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At least 577 records · Page 32
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Plateau de Bure High-z Blue Sequence Survey 2 (PHIBSS2): Search for Secondary Sources, CO Luminosity Functions in the Field, and the Evolution of Molecular Gas Density through Cosmic Time

We report on the results of a search for serendipitous sources in CO emission in 110 cubes targeting CO(2 − 1), CO(3 − 2), and CO(6 − 5) at z ∼ 1–2 from the second Plateau de Bure High-z Blue Sequence Survey (PHIBSS2). The PHIBSS2 observations were part of a 4 yr legacy program at the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer aimed at studying early galaxy evolution from the perspective of molecular gas reservoirs. We present a catalog of 67 candidate secondary sources from this search, with 45 of the 110 data cubes showing sources in addition to the primary target that appear to be field detections, unrelated to the central sources. This catalog includes redshifts, line widths, and fluxes, as well as an estimation of their reliability based on their false-positive probability. We perform a search in the 3D Hubble Space Telescope/CANDELS catalogs for the secondary CO detections and tentatively find that ∼64% of these have optical counterparts, which we use to constrain their redshifts. Finally, we use our catalog of candidate CO detections to derive the CO(2 − 1), CO(3 − 2), CO(4 − 3), CO(5 − 4), and CO(6 − 5) luminosity functions over a range of redshifts, as well as the molecular gas mass density evolution. Despite the different methodology, these results are in very good agreement with previous observational constraints derived from blind searches in deep fields. They provide an example of the type of “deep-field” science that can be carried out with targeted observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Effective Opacity of the Intergalactic Medium from Galaxy Spectra Analysis

We measure the effective opacity (τ{sub eff}) of the intergalactic medium from the composite spectra of 281 Lyman-break galaxies in the redshift range 2 ≲ z ≲ 3. Our spectra are taken from the COSMOS Lyα Mapping And Tomographic Observations survey derived from the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer on the W.M. Keck I telescope. We generate composite spectra in two redshift intervals and fit them with spectral energy distribution (SED) models composed of simple stellar populations. Extrapolating these SED models into the Lyα forest, we measure the effective Lyα opacity (τ{sub eff}) in the 2.02 ≤ z ≤ 2.44 range. At z = 2.22, we estimate τ{sub eff} =0.159±0.001 from a power-law fit to the data. These measurements are consistent with estimates from quasar analyses at z < 2.5 indicating that the systematic errors associated with normalizing quasar continua are not substantial. We provide a Gaussian processes model of our results and previous τ{sub eff} measurements that describes the steep redshift evolution in τ{sub eff} from z = 1.5–4.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Galaxy and Mass Assembly: A Comparison between Galaxy–Galaxy Lens Searches in KiDS/GAMA

Strong gravitational lenses are a rare and instructive type of astronomical object. Identification has long relied on serendipity, but different strategies—such as mixed spectroscopy of multiple galaxies along the line of sight, machine-learning algorithms, and citizen science—have been employed to identify these objects as new imaging surveys become available. We report on the comparison between spectroscopic, machine-learning, and citizen-science identification of galaxy–galaxy lens candidates from independently constructed lens catalogs in the common survey area of the equatorial fields of the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey. In these, we have the opportunity to compare high completeness spectroscopic identifications against high-fidelity imaging from the Kilo Degree Survey used for both machine-learning and citizen-science lens searches. We find that the three methods—spectroscopy, machine learning, and citizen science—identify 47, 47, and 13 candidates, respectively, in the 180 square degrees surveyed. These identifications barely overlap, with only two identified by both citizen science and machine learning. We have traced this discrepancy to inherent differences in the selection functions of each of the three methods, either within their parent samples (i.e., citizen science focuses on low redshift) or inherent to the method (i.e., machine learning is limited by its training sample and prefers well-separated features, while spectroscopy requires sufficient flux from lensed features to lie within the fiber). These differences manifest as separate samples in estimated Einstein radius, lens stellar mass, and lens redshift. The combined sample implies a lens candidate sky density of ∼0.59 deg{sup −2} and can inform the construction of a training set spanning a wider mass–redshift space. A combined approach and refinement of automated searches would result in a more complete sample of galaxy–galaxy lens candidates for future surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Hα Dots Survey. II. A Second List of Faint Emission-line Objects

