Large-scale dual AGN in large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulations

TL;DR

This study analyzes the abundance and properties of dual active galactic nuclei (DAGN) in nine large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulations, highlighting their evolution, detectability, and potential as gravitational wave sources.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive analysis of DAGN abundance and characteristics across multiple simulations, linking them to observational prospects and gravitational wave detection.

Findings

DAGN number density varies from 1e-8 to 1e-3 Mpc^-3 across redshifts.

Peak DAGN activity occurs at redshifts 1-3, before cosmic star formation peaks.

Simulations may underestimate DAGN at z=0 compared to observations.

Abstract

Detecting dual active galactic nuclei (DAGN) in observations and understanding theoretically which massive black holes (MBHs) compose them and in which galactic and large-scale environment they reside are becoming increasingly important questions as we enter the multi-messenger era of MBH astronomy. This paper presents the abundance and properties of DAGN produced in nine large-scale cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. We focus on DAGN powered by AGN with Lbol > 1e43 erg/s and belonging to distinct galaxies, i.e. pairs that can be characterised with current and near-future electromagnetic observations. We find that the number density of DAGN separated by a few to 30 proper kpc varies from 1e-8 (or none) to 1e-3 comoving Mpc^3 in the redshift range z=0-7. At a given redshift, the densities of the DAGN numbers vary by up to two orders of magnitude from one simulation to another. However, for all simulations, the DAGN peak is in the range z=1-3, right before the peak of cosmic star formation or cosmic AGN activity. The corresponding fractions of DAGN (with respect to the total number of AGN) range from 0 to 6 percent. We find that simulations could produce too few DAGN at z=0 (or merge pairs too quickly) compared to current observational constraints while being consistent with preliminary constraints at high redshift (z = 3). Next-generation observatories (e.g., AXIS) will be of paramount importance to detect DAGN across cosmic times. We predict the detectability of DAGN with future X-ray telescopes and discuss DAGN as progenitors for future LISA gravitational wave detections.