The COS-Holes Survey: Connecting Galaxy Black Hole Mass with the State of the CGM

We present an analysis of HST/COS/G160M observations of CIV in the inner circumgalactic medium (CGM) of a novel sample of eight z~0, L≈L^ galaxies, paired with UV-bright QSOs at impact parameters (Rₚroj) between 25-130 kpc. The galaxies in this stellar-mass-controlled sample (log₁₀M_/M_ ~ 10.2-10.9 M_) host super-massive black holes (SMBHs) with dynamically-measured masses spanning log₁₀MBH/M_ ~ 6.8-8.4; this allows us to compare our results with models of galaxy formation where the integrated feedback history from the SMBH alters the CGM over long timescales. We find that the {C}{IV} column density measurements (NC IV) (average log₁₀NC IV, CH = 13.94±0.09 cm⁻²) are largely consistent with existing measurements from other surveys of NC IV in the CGM (average log₁₀NC IV, Lit = 13.90±0.08 cm⁻²), but do not show obvious variation as a function of the SMBH mass. In contrast, specific star-formation rate (sSFR) is highly correlated with the ionized content of the CGM. We find a large spread in sSFR for galaxies with log₁₀MBH/M_ $>$ 7.0, where the CGM {C}{IV} content shows clear dependence on galaxy sSFR but not MBH. Our results do not indicate an obvious causal link between CGM CIV and the mass of the galaxy's SMBH; however through comparisons to the EAGLE, Romulus25, $&$ IllustrisTNG simulations, we find that our sample is likely too small to constrain such causality.