We present the second catalog of serendipitously discovered compact extragalactic emission-line sources—Hα Dots. These objects have been discovered in searches of moderately deep narrow-band images acquired for the ALFALFA Hα project. In addition to cataloging 119 new Hα Dots, we also present follow-up spectral data for the full sample. These spectra allow us to confirm the nature of these objects as true extragalactic emission-line objects, to classify them in terms of activity type (star-forming or AGN), and to identify the emission line via which they were discovered. We tabulate photometric and spectroscopic data for the all objects, and we present an overview of the properties of the full Hα Dot sample. The Hα Dots represent a broad range of star-forming and active galaxies detected via several different emission lines over a wide range of redshifts. The sample includes Hα-detected blue compact dwarf galaxies at low redshift, [O iii]-detected Seyfert 2 and Green Pea-like galaxies at intermediate redshifts, and QSOs detected via one of several UV emission lines, including Lyα. Despite the heterogeneous appearance of the resulting catalog of objects, we show that our selection method leads to well-defined samples of specific classes of emission-line objects with properties that allow for statistical studies of each class.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Resolving the Radio Emission from the Quasar P172+18 at z = 6.82

We present high angular resolution imaging of the quasar PSO J172.3556+18.7734 at z = 6.82 with the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA). This source currently holds the record of being the highest redshift radio-loud quasar. These observations reveal a dominant radio source with a flux density of 398.4 ± 61.4 μJy at 1.53 GHz, a deconvolved size of 9.9 × 3.5 mas (52.5 × 18.6 pc), and an intrinsic brightness temperature of (4.7 ± 0.7) × 10{sup 7} K. A weak unresolved radio extension from the main source is also detected at the ∼3.1σ level. The total flux density recovered with the VLBA at 1.53 GHz is consistent with that measured with the Very Large Array (VLA) at a similar frequency. The quasar is not detected at 4.67 GHz with the VLBA, suggesting a steep spectral index with a limit of α{sub 4.67}{sup 1.53}<−1.55. The quasar is also not detected with the VLBA at 7.67 GHz. The overall characteristics of the quasar suggest that it is a very young radio source similar to lower redshift gigahertz peaked spectrum radio sources, with an estimated kinematic age of ∼10{sup 3} yr. The VLA observations of this quasar revealed a second radio source in the field 23.″1 away. This radio source, which does not have an optical or IR counterpart, is not detected with the VLBA at any of the observed frequencies. Its nondetection at the lowest observed VLBA frequency suggests that it is resolved out, implying a size larger than ∼0.″17. It is thus likely situated at lower redshift than the quasar.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optical Variability of ICRF3 Quasars in the Pan-STARRS 3Pi Survey with Functional Principal Component Analysis

We make use of individual (epoch) detection data from the Pan-STARRS “3π” survey for 2863 optical ICRF3 counterparts in the five wavelength bands g, r, i, z, and y, published as part of the Data Release 2. A dedicated method based on the Functional Principal Component Analysis is developed for these sparse and irregularly sampled data. With certain regularization and normalization constraints, it allows us to obtain uniform and compatible estimates of the variability amplitudes and average magnitudes between the passbands and objects. We find that the starting assumption of affinity of the light curves for a given object at different wavelengths is violated for several percent of the sample. The distributions of rms variability amplitudes are strongly skewed toward small values, peaking at ∼0.1 mag with tails stretching to 2 mag. Statistically, the lowest variability is found for the r band and the largest for the reddest y band. A small “brighter-redder” effect is present, with amplitudes in y greater than amplitudes in g in 57% of the sample. The variability versus redshift dependence shows a strong decline with z toward redshift 3, which we interpret as the time dilation of the dominant time frequencies. The colors of radio-loud ICRF3 quasars are correlated with redshift in a complicated, wavy pattern governed by the emergence of brightest emission lines within the five passbands.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Overview of the Instrumentation for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

