Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-02-23
Astrophys.J. 634 (2005) 901-909
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
18 pages, 2 figures; revised, main conclusions not changed; to appear in ApJ, Oct., 2005
Scientific paper
10.1086/433166
Observations have shown that the Eddington ratios (the ratio of the bolometric luminosity to the Eddington luminosity) in QSOs/active galactic nuclei (AGNs) cover a wide range. In this paper we connect the demography of AGNs obtained by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey with the accretion physics around massive black holes and propose that the diversity in the Eddington ratios is a natural result of the long-term evolution of accretion disks in AGNs. The observed accretion rate distribution of AGNs (with host galaxy velocity dispersion sigma~70-200 km/s) in the nearby universe (z<0.3) is consistent with the predictions of simple theoretical models in which the accretion rates evolve in a self-similar way. We also discuss the implications of the results for the issues related to self-gravitating disks, coevolution of galaxies and QSOs/AGNs, and the unification picture of AGNs.
Kauffmann Guinevere
Lu Youjun
Yu Qingjuan
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