Accurate determination of chemical abundances near a supermassive black hole

The metal abundances in galactic nuclei carry key information on the history of star formation and mass transfer in central regions of galaxies. X-ray fluorescence analysis is a unique tool to reliably measure the abundances of various elements via simple physics. Here we present a new observation of the active nucleus in the Circinus galaxy with the XRISM satellite at unprecedented X-ray energy resolution. The fluorescent iron Kα line profile modified by Compton scattering indicates that the material responsible for its emission is cold and metal rich and is located ≳0.024 pc from the supermassive black hole, consistent with the dusty torus region. The abundance pattern derived from comparing fluorescent line intensities of different metals shows subsolar ratios of argon- and calcium-to-iron and a supersolar ratio of nickel-to-iron. This abundance pattern is best produced by a combination in number fraction of $$9{2}_{-4}^{+2} \%$$ core-collapse supernovae from progenitor stars less massive than $$2{0}_{-2}^{+3\,}{M}_{\odot }$$ and $${8}_{-2}^{+4} \%$$ type Ia supernovae. This suggests that gas feeding the supermassive black hole was enriched by recent core-collapse supernovae. Our findings imply that in metal-rich environments stars more massive than about 20 M⊙ directly collapse into black holes or make faint supernovae without ejecting heavy metals into the space. XRISM spectroscopy of the nucleus of the Circinus galaxy indicates elemental abundances suggestive of a dominant enrichment from core-collapse supernovae with progenitors below 20 solar masses; more massive stars may directly collapse into black holes.

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Journal
Nature Astronomy
Published
2026-03-31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-026-02817-6
Primary Topic
Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Accurate determination of chemical abundances near a supermassive black hole

Yoshiaki Kanemaru, Mai Takeo, Daiki Ishi, HIROFUMI NODA et al.
Nature Astronomy
Black Holes and Theoretical Physics
article

Accurate determination of chemical abundances near a supermassive black hole

Yoshiaki Kanemaru, Mai Takeo, Daiki Ishi, HIROFUMI NODA, Ralf Ballhausen, Misaki Mizumoto, Rozenn Boissay-Malaquin, Caroline Anne Kilbourne, Anna Ogorzalek, María Díaz Trigo, Ann Hornschemeier, Yutaka Fujita, Tadayasu Dotani, Hisamitsu Awaki, Tsunefumi Mizuno, Shogo B. Kobayashi, Chris Done, Ikuyuki Mitsuishi, Eric D. Miller, Koji Mori, Takayuki Hayashi, Richard F Mushotzky, Megumi SHIDATSU, Kazuhiro Nakazawa, Robert Petre, Gregory V. Brown, Andrew Szymkowiak, Randall K. Smith, Masayoshi Nobukawa, Laura W. Brenneman, Yoshitaka Ishisaki, Toshiki Sato, Hiroshi Nakajima, Yuto Ichinohe, Luigi C. Gallo, Makoto Sawada, Hiromi Seta, Timothy Kallman, Yoshitomo Maeda, Javier A. Garcia, Erin Kara, Maxim Markevitch, Teruaki Enoto, Satoru Katsuda, Takayoshi Kohmura, Akihiro Furuzawa, Kosuke Sato, Hiroshi Murakami, Stéphane Paltani, Matteo Guainazzi, Kumiko K. Nobukawa, Paul Plucinsky, Ken Ebisawa, Marc Audard, Takashi Okajima, Edmund Hodges-Kluck, Aya Kubota, Dominique Eckert, Megan E. Eckart, Yasushi FUKAZAWA, Aya Bamba, Toru Tamagawa, Katja Pottschmidt, Renata Cumbee, Aurora Simionescu, Frederick Scott Porter, Maurice A. Leutenegger, Ryuichi Fujimoto, Ehud Behar, Lia Corrales, Natalie Hell, Yuichiro Ezoe, Kenji Hamaguchi, Dan McCammon, Kotaro FUKUSHIMA, Brian R. McNamara, Kumi Ishikawa, Hiromasa Suzuki, Jan-Uwe Ness, Richard L. Kelley, Shoji Ogawa, Satoshi EGUCHI, Kouichi Hagino, Liyi Gu, Michael Loewenstein, Manabu Ishida, Kyoko Matsushita, Adam R. Foster, François Mernier, Hironori Matsumoto, Naomi Ota, Elisa Costantini, Katsuhiro Hayashi, Isamu Hatsukade, Jelle Kaastra, Koji Mukai, Hiromitsu TAKAHASHI, Jon M. Miller, Hirokazu Odaka, Shunji Kitamoto
article en

Abstract

The metal abundances in galactic nuclei carry key information on the history of star formation and mass transfer in central regions of galaxies. X-ray fluorescence analysis is a unique tool to reliably measure the abundances of various elements via simple physics. Here we present a new observation of the active nucleus in the Circinus galaxy with the XRISM satellite at unprecedented X-ray energy resolution. The fluorescent iron Kα line profile modified by Compton scattering indicates that the material responsible for its emission is cold and metal rich and is located ≳0.024 pc from the supermassive black hole, consistent with the dusty torus region. The abundance pattern derived from comparing fluorescent line intensities of different metals shows subsolar ratios of argon- and calcium-to-iron and a supersolar ratio of nickel-to-iron. This abundance pattern is best produced by a combination in number fraction of $$9{2}_{-4}^{+2} \%$$ core-collapse supernovae from progenitor stars less massive than $$2{0}_{-2}^{+3\,}{M}_{\odot }$$ and $${8}_{-2}^{+4} \%$$ type Ia supernovae. This suggests that gas feeding the supermassive black hole was enriched by recent core-collapse supernovae. Our findings imply that in metal-rich environments stars more massive than about 20 M⊙ directly collapse into black holes or make faint supernovae without ejecting heavy metals into the space. XRISM spectroscopy of the nucleus of the Circinus galaxy indicates elemental abundances suggestive of a dominant enrichment from core-collapse supernovae with progenitors below 20 solar masses; more massive stars may directly collapse into black holes.

Nature Astronomy
Tohoku Institute of Technology (JP), Hiroshima University (JP), University of Geneva (CH), University of Miyazaki (JP), Kumamoto Gakuen University (JP), Leiden University (NL), California Institute of Technology (US), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), Rikkyo University (JP), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Fujita Health University (JP), Nara University of Education (JP), University of Waterloo (CA), Tokyo University of Science (JP), Meiji University (JP), Kyoto Sangyo University (JP), Shibaura Institute of Technology (JP), Technion – Israel Institute of Technology (IL), Durham University (GB), Kanto Gakuin University (JP), Kyoto University (JP), University of Michigan (US), University of Teacher Education Fukuoka (JP), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JP), Tohoku Gakuin University (JP), European Space Astronomy Centre (ES), Osaka Health Science University (JP), Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US), Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (JP), RIKEN Nishina Center (JP), Ehime University (JP), Leiden Observatory, European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL), Space Research Organisation Netherlands (NL), Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IN), Nagoya University (JP), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US), Saint Mary's University (CA), University of Maryland, College Park (US), Tokyo Metropolitan University (JP), Saitama University (JP), The University of Tokyo (JP), University of Maryland, Baltimore County (US), Kindai University (JP), Nara Women's University (JP)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Kagoshima University, Kyoto University Foundation, Grantová Agentura České Republiky, Rikkyo University, Canadian Space Agency, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, RIKEN, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
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