Abstract The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) embarked on an ambitious 5 yr survey in 2021 May to explore the nature of dark energy with spectroscopic measurements of 40 million galaxies and quasars. DESI will determine precise redshifts and employ the baryon acoustic oscillation method to measure distances from the nearby universe to beyond redshift z > 3.5, and employ redshift space distortions to measure the growth of structure and probe potential modifications to general relativity. We describe the significant instrumentation we developed to conduct the DESI survey. This includes: a wide-field, 3.°2 diameter prime-focus corrector; a focal plane system with 5020 fiber positioners on the 0.812 m diameter, aspheric focal surface; 10 continuous, high-efficiency fiber cable bundles that connect the focal plane to the spectrographs; and 10 identical spectrographs. Each spectrograph employs a pair of dichroics to split the light into three channels that together record the light from 360–980 nm with a spectral resolution that ranges from 2000–5000. We describe the science requirements, their connection to the technical requirements, the management of the project, and interfaces between subsystems. DESI was installed at the 4 m Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory and has achieved all of its performance goals. Some performance highlights include an rms positioner accuracy of better than 0.″1 and a median signal-to-noise ratio of 7 of the [O ii ] doublet at 8 × 10 −17 erg s −1 cm −2 in 1000 s for galaxies at z = 1.4–1.6. We conclude with additional highlights from the on-sky validation and commissioning, key successes, and lessons learned.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

The DESI Survey Validation: Results from Visual Inspection of the Quasar Survey Spectra

Abstract A key component of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey validation (SV) is a detailed visual inspection (VI) of the optical spectroscopic data to quantify key survey metrics. In this paper we present results from VI of the quasar survey using deep coadded SV spectra. We show that the majority (≈70%) of the main-survey targets are spectroscopically confirmed as quasars, with ≈16% galaxies, ≈6% stars, and ≈8% low-quality spectra lacking reliable features. A nonnegligible fraction of the quasars are misidentified by the standard spectroscopic pipeline, but we show that the majority can be recovered using post-pipeline “afterburner” quasar-identification approaches. We combine these “afterburners” with our standard pipeline to create a modified pipeline to increase the overall quasar yield. At the depth of the main DESI survey, both pipelines achieve a good-redshift purity (reliable redshifts measured within 3000 km s −1 ) of ≈99%; however, the modified pipeline recovers ≈94% of the visually inspected quasars, as compared to ≈86% from the standard pipeline. We demonstrate that both pipelines achieve a median redshift precision and accuracy of ≈100 km s −1 and ≈70 km s −1 , respectively. We constructed composite spectra to investigate why some quasars are missed by the standard pipeline and find that they are more host-galaxy dominated (i.e., distant analogs of “Seyfert galaxies”) and/or more dust reddened than the standard-pipeline quasars. We also show example spectra to demonstrate the overall diversity of the DESI quasar sample and provide strong-lensing candidates where two targets contribute to a single spectrum.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Data Release 1 of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument

In 2021 May the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) collaboration began a 5 yr spectroscopic redshift survey to produce a detailed map of the evolving three-dimensional structure of the Universe between z = 0 and z ≈ 4. DESI’s principal scientific objectives are to place precise constraints on the equation of state of dark energy, the gravitationally driven growth of large-scale structure, and the sum of the neutrino masses, and to explore the observational signatures of primordial inflation. We present DESI DR1, which consists of all data acquired during the first 13 months of the DESI main survey, as well as a uniform reprocessing of the DESI Survey Validation data, which were previously made public in the DESI Early Data Release. The DR1 main survey includes high-confidence redshifts for 18.7M objects, of which 13.1M are spectroscopically classified as galaxies, 1.6M as quasars, and 4M as stars, making DR1 the largest sample of extragalactic redshifts ever assembled. We summarize the DR1 observations, the spectroscopic data-reduction pipeline and data products, large-scale structure catalogs, value-added catalogs, and describe how to access and interact with the data. In addition to fulfilling its core cosmological objectives with unprecedented precision, we expect DR1 to enable a wide range of transformational astrophysical studies and discoveries.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Extremely Metal-poor Galaxies in DESI DR1: Connections to Galaxies in the Early Universe

