Supermassive black holes in merger-free galaxies have higher spins which are preferentially aligned with their host galaxy

Beckmann, R S and Smethurst, R J and Simmons, B D and Coil, A and Dubois, Y and Garland, I L and Lintott, C J and Martin, G and Peirani, S and Pichon, C (2023) Supermassive black holes in merger-free galaxies have higher spins which are preferentially aligned with their host galaxy. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. ISSN 0035-8711

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Abstract

Here we use the Horizon-AGN simulation to test whether the spins of SMBHs in merger-free galaxies are higher. We select samples using an observationally motivated bulge-to-total mass ratio of <0.1, along with two simulation-motivated thresholds selecting galaxies which have not undergone a galaxy merger since z = 2, and those SMBHs with $<10~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ of their mass due to SMBH mergers. We find higher spins (>5σ) in all three samples compared to the rest of the population. In addition, we find that SMBHs with their growth dominated by BH mergers following galaxy mergers, are less likely to be aligned with their galaxy spin than those that have grown through accretion in the absence of galaxy mergers (3.4σ). We discuss the implications this has for the impact of active galactic nuclei (AGN) feedback, finding that merger-free SMBHs spend on average 91 % of their lifetimes since z = 2 in a radio mode of feedback (88 % for merger-dominated galaxies). Given that previous observational and theoretical works have concluded that merger-free processes dominate SMBH-galaxy co-evolution, our results suggest that this co-evolution could be regulated by radio mode AGN feedback.