Understanding Supermassive Black Holes and Their Host Galaxies

Details Understanding Supermassive Black Holes and Their Host Galaxies Understanding Supermassive Black Holes and Their Host Galaxies

Aug 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001noao.prop..251f&link_type=abstract

NOAO Proposal ID #2001B-0251

Computer Science

Scientific paper

Our hopes of understanding the nature of the connection between supermassive black holes (BHs) and their host galaxies have recently been kindled by the discovery that BH mass, and the stellar velocity dispersion of the surrounding bulge, follow a remarkably tight relation, M_BH ∝ σ^ 4.5. Important parameters such as the mass density in local black holes, and the impact of galaxy merging on BH evolution, hinge critically on the exact characterization of this relation. The ms relation is currently defined exclusively by weakly active or quiescent galaxies. In early April 2001, we have been granted 3.5 nights of 4m time to test and extend the validity of the ms relation to powerful AGNs, by measuring σ in nine Seyfert 1 galaxies for which the BH mass is known from `reverberation mapping' studies. Here we ask for 4 additional nights to complete the program by targeting the nine reverberation mapped AGNs visible in the northern autumn sky. Stellar velocity dispersions will be measured from high S/N ( 50), moderate resolution ( 5000) long slit spectra optimized in the 8500 A region which includes the CaII absorption triplet. Our goals are: 1) test whether bright AGNs and quiescent galaxies follow a unique ms relation; and 2) characterize the slope, normalization and scatter of the ms relation.

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