Building robust AGN mock catalogs to unveil black hole evolution and for survey planning
Viola Allevato (1,2,3), Francesco Shankar (4), Christopher Marsden, (4), Uluk Rasulov (4), Akke Viitanen (3,6), Antonis Georgakakis (5), Andrea, Ferrara (1), Alexis Finoguenov (3) ((1) Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei, Cavalieri 7, I-56126 Pisa

TL;DR
This paper presents a robust semi-empirical methodology for creating realistic mock AGN catalogs from dark matter simulations, aiding in understanding black hole evolution and optimizing survey strategies.
Contribution
It introduces a step-by-step approach to constrain key AGN properties, reducing degeneracies and improving the utility of mock catalogs for survey planning and theoretical modeling.
Findings
AGN clustering tests constrain black hole-host galaxy relations
The methodology reduces degeneracies in AGN property distributions
Mock catalogs effectively guide survey design and theoretical models
Abstract
The statistical distributions of active galactic nuclei (AGN), i.e. accreting supermassive black holes (BHs), in mass, space and time, are controlled by a series of key properties, namely the BH-galaxy scaling relations, Eddington ratio distributions and fraction of active BHs (duty cycle). Shedding light on these properties yields strong constraints on the AGN triggering mechanisms whilst providing a clear baseline to create useful mock catalogues for the planning of large galaxy surveys. We here delineate a robust methodology to create mock AGN catalogs built on top of large N-body dark matter simulations via state-of-the-art semi-empirical models. We show that by using as independent tests the AGN clustering at fixed X-ray luminosity, galaxy stellar mass and BH mass, along with the fraction of AGN in groups and clusters, it is possible to significantly narrow down the choice in the…
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Taxonomy
TopicsGalaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena · Astronomy and Astrophysical Research · Statistics Education and Methodologies
