The Impact of Seyfert Jets on Galaxy Evolution Across Major Scaling Relations

Abstract

We analyze a suite of high-resolution cosmological zoom-in simulations of jetted Seyfert galaxies over $z\leq10$ projected on the major scaling relations, comparing trajectories of `normal' versus jet-hosting galaxies. Models include thermal and mechanical jet feedback launched from supermassive black holes (SMBHs) seeded at $z\sim9.1$ and $z\sim3.7$ with $M_\bullet\sim10^6\,M_\odot$ in galaxies within dark matter halos of ${\rm log}\,M_{\rm halo}/M_\odot\sim11.8$ at $z=0$. A single parameter, the SMBH accretion efficiency, has been varied resulting in $L_{\rm jet}\sim10^{40-42}\,{\rm erg\,s^{-1}}$, and SMBH accretion rates range between $\sim 0.2-10^{-4}$ of the Eddington rate. We find that jet feedback (1) suppresses central star formation rates (SFRs), redistributes gas to larger radii, (2) generates long-lived expanding shocks that couple to the ISM and CGM, (3) reduces stellar mass ($M_*$), shifting galaxies toward lower central concentrations, and (4) alters host trajectories on the $M_{\rm halo}-M_*$, specific SFR$-M_*$, $M_\bullet-σ_{\rm bulge}$, Mass$-$Metallicity, Kennicutt-Schmidt, and baryonic Tully-Fisher relation planes. Specifically, we find that jetted Seyferts live longer in the green valley and more frequently move to the quenched region in comparison to the non-jetted galaxies. Despite producing only transient quenching, Seyfert jets cause persistent structural, kinematic and chemical signatures, including flatter rotation curves, elevated CGM metallicities, and reduced cold gas clumping. (5) Early SMBH seeding and stronger jets amplify these effects, yielding galaxies that lie systematically closer to some of the empirical relations, e.g., $M_{\rm halo}-M_*$, while showing offsets for others, e.g., Kennicutt-Schmidt, and demonstrating that low-luminosity Seyfert jets can exert a significant long-term influence on galaxy evolution.

Figures (12)

• Figure 1: Comparison of the galaxy radius evolution defined using 10% the halo virial radius, 0.1R$_{\rm vir}$ (bottom), versus the stellar half-mass radius, $R_{\rm 1/2}$ (top), for our eight EBH and LBH models. There are individual lines representing 0.1R$_{\rm vir}$ for each model, but they all sit together, as variations in R$_{\rm vir}$ are minimal between the models. Note that the final value of $0.1R_{\rm vir}$ is $\sim 10-20\times$ that of $R_{\rm 1/2}$.
• Figure 2: Evolutionary tracks of modeled galaxies on the $M_{\rm halo}-M_*$ plane. The $y$-axis shows $M_*-M_{\rm Behroozi}$ --- the median relation from behroozi19 has been subtracted from our stellar masses, and this has been normalized by the scatter band of $\sigma=\pm 0.5$ dex. This provides the distance of our galaxies from the median scaling relation as a function of $M_{\rm halo}$. The shaded region indicates the time interval of the last major merger, and the black arrows show the seeding times of the SMBHs for the late-seeded (LBH) and early-seeded (EBH) models. Note that the growth of $M_{\rm halo}$ is very similar for all eight models, as such the top x-axis showing redshift remains approximately accurate for all simulated halos.
• Figure 3: Evolutionary tracks of modeled galaxies on specific SFR --- $M_*$ plane, normalized by the star-forming galaxy main sequence fits derived in Popesso23. The colors indicate divisions between the star-forming (blue), green valley (green), and quiescent (red) regions. The left frame shows sSFR and $M_*$ inside $0.1R_{\rm vir}$ and the right represents both quantities inside $R_{1/2}$. The arrows show $z=2$ for each model, with the arrow color corresponding to the model marker color indicated in the legend. Note that the $\epsilon_{\rm 50,LBH}$ model within $R_{1/2}$ does not recover after the dip and stays below the Figure for the rest of the simulation.
• Figure 4: Evolutionary tracks of modeled galaxies on the $M_{\bullet}$ - $\sigma_{\rm bulge}$ plane. The solid red line displays the median relation fit from kormendy13, and the red shaded area shows 0.5 dex scatter. The arrows indicate $z=2$ for each model, with the arrow color corresponding to the model marker color in the legend. Evolution starts at the seeding time of the SMBHs: $z\sim 9.1$ for the EBH models and $z\sim 3.7$ for the LBH models.
• Figure 5: $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ vs $\Sigma_{\rm H_2}$ for all gas inside $0.1R_{\rm vir}$. $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}=A(\Sigma_{\rm H_2})^{n}$ with depletion times of $\tau_{\rm dep} = 2$ Gyr and slope $n=1$bigiel08leroy13 is given by dotted line, while $\tau_{\rm dep} = 0.5$ Gyr and $n=1.5$genzel15scoville17tacconi18 is given by the solid line. The color of the markers indicate time. The shaded regions represent $\pm$0.5 dex around the relations. There is a single data point for each 30 Myrs of evolution during $z=9-0$. The black arrows indicate $z=2$ and $z=1$.