks: Ultraviolet line formation in cataclysmic variables. Astrophys. J. 409, 372 (1993).
51
Proga D., Kallman T. R., Drew J. E., Hartley L. E., Resonance line profile calculations based on hydrodynamical models of cataclysmic variable winds. Astrophys. J. 572, 382 (2002).
52
Krolik J. H., Kallman T. R., Fe K features as probes of the nuclear reflection region in Seyfert galaxies. Astrophys. J. 320, L5 (1987).
53
Verner D. A., Verner E. M., Ferland G. J., Atomic data for permitted resonance lines of atoms and ions from H to Si, and S, Ar, Ca, and Fe. At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 64, 1–180 (1996).
54
Kallman T. R., Palmeri P., Bautista M. A., Mendoza C., Krolik J. H., Photoionization modeling and the K lines of iron. Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 155, 675–701 (2004).
55
Asplund M., Grevesse N., Sauval A. J., Scott P., The chemical composition of the Sun. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 47, 481–522 (2009).
56
Simpson C., Ward M., O’Brien P., Reeves J., Optical and infrared observations of the luminous quasar PDS 456: A radio-quiet analogue of 3C 273? Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 303, L23–L28 (1999).
57
Bentz M. C., Denney K. D., Grier C. J., Barth A. J., Peterson B. M., Vestergaard M., Bennert V. N., Canalizo G., De Rosa G., Filippenko A. V., Gates E. L., Greene J. E., Li W., Malkan M. A., Pogge R. W., Stern D., Treu T., Woo J.-H., The low-luminosity end of the radius-luminosity relationship for active galactic nuclei. Astrophys. J. 767, 149 (2013) .
58
Hopkins P. F., Hernquist L., Quasars are not light bulbs: Testing models of quasar lifetimes with the observed Eddington ratio distribution. Astrophys. J. 698, 1550–1569 (2009).
59
Sani E., Marconi A., Hunt L. K., Risaliti G., The Spitzer/IRAC view of black hole–bulge scaling relations. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 413, 1479–1494 (2011).
60
Beifiori A., Courteau S., Corsini E. M., Zhu Y., On the correlations between galaxy properties and supermassive black hole mass. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 419, 2497–2528 (2012).
61
Tremaine S., Gebhardt K., Bender R., Bower G., Dressler A., Faber S. M., Filippenko A. V., Green R., Grillmair C., Ho L. C., Kormendy J., Lauer T. R., Magorrian J., Pinkney J., Richstone D., The slope of the black hole mass versus velocity dispersion correlation. Astrophys. J. 574, 740–753 (2002).
62
Gültekin K., Richstone D. O., Gebhardt K., Lauer T. R., Tremaine S., Aller M. C., Bender R., Dressler A., Faber S. M., Filippenko A. V., Green R., Ho L. C., Kormendy J., Magorrian J., Pinkney J., Siopis C., The M–σ and M–L relations in galactic bulges, and determinations of their intrinsic scatter. Astrophys. J. 698, 198–221 (2009).
63
King A. R., Pounds K. A., Black hole winds. Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 345, 657–659 (2003).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Science
Volume 347 | Issue 6224
20 February 2015
20 February 2015
Copyright
Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 25 July 2014
Accepted: 20 January 2015
Published in print: 20 February 2015
Acknowledgments
This research was supported under the U.K. Science and Technology Facilities Council grant ST/J001384/1 and is based on x-ray observations obtained with the XMM-Newton and NuSTAR satellites. XMM-Newton is a European Space Agency (ESA) science mission with instruments and contributions directly funded by ESA member states and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The NuSTAR mission is a project led by the California Institute of Technology, managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and funded by NASA. We thank the NuSTAR Operations, Software, and Calibration teams for support with execution and analysis of these observations. We also acknowledge financial support from the Italian Space Agency under grant ASI-INAF I/037/12/0 (G.R. and G.M.); the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics under grant PRIN-INAF 2012 (G.R.); the I-CORE program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee, the Israel Science Foundation under grants 1937/12 and 1163/10, Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology (E.B.); and NASA under grants NNX11AJ57G and NNG08FD60C (T.J.T.). The data are stored in the science archives of the two x-ray observatories involved and will become publicly available on 25 March 2015 (XMM-Newton) and with the upcoming DR6 data release (NuSTAR).
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Article Usage
Altmetrics
Citations
Export citation
Select the format you want to export the citation of this publication.
View Options
Get Access
Log in to view the full text
AAAS login provides access to Science for AAAS Members, and access to other journals in the Science family to users who have purchased individual subscriptions.
- Become a AAAS Member
- Activate your AAAS ID
- Purchase Access to Other Journals in the Science Family
- Account Help
Log in via OpenAthens.
Log in via Shibboleth.
More options
Register for free to read this article
As a service to the community, this article is available for free. Login or register for free to read this article.
Buy a single issue of Science for just $15 USD.
View options
PDF format
Download this article as a PDF file
Download PDF