The SOUX AGN sample: Optical/UV/X-ray SEDs and the nature of the disc

TL;DR

This study analyzes the optical, UV, and X-ray spectral energy distributions of approximately 700 AGN, comparing observations with a new AGN SED model, revealing discrepancies that challenge existing accretion disc theories.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive comparison between observed AGN SEDs and a new model, highlighting limitations of standard disc models and suggesting alternative accretion flow structures.

Findings

The new SED model fits well for certain black hole masses and luminosities.

Observed optical-UV spectra show little change across different black hole masses.

Standard high-spin disc models do not match the observed spectra.

Abstract

We use the SOUX sample of $\sim$700 AGN to form average optical-UV-X-rays SEDs on a 2D grid of $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$ and $L_{2500}$. We compare these with the predictions of a new AGN SED model, QSOSED, which includes prescriptions for both hot and warm Comptonisation regions as well as an outer standard disc. This predicts the overall SED fairly well for 7.5<log($M_{\mathrm{BH}}/M_{\mathrm{\odot}}$)<9.0 over a wide range in $L/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$, but at higher masses the outer disc spectra in the model are far too cool to match the data. We create optical-UV composites from the entire SDSS sample and use these to show that the mismatch is due to there being no significant change in spectral shape of the optical-UV continuum across several decades of $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$ at constant luminosity. We show for the first time that this cannot be matched by standard disc models with high black hole spin. These apparently fit, but are not self-consistent as they do not include the General Relativistic effects for the emission to reach the observer. At high spin, increased gravitational redshift compensates for almost all of the higher temperature emission from the smaller inner disc radii. The data do not match the predictions made by any current accretion flow model. Either the disc is completely covered by a warm Comptonisation layer whose properties change systematically with $L/L_{\mathrm{Edd}}$, or the accretion flow structure is fundamentally different to that of the standard disc models.