---
_id: '17642'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: The presence of quasars at redshifts z > 6 indicates the existence of supermassive
    black holes (SMBHs) as massive as a few times 10^9 Msun, challenging models for
    SMBH formation. One pathway is through the direct collapse of gas in T_{vir} >
    10^4 K halos; however, this requires the suppression of H_2 cooling to prevent
    fragmentation. In this paper, we examine a proposed new mechanism for this suppression
    which relies on cold-mode accretion flows leading to shocks at high densities
    (n > 10^4 cm^{-3}) and temperatures (T > 10^4 K). In such gas, H_2 is efficiently
    collisionally dissociated. We use high-resolution numerical simulations to test
    this idea, demonstrating that such halos typically have lower temperature progenitors,
    in which cooling is efficient. Those halos do show filamentary flows; however,
    the gas shocks at or near the virial radius (at low densities), thus preventing
    the proposed collisional mechanism from operating. We do find that, if we artificially
    suppress H_2 formation with a high UV background, so as to allow gas in the halo
    center to enter the high-temperature, high-density "zone of no return", it will
    remain there even if the UV flux is turned off, collapsing to high density at
    high temperature. Due to computational limitations, we simulated only three halos.
    However, we demonstrate, using Monte Carlo calculations of 10^6 halo merger histories,
    that a few rare halos could assemble rapidly enough to avoid efficient H_2 cooling
    in all of their progenitor halos, provided that the UV background exceeds J_{21}
    ~ few at redshifts as high as z ~ 20
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Ricardo
  full_name: Fernandez, Ricardo
  last_name: Fernandez
- first_name: Greg L.
  full_name: Bryan, Greg L.
  last_name: Bryan
- first_name: Zoltán
  full_name: Haiman, Zoltán
  id: 7c006e8c-cc0d-11ee-8322-cb904ef76f36
  last_name: Haiman
- first_name: Miao
  full_name: Li, Miao
  last_name: Li
citation:
  ama: 'Fernandez R, Bryan GL, Haiman Z, Li M. H2 suppression with shocking inflows:
    Testing a pathway for supermassive black hole formation. <i>Monthly Notices of
    the Royal Astronomical Society</i>. 2014;439(4):3798-3807. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230">10.1093/mnras/stu230</a>'
  apa: 'Fernandez, R., Bryan, G. L., Haiman, Z., &#38; Li, M. (2014). H2 suppression
    with shocking inflows: Testing a pathway for supermassive black hole formation.
    <i>Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</i>. Oxford University Press.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230">https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230</a>'
  chicago: 'Fernandez, Ricardo, Greg L. Bryan, Zoltán Haiman, and Miao Li. “H2 Suppression
    with Shocking Inflows: Testing a Pathway for Supermassive Black Hole Formation.”
    <i>Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</i>. Oxford University Press,
    2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230">https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230</a>.'
  ieee: 'R. Fernandez, G. L. Bryan, Z. Haiman, and M. Li, “H2 suppression with shocking
    inflows: Testing a pathway for supermassive black hole formation,” <i>Monthly
    Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society</i>, vol. 439, no. 4. Oxford University
    Press, pp. 3798–3807, 2014.'
  ista: 'Fernandez R, Bryan GL, Haiman Z, Li M. 2014. H2 suppression with shocking
    inflows: Testing a pathway for supermassive black hole formation. Monthly Notices
    of the Royal Astronomical Society. 439(4), 3798–3807.'
  mla: 'Fernandez, Ricardo, et al. “H2 Suppression with Shocking Inflows: Testing
    a Pathway for Supermassive Black Hole Formation.” <i>Monthly Notices of the Royal
    Astronomical Society</i>, vol. 439, no. 4, Oxford University Press, 2014, pp.
    3798–807, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230">10.1093/mnras/stu230</a>.'
  short: R. Fernandez, G.L. Bryan, Z. Haiman, M. Li, Monthly Notices of the Royal
    Astronomical Society 439 (2014) 3798–3807.
date_created: 2024-09-06T07:21:52Z
date_published: 2014-02-26T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2024-09-24T11:56:43Z
day: '26'
doi: 10.1093/mnras/stu230
extern: '1'
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230
intvolume: '       439'
issue: '4'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu230
month: '02'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 3798-3807
publication: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 1365-2966
  - 0035-8711
publication_status: published
publisher: Oxford University Press
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'H2 suppression with shocking inflows: Testing a pathway for supermassive black
  hole formation'
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 439
year: '2014'
...