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arXiv · 2408.14297

X-ray AGN in Bo\"otes: The lack of growth of the most massive black holes since z=4

Paloma Guetzoyan·James Aird·Antonis Georgakakis·Alison L. Coil·Cassandra Barlow-Hall·Ryan C. Hickox·Amy L. Rankine·Bryan A. Terrazas
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Abstract

Supermassive Black Holes (BHs) are known to efficiently grow through gas accretion, but even sustained and intense mass build-up through this mechanism struggles to explain the assembly of the most massive BHs observed in the local Universe. Using the Chandra Deep-Wide Field Survey (CDFWS) in the Bo\"otes field, we measure BH--galaxy assembly in massive galaxies ($M_\star\gtrsim10^{10}\rm M_\odot$) through the AGN fraction and specific Black Hole accretion rate (sBHAR) distribution as a function of redshift and stellar mass. We determine stellar masses and star formation rates for a parent sample of optically selected galaxies as well as those with X-ray detections indicating the presence of an AGN through Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting. We derive a redshift-dependent mass completeness limit and extract X-ray information for every galaxy as to provide a comprehensive picture of the AGN population in massive galaxies. While X-ray AGN samples are dominated by moderately massive host galaxies of $M_{\star} \geqslant 10^{10}\rm M_{\odot}$, we do not find a strong stellar mass dependence in AGN fraction (to limits in sBHAR), indicating a bias towards massive galaxies in the observed samples. We derive BH-galaxy growth tracks over time, which reveal that while most BH mass has been accumulated since $z=4$ for lower mass BHs, the assembly of the most massive BHs is more complex, with little to no relative mass gain since $z=4$, implying that rapid and intense growth episodes prior to $z=4$ were necessary to form these massive BHs.

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Paloma Guetzoyan, James Aird, Antonis Georgakakis, Alison L. Coil, Cassandra Barlow-Hall, Ryan C. Hickox, Amy L. Rankine, Bryan A. Terrazas. 2024-08-26. X-ray AGN in Bo\"otes: The lack of growth of the most massive black holes since z=4. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras%2Fstae2564

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