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| Paper: |
The Formation and Evolution of Supermassive Black Holes: IMBH Mass and Spin Functions |
| Monograph: |
10, HWO25 Proceedings Part I: Community Science Case Development Documents |
| Page: |
137 |
| Authors: |
Jenna M. Cann; Krista Lynne Smith; Francesca Civano; Satyapriya Das; Erin K. S. Hicks; Gagandeep Kaur; Stephanie LaMassa; Jeffrey D. McKaig; Missagh Mehdipour; Gopika SM |
| DOI: |
10.26624/FJDN3979 |
| Abstract: |
While there is evidence of supermassive black holes in the centers of potentially all massive galaxies,
their formation and early evolution remains a mystery. We have seen quasars powered by black holes of up
to a billion times the mass of the Sun when the Universe was less than a billion years old, and discoveries
with JWST continue to add more and more sources to this enigmatic population. This raises significant open
questions regarding the nature and early evolution of the supermassive black hole seeds that grew into this
population, however the study of these seeds at high redshift is currently observationally inaccessible due
limitations in sensitivity and resolution. In the local Universe, the study of a key population of intermediate
mass black holes (IMBHs) with masses from ∼100−10,000 M⊙ represents a potential observable proxy
to the high-redshift young galaxies, due to their relatively quiescent evolution since their formation. The
capabilities of HWO will enable us to statistically characterize the environments, mass and spin distributions,
and occupation fractions of local IMBHs for the first time. Here we identify the “big questions” regarding
supermassive black hole seed formation and early evolution that can be investigated with HWO, the key
instrument parameters that will uniquely enable these studies, and example HWO observational programs that
could begin to answer these questions.
This article is an adaptation of a science case document developed for
HWO’s AGN Steering Committee. |
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