1. RRI Digital Repository
  2. 04. Astronomy and Astrophysics
  3. Research Papers (A&A)
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2289/6445
Full metadata record
DC FieldValueLanguage
dc.contributor.authorDukstra, Mark-
dc.contributor.authorSethi, S.K.-
dc.contributor.authorLoeb, Abraham-
dc.date.accessioned2016-10-17T12:00:55Z-
dc.date.available2016-10-17T12:00:55Z-
dc.date.issued2016-03-20-
dc.identifier.citationAstrophysical Journal, 2016, Vol. 820, p10en_US
dc.identifier.issn0004-637X-
dc.identifier.issn1538-4357-(Online)-
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2289/6445-
dc.descriptionRestricted Access. An open-access version is available at arXiv.org (one of the alternative locations)en_US
dc.description.abstractThe direct collapse black hole (DCBH) scenario describes the isothermal collapse of a pristine gas cloud directly into a massive, ${M}_{\mathrm{BH}}\;=$ 104–106${M}_{\odot }$ black hole. In this paper we show that large H i column densities of primordial gas at $T\sim {10}^{4}$ K with low molecular abundance—which represent key aspects of the DCBH scenario—provide optimal conditions for the pumping of the 2p-level of atomic hydrogen by trapped Lyα photons. This Lyα pumping mechanism gives rise to an inverted level population of the $2{s}_{1/2}-2{p}_{3/2}$ transition, and therefore also gives rise to stimulated fine structure emission at $\lambda =3.04\;\mathrm{cm}$ (rest-frame). We show that simplified models of the DCBH scenario amplify the CMB by up to a factor of $\sim {10}^{5}$, above which the maser saturates. Hyperfine splitting of the 3 cm transition gives rise to a characteristic broad (FWHM ~ tens of MHz in the observers frame) asymmetric line profile. This signal subtends an angular scale of ~1–10 mas, which translates to a flux of ~0.3–3 μJy, which is detectable with ultra-deep surveys being planned with SKA1-MID. While challenging, as the signal is visible for a fraction of the collapse time of the cloud, the matching required physical conditions imply that a detection of the redshifted 3-cm emission line could provide direct evidence for the DCBH scenario.en_US
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherIOP Sciences for The American Astronomical Societyen_US
dc.relation.urihttp://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016ApJ...820...10Den_US
dc.relation.urihttp://arxiv.org/abs/1601.04712en_US
dc.relation.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/820/1/10en_US
dc.rights2016, The American Astronomical Society.en_US
dc.title3-cm Fine structure masers: a unique signature of supermassive black hole formation via direct collapse in the early universeen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
Appears in Collections:Research Papers (A&A)

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
2016_AstroPhyJournal_820_10.pdf
  Restricted Access		Restricted Access880.89 kBAdobe PDFView/Open Request a copy
Show simple item record


Items in RRI Digital Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.