Other
Scientific paper
Dec 1997
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7124g&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #7124
Other
Hst Proposal Id #7124
Scientific paper
Detection of supermassive black holes {BHs} in active galactic nuclei {AGNs} is one of the grand challenges that HST was designed to meet. NGC 4374 = M84 = 3C272.1 is an ideal object for a BH search because it is one of the three nearest radio galaxies {Centaurus A and M87 are the other two}. Ground-based observations have revealed a nuclear disk of ionized gas whose rotation axis is well-aligned with the radio jet axis. The velocity gradient across the central part of the disk is unresolved from the ground {> 100 km s-1 arcsec-1}, suggesting the presence of > 2 times 10^8 Modot within a radius of 75 pc. Most importantly, our WFPC2 Halpha + [N II] image obtained during cycle 5 shows that the nuclear disk is very similar to the one in the radio galaxy M87. Using STIS to measure the kinematics of this gas disk along its major axis requires only a modest investment of HST time, since STIS has several advantages over FOS {including improved target acquisition, a long-slit, and higher throughput}. The separate approaches to determining BH masses in radio galaxies {using gas dynamics} and in broad-line radio-quiet AGNs {using stellar dynamics} are complementary. Knowing the masses of central engines in radio-loud and radio-quiet AGNs will constrain models for the generation of energy in these enigmatic objects.
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