The Accretion Mode in Sub-Eddington Supermassive Black Holes: Getting into the Central Parsecs of Andromeda

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal 2023-08, Vol.953 (1), p.109
• Main Authors: Alig, C., Prieto, A., Blaña, M., Frischman, M., Metzl, C., Burkert, A., Zier, O., Streblyanska, A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Andromeda Galaxy; Astronomical simulations; Astrophysics; Black holes; Deposition; Dust; Evolution; Filaments; Hydrodynamical simulations; Initial conditions; Interstellar filaments; Interstellar medium; Luminosity; Supermassive black holes
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ace2c3

The inner kiloparsec regions surrounding sub-Eddington (luminosity less than 10 −3 in Eddington units, L Edd ) supermassive black holes (BHs) often show a characteristic network of dust filaments that terminate in a nuclear spiral in the central parsecs. Here we study the role and fate of these filaments in one of the least accreting BHs known, M31 (10 −7 L Edd ) using hydrodynamical simulations. The evolution of a streamer of gas particles moving under the barred potential of M31 is followed from kiloparsec distance to the central parsecs. After an exploratory study of initial conditions, a compelling fit to the observed dust/ionized gas morphologies and line-of-sight velocities in the inner hundreds of parsecs is produced. After several million years of streamer evolution, during which friction, thermal dissipation, and self-collisions have taken place, the gas settles into a disk tens of parsecs wide. This is fed by numerous filaments that arise from an outer circumnuclear ring and spiral toward the center. The final configuration is tightly constrained by a critical input mass in the streamer of several 10 3 M ☉ (at an injection rate of 10 −4 M ⊙ yr − 1 ); values above or below this lead to filament fragmentation or dispersion respectively, which are not observed. The creation of a hot gas atmosphere in the region of ∼10 6 K is key to the development of a nuclear spiral during the simulation. The final inflow rate at 1 pc from the center is ∼1.7 × 10 −7 M ☉ yr −1 , consistent with the quiescent state of the M31 BH.