Extremely metal-poor galaxies (XMPGs), defined as having metallicities below 10% of the solar value, are considered possible local analogs to primordial systems and offer a unique window into early galaxy evolution. This study presents a large-scale search for XMPGs using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument Data Release 1, systematically evaluating their resemblance to high-redshift galaxies. From a parent sample of more than 14 million galaxies, we identify 662 (556 new) confirmed XMPGs and 763 (666 new) high-quality candidates via the direct T$_{e}$ method. Our results reveal that XMPGs follow a distinct star-forming main sequence (SFMS) that is elevated and shallower than that of the comparing star-forming galaxies. Notably, at higher stellar masses (M$_{⋆}$ > 10$^{7.5}$M$_{⊙}$), the XMPG SFMS converges with the sequence observed in high-redshift galaxies by the James Webb Space Telescope, indicating that mature XMPGs sustain star formation rates comparable to their primordial counterparts. Furthermore, XMPGs consistently deviate below the local fundamental metallicity relation, mirroring high-redshift galaxy behavior. These findings demonstrate that XMPGs not only exhibit low metallicities but also preserve scaling relations characteristic of the early Universe, confirming their potential value as local laboratories for studying early galaxy formation processes.

Sui, Jipeng [Beijing Observ.; Beijing, GUCAS] (ORC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Angular Correlation Function Estimators Accounting for Contamination from Probabilistic Distance Measurements

With the advent of surveys containing millions to billions of galaxies, it is imperative to develop analysis techniques that utilize the available statistical power. In galaxy clustering, even small sample contamination arising from distance uncertainties can lead to large artifacts, which the standard estimator for two-point correlation functions does not account for. We first introduce a formalism, termed decontamination, that corrects for sample contamination by utilizing the observed cross-correlations in the contaminated samples; this corrects any correlation function estimator for contamination. Using this formalism, we present a new estimator that uses the standard estimator to measure correlation functions in the contaminated samples but then corrects for contamination. We also introduce a weighted estimator that assigns each galaxy a weight in each redshift bin based on its probability of being in that bin. We demonstrate that these estimators effectively recover the true correlation functions and their covariance matrices. Our estimators can correct for sample contamination caused by misclassification between object types as well as photometric redshifts; they should be particularly helpful for studies of galaxy evolution and baryonic acoustic oscillations, where forward modeling the clustering signal using the contaminated redshift distribution is undesirable.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Measurements of Effective Optical Depth in the Lyα Forest from the BOSS DR12 Quasar Sample

We measure the effective optical depth in the Lyα forest using 40,035 quasar spectra from the Twelfth Data Release (DR12) of the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV. A rigorous selection based on spectral index and the equivalent width of the C iv emission line is applied to choose seven uniform samples with minimal intrinsic variations across redshifts. Modeling the redshift evolution of the effective optical depth with a power law, ${\tau }_{\mathrm{eff}}={\tau }_{0}{(1+z)}^{\gamma },$ produces ${\tau }_{0}=(5.54\pm 0.64)\times {10}^{-3}$ and $\gamma =3.182\pm 0.074$. The 2.2% precision estimate on γ is dominated by systematic errors, likely arising from the bias and uncertainties in spectral index estimates. Even after incorporating the systematic errors, this work provides the most precise estimates of optical depth parameters to date. Finally, using the reconstructed Lyα forest continuum to directly measure the transmitted flux ratio as a function of redshift, we find deviations of less than 2.5% from the predictions from the global model and no convincing evidence for signal associated with He ii reionization.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cosmic Reionization On Computers: The Galaxy-Halo Connection between $5 \leq z \leq10$

