Simulating the growth of Intermediate Mass Black Holes

Abstract

Theoretical models predict that a population of Intermediate Mass Black Holes (IMBHs) of mass $M_{\bullet }\approx 10^{4-5}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ might form at high ($z>10$) redshift by different processes. Such objects would represent the seeds out of which $z>6$ Super-Massive Black Holes (SMBHs) grow. We numerically investigate the radiation-hydrodynamic evolution governing the growth of such seeds via accretion of primordial gas within their parent dark matter halo of virial temperature $T_{vir}\sim 10^4\mathrm{K}$. We find that the accretion onto a Direct Collapse Black Hole (DCBH) of initial mass $M_0=10^5{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$ occurs at an average rate ${\dot{M}}_{\bullet }\simeq 1.35{\dot{M}}_{Edd}\simeq 0.1{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }\mathrm{y}{\mathrm{r}}^{-1}$, is intermittent (duty-cycle $<50\%$) and lasts $\approx 142\mathrm{Myr}$; the system emits on average at super-Eddington luminosities, progressively becoming more luminous as the density of the inner mass shells, directly feeding the central object, increases. Finally, when $\approx 90\%$ of the gas mass has been accreted (in spite of an average super-Eddington emission) onto the black hole, whose final mass is $\sim 7\times 10^6{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$, the remaining gas is ejected from the halo due to a powerful radiation burst releasing a peak luminosity $L_{peak}\sim 3\times 10^{45}\mathrm{erg}{\mathrm{s}}^{-1}$. The IMBH is Compton-thick during most of the evolution, reaching a column density $N_H\sim 10^{25}\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$ in the late stages of the simulation. We briefly discuss the observational implications of the model.

Accepted for publication in MNRAS

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