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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0The Astrophysical Journal

On the Physical Origins of the Millimeter Fundamental Plane in Active Galactic Nuclei

  • Kratika Mazde1,2,3
  • Angelo Ricarte2,3
  • George N. Wong4,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1CNRS & Sorbonne Université
  2. 2Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian
  3. 3Harvard University
  4. 4Princeton University
  5. 5Institute for Advanced Study
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Abstract

Observations of active galactic nuclei have revealed a correlation between millimeter luminosity, X-ray luminosity, and mass, suggesting the emission in each of these bands is powered by a common source. Starting with a set of five general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations with dynamically important magnetic fields, we perform ray-tracing calculations to produce spectra including synchrotron emission, bremsstrahlung emission, and Compton scattering. Our models with similar Eddington ratios to the objects for which the relationship was inferred naturally reproduce observations without tuning. Our lower Eddington ratio models depart from this relationship, likely attributable to an observational bias against extremely low accretion rates. We find that inverse Compton scattering dominates the production of X-rays over bremsstrahlung radiation in almost all models, and in all models consistent with the observed correlation. We find only a modest spin dependence in this relationship. This study demonstrates that a compact, hot accretion flow with dynamically important magnetic fields can naturally explain observed millimeter and X-ray properties in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei. Future work should explore the impacts of nonthermal electron populations, weaker magnetic fields, and radiative cooling.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{mazde2026physical,
  title = {{On the Physical Origins of the Millimeter Fundamental Plane in Active Galactic Nuclei}},
  author = {Kratika Mazde and Angelo Ricarte and George N. Wong},
  journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/ae927c},
  url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae927c},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - On the Physical Origins of the Millimeter Fundamental Plane in Active Galactic Nuclei
AU  - Kratika Mazde
AU  - Angelo Ricarte
AU  - George N. Wong
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
JO  - The Astrophysical Journal
DO  - 10.3847/1538-4357/ae927c
UR  - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae927c
AB  - Observations of active galactic nuclei have revealed a correlation between millimeter luminosity, X-ray luminosity, and mass, suggesting the emission in each of these bands is powered by a common source. Starting with a set of five general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulations with dynamically important magnetic fields, we perform ray-tracing calculations to produce spectra including synchrotron emission, bremsstrahlung emission, and Compton scattering. Our models with similar Eddington ratios to the objects for which the relationship was inferred naturally reproduce observations without tuning. Our lower Eddington ratio models depart from this relationship, likely attributable to an observational bias against extremely low accretion rates. We find that inverse Compton scattering dominates the production of X-rays over bremsstrahlung radiation in almost all models, and in all models consistent with the observed correlation. We find only a modest spin dependence in this relationship. This study demonstrates that a compact, hot accretion flow with dynamically important magnetic fields can naturally explain observed millimeter and X-ray properties in low-luminosity active galactic nuclei. Future work should explore the impacts of nonthermal electron populations, weaker magnetic fields, and radiative cooling.
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
ER  -