We explore the connection between the stellar component of galaxies and their host halos during the epoch of reionization (5 ≤ z ≤ 10) using the CROC (Cosmic Reionization on Computers) simulations. We compare simulated galaxies with observations and find that CROC underpredicts the abundance of luminous galaxies when compared to observed UV luminosity functions, and analogously the most massive galaxies when compared to observed stellar mass functions. We can trace the deficit of star formation to high redshifts, where the slope of the star formation rate to stellar mass relation is consistent with observations, but the normalization is systematically low. This results in a star formation rate density and stellar mass density that are systematically offset from observations. However, the less luminous or lower stellar mass objects have luminosities and stellar masses that agree fairly well with observational data. We explore the stellar-to-halo mass ratio (SHMR), a key quantity that is difficult to measure at high redshifts and that models do not consistently predict. In CROC, the SHMR decreases with redshift, a trend opposite to some abundance-matching studies. These discrepancies uncover where future effort should be focused in order to improve the fidelity of modeling cosmic reionization. We also compare the CROC galaxy bias with observational measurements using Lyman-break galaxy samples, finding reasonable consistency.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Core Mass Estimates in Strong Lensing Galaxy Clusters Using a Single-halo Lens Model

The core mass of galaxy clusters is an important probe of structure formation. Here we evaluate the use of a single-halo model (SHM) as an efficient method to estimate the strong lensing cluster core mass, testing it with ray-traced images from the Outer Rim simulation. Unlike detailed lens models, the SHM represents the cluster mass distribution with a single halo and can be automatically generated from the measured lensing constraints. In this work we find that the projected core mass estimated with this method, $M_{\text{SHM}}$, has a scatter of 8.52% and a bias of 0.90% compared to the "true" mass within the same aperture. Our analysis shows no systematic correlation between the scatter or bias and the lens-source system properties. The bias and scatter can be reduced to 3.26% and 0.34%, respectively, by excluding models that fail a visual inspection test. We find that the SHM success depends on the lensing geometry, with single giant arc configurations accounting for most of the failed cases due to their limiting constraining power. When excluding such cases, we measure a scatter and bias of 3.88% and 0.84%, respectively. Finally, we find that when the source redshift is unknown, the model-predicted redshifts are overestimated, and the $M_{\text{SHM}}$ is underestimated by a few percent, highlighting the importance of securing spectroscopic redshifts of background sources. Our analysis provides a quantitative characterization of $M_{\text{SHM}}$, enabling its efficient use as a tool to estimate the strong lensing cluster core masses in the large samples, expected from current and future surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Identifying Circumgalactic Medium Absorption in QSO Spectra: A Bayesian Approach

We present a study of candidate galaxy–absorber pairs for 43 low-redshift QSO sightlines (0.06 < z < 0.85) observed with the Hubble Space Telescope/Cosmic Origins Spectrograph that lie within the footprint of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with a statistical approach to match absorbers with galaxies near the QSO lines of sight using only the SDSS Data Release 12 photometric data for the galaxies, including estimates of their redshifts. Our Bayesian methods combine the SDSS photometric information with measured properties of the circumgalactic medium to find the most probable galaxy match, if any, for each absorber in the line-of-sight QSO spectrum. We find ~630 candidate galaxy–absorber pairs using two different statistics. The methods are able to reproduce pairs reported in the targeted spectroscopic studies upon which we base the statistics at a rate of 72%. The properties of the galaxies comprising the candidate pairs have median redshift, luminosity, and stellar mass, all estimated from the photometric data, $z$ = 0.13, L = 0.1$L$ * , and $\mathrm{log}({M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot })=9.7$. The median impact parameter of the candidate pairs is ~430 kpc, or ~3.5 times the galaxy virial radius. The results are broadly consistent with the high Ly$α$ covering fraction out to this radius found in previous studies. In conclusion, this method of matching absorbers and galaxies can be used to prioritize targets for spectroscopic studies, and we present specific examples of promising systems for such follow-up.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Pantheon+ Analysis: Evaluating Peculiar Velocity Corrections in Cosmological Analyses with Nearby Type Ia Supernovae

