pith. sign in

Active galactic nuclei flicker: an observational estimate of the duration of black hole growth phases of ~1e5 years

4 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.

4 Pith papers citing it
abstract

We present an observational constraint for the typical active galactic nucleus (AGN) phase lifetime. The argument is based on the time lag between an AGN central engine switching on and becoming visible in X-rays, and the time the AGN then requires to photoionize a large fraction of the host galaxy. Based on the typical light travel time across massive galaxies, and the observed fraction of X-ray selected AGN without AGN-photoionized narrow lines, we estimate that the AGN phase typically lasts $\sim10^{5}$ years. This lifetime is short compared to the total growth time of $10^{7}-10^{9}$ years estimated from e.g. the Soltan argument and implies that black holes grow via many such short bursts and that AGN therefore "flicker" on and off. We discuss some consequences of this flickering behavior for AGN feedback and the analogy of X-ray binaries and AGN lifecycles.

citation-role summary

background 1

citation-polarity summary

years

2026 4

verdicts

UNVERDICTED 4

roles

background 1

polarities

background 1

representative citing papers

Accretion of Primordial Black Holes in Stellar Interiors

astro-ph.HE · 2026-06-01 · unverdicted · novelty 7.0

Self-consistent spherical accretion simulations show cooling-enhanced growth of PBHs with radiative efficiency ~10^{-2} in the bremsstrahlung regime, yielding a critical seed mass of ~10^{-16} M_sun to consume a solar-mass star in a Hubble time.

AGN Feeding & Feedback Over the Galactic Scales

astro-ph.GA · 2026-06-30 · unverdicted · novelty 2.0

SKAO will trace synchrotron jets, thermal emission, and low-column-density HI gas in nearby AGN to characterize duty cycles and multi-phase feeding/feedback linked to star formation.

Unification models of Active Galactic Nuclei

astro-ph.GA · 2026-06-10 · unverdicted · novelty 0.0

Overview chapter summarizing traditional orientation-based and radiation-regulated unification models for AGN, including evolutionary aspects and changing-look AGN.

citing papers explorer

Showing 4 of 4 citing papers.

  • Accretion of Primordial Black Holes in Stellar Interiors astro-ph.HE · 2026-06-01 · unverdicted · none · ref 139 · internal anchor

    Self-consistent spherical accretion simulations show cooling-enhanced growth of PBHs with radiative efficiency ~10^{-2} in the bremsstrahlung regime, yielding a critical seed mass of ~10^{-16} M_sun to consume a solar-mass star in a Hubble time.

  • Nuclear Activity and Host Galaxy Properties of Low-Luminosity AGN Identified from VLA Observations astro-ph.GA · 2026-05-18 · unverdicted · none · ref 169 · internal anchor

    VLA radio-selected LLAGN show 84% optical, 63% X-ray, and 13% infrared detection rates, with black holes ~0.7 dex smaller, accretion rates ~4.2 dex lower, and host galaxies ~0.3 dex lower in stellar mass with ~0.5 dex suppressed star formation than Swift-BAT AGN.

  • AGN Feeding & Feedback Over the Galactic Scales astro-ph.GA · 2026-06-30 · unverdicted · none · ref 11 · internal anchor

    SKAO will trace synchrotron jets, thermal emission, and low-column-density HI gas in nearby AGN to characterize duty cycles and multi-phase feeding/feedback linked to star formation.

  • Unification models of Active Galactic Nuclei astro-ph.GA · 2026-06-10 · unverdicted · none · ref 186 · internal anchor

    Overview chapter summarizing traditional orientation-based and radiation-regulated unification models for AGN, including evolutionary aspects and changing-look AGN.