No Evidence for a Significant Evolution of M • – M. Relation in Massive Galaxies up to z ∼ 4

Journal article

Over the past two decades, tight correlations between black hole masses (M•) and their host galaxy properties have been firmly established for massive galaxies (with stellar mass log(M*/M⊙)≳10 ) at low-z (z < 1), indicating coevolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies. However, the situation at high-z, especially beyond cosmic noon (z ≳ 2.5), is controversial. With a combination of JWST Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam)/wide field slitless spectroscopy (WFSS) from FRESCO, CONGRESS and deep multiband NIRCam/image data from JADES in the GOODS fields, we study the black-hole-to-galaxy mass relation at z ∼ 1–4. After identifying 18 broad-line active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at 1 < z < 4 (with 8 at z > 2.5) from the WFSS data, we measure their black hole masses based on broad near-infrared lines (Paα, Paβ, and He i λ10833 Å), and constrain their stellar masses from AGN-galaxy image decomposition or spectral energy distribution decomposition. Taking account of the observational biases, the intrinsic scatter of the M•−M* relation, and the errors in mass measurements, we find no significant difference in the M•/M* ratio for 2.5 < z < 4 compared to that at lower redshifts (1 < z < 2.5), suggesting no evolution of the M•−M* relation at log(M*/M⊙)≳10 up to z ∼ 4.

Authors: Sun, Y; Lyu, J; Rieke, GH; Ji, Z; Sun, F

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: American Astronomical Society
• Journal: The Astrophysical Journal
• Volume: 978
• Issue: 1
• Article number: 98
• Publication date: 2024-12-27
• Acceptance date: 2024-11-23
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad973b
• EISSN: 1538-4357
• ISSN: 0004-637X
• Language: English
• Keywords: Active galaxies; Galaxy evolution; Supermassive black holes; Active galactic nuclei