Separating the components of redshift due to expansion and peculiar motion in the nearby universe (z < 0.1) is critical for using Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) to measure the Hubble constant (H 0 ) and the equation-of-state parameter of dark energy (w). Here, we study the two dominant "motions" contributing to nearby peculiar velocities: large-scale, coherent-flow (CF) motions and small-scale motions due to gravitationally associated galaxies deemed to be in a galaxy group. We use a set of 584 low-z SNe from the Pantheon+ sample, and evaluate the efficacy of corrections to these motions by measuring the improvement of SN distance residuals. We study multiple methods for modeling the large and small-scale motions and show that, while group assignments and CF corrections individually contribute to small improvements in Hubble residual scatter, the greatest improvement comes from the combination of the two (relative standard deviation of the Hubble residuals, Rel. SD, improves from 0.167 to 0.157 mag). We find the optimal flow corrections derived from various local density maps significantly reduce Hubble residuals while raising H 0 by ~0.4 km s -1 Mpc -1 as compared to using CMB redshifts, disfavoring the hypothesis that unrecognized local structure could resolve the Hubble tension. We estimate that the systematic uncertainties in cosmological parameters after optimally correcting redshifts are 0.06–0.11 km s -1 Mpc -1 in H 0 and 0.02–0.03 in w which are smaller than the statistical uncertainties for these measurements: 1.5 km s -1 Mpc -1 for H 0 and 0.04 for w.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Compact Structures of Massive z ~ 0.7 Post-starburst Galaxies in the ${\bf{SQuIGG}}\vec{{\boldsymbol{L}}}{\bf{E}}$ Sample

We present structural measurements of 145 spectroscopically selected intermediate-redshift (z ~ 0.7), massive (M $\star$ ~ 10 11 M ⊙ ) post-starburst galaxies from the ${\bf{SQuIGG}}\vec{{\boldsymbol{L}}}{\bf{E}}$ sample measured using wide-depth Hyper Suprime-Cam i-band imaging. This deep imaging allows us to probe the sizes and structures of these galaxies, which we compare to a control sample of star-forming and quiescent galaxies drawn from the LEGA-C Survey. We find that post-starburst galaxies systematically lie ~0.1 dex below the quiescent mass–size (half-light radius) relation, with a scatter of ~0.2 dex. This finding is bolstered by nonparametric measures, such as the Gini coefficient and the concentration, which also reveal these galaxies to have more compact light profiles than both quiescent and star-forming populations at similar mass and redshift. The sizes of post-starburst galaxies show either negative or no correlation with the time since quenching, such that more recently quenched galaxies are larger or similarly sized. This empirical finding disfavors the formation of post-starburst galaxies via a purely central burst of star formation that simultaneously shrinks the galaxy and shuts off star formation. We show that the central densities of post-starburst and quiescent galaxies at this epoch are very similar, in contrast with their effective radii. The structural properties of z ~ 0.7 post-starburst galaxies match those of quiescent galaxies that formed in the early universe, suggesting that rapid quenching in the present epoch is driven by a similar mechanism to the one at high redshift.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Simple Condition for Sustained Super-Eddington Black Hole Growth

One of the most pressing questions in cosmology is how the black holes (BHs) powering quasars at high redshift grow to supermassive scales within a billion years of the Big Bang. Here we show that sustained super-Eddington accretion can be achieved for BHs with Eddington fractions f Edd ≳ 2/ϵ, where ϵ is the efficiency with which radiation is generated in the accretion process. In this regime, the radiation carries too little momentum to halt the accretion flow and the infalling gas traps the radiation. The BH growth then proceeds unimpeded until the gas supply is exhausted, in contrast to accretion at lower rates, which is limited by the radiation generated in the accretion process. The large gas supply available in massive high-redshift quasar host galaxies may be readily accreted onto seed BHs via this supply-limited mode of accretion, providing an explanation for how such supermassive BHs are assembled in the early universe. This sustained super-Eddington growth may also explain the short lifetimes inferred for the H ii regions surrounding high-redshift quasars, if the bulk of the BH growth occurs without the associated radiation escaping to ionize the intergalactic medium. It furthermore implies that a population of obscured rapidly growing BHs may be difficult to detect, perhaps explaining why so few quasars with Eddington fractions higher than a few have been observed. Finally, this simple condition for sustained super-Eddington growth can easily be implemented in cosmological simulations that can be used to assess in which environments it occurs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