The evolution of supermassive blackhole mass--bulge mass relation by a semi-analytic model, $\nu^2$GC

Abstract

We have investigated the redshift evolution of the relationship between supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass and host bulge mass using a semi-analytical galaxy formation model $\nu^2$GC. Our model reproduces the relation in the local universe well. We find that, at high redshift ($z \gtrsim 3$), two sequences appear in the SMBH mass--bulge mass plane. The emergence of these two sequences can be attributed to the primary triggers of the growth of the SMBHs and bulges: galaxy mergers and disc instabilities. The growth of SMBHs and bulges as a result of galaxy mergers is responsible for giving rise to the high-mass sequence, in which SMBHs are more massive for a given host bulge mass than in the low-mas sequence. Conversely, disc instabilities are accountable for the emergence of the low-mass sequence. At lower redshifts, galaxy mergers tend to become increasingly deficient in gas, resulting in a preferential increase of bulge mass without a corresponding growth in SMBH mass. This has the effect of causing galaxies in the upper sequence to shift towards the lower one on the SMBH mass-bulge mass plane. The galaxies that undergo dry mergers serve to bridge the gap between the two sequences, eventually leading to convergence into a single relation known in the local universe. Our results suggest that the observations of the SMBH mass-bulge mass relation in high redshifts can provide insight into their growth mechanisms.