Probing quasar lifetimes with proximate 21-centimetre absorption in the diffuse intergalactic medium at redshifts z ≥ 6

Šoltinský, Tomáš; Bolton, James S.; Molaro, Margherita; Hatch, Nina; Haehnelt, Martin G.; Keating, Laura C.; Kulkarni, Girish; Puchwein, Ewald

Abstract

Enhanced ionizing radiation in close proximity to redshift z ≳ 6 quasars creates short windows of intergalactic Ly α transmission blueward of the quasar Ly α emission lines. The majority of these Ly α near-zones are consistent with quasars that have optically/UV bright lifetimes of $t_{\rm Q}\sim 10^{5}\!-\!10^{7}\rm \, yr$. However, lifetimes as short as $t_{\rm Q}\lesssim 10^{4}\rm \, yr$ appear to be required by the smallest Ly α near-zones. These short lifetimes present an apparent challenge for the growth of $\sim 10^{9}\rm \, M_{\odot }$ black holes at z ≳ 6. Accretion over longer time-scales is only possible if black holes grow primarily in an obscured phase, or if the quasars are variable on time-scales comparable to the equilibriation time for ionized hydrogen. Distinguishing between very young quasars and older quasars that have experienced episodic accretion with Ly α absorption alone is challenging, however. We therefore predict the signature of proximate 21-cm absorption around z ≳ 6 radio-loud quasars. For modest pre-heating of intergalactic hydrogen by the X-ray background, where the spin temperature $T_{\rm S} \lesssim 10^{2}\rm \, K$ prior to any quasar heating, we find proximate 21-cm absorption should be observable in the spectra of radio-loud quasars. The extent of the proximate 21-cm absorption is sensitive to the integrated lifetime of the quasar. Evidence for proximate 21-cm absorption from the diffuse intergalactic medium within $2\!-\!3\rm \, pMpc$ of a (radio-loud) quasar would be consistent with a short quasar lifetime, $t_{\rm Q}\lesssim 10^{5}\rm \, yr$, and would provide a complementary constraint on models for high-redshift black hole growth.

Citation

Šoltinský, T., Bolton, J. S., Molaro, M., Hatch, N., Haehnelt, M. G., Keating, L. C., …Puchwein, E. (2023). Probing quasar lifetimes with proximate 21-centimetre absorption in the diffuse intergalactic medium at redshifts z ≥ 6. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 519(2), 3027-3045. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac3710

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 12, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Dec 19, 2022
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Deposit Date: Dec 27, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 6, 2023
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2966
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 519
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 3027-3045
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac3710
• Keywords: Space and Planetary Science, Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/15170021
• Publisher URL: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/519/2/3027/6939843