Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Feb 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010noao.prop..485m&link_type=abstract
NOAO Proposal ID #2010A-0485
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
A tight connection between the large-scale properties of massive galaxies and the black holes that reside in their nuclei has been established. However, a systematic investigation of the relationship between black holes and galaxies at the lowest masses - vital for constraining cosmological models of their joint evolution - is lacking. We propose to use the Mayall 4m and Hale 5m telescopes to discover weak active nuclei in a large, unbiased sample of the nearest (d < 80 Mpc) galaxies. Observations of the complete sample, which is dominated by faint dwarf galaxies, will ultimately allow us to establish (or place strong limits on) the nature of galaxies that host intermediate-mass black holes, the black hole mass function and ``occupation fraction'' in galaxies, and the faint-end shape of the AGN luminosity function. Our survey has already revealed a significant number of bona fide Seyfert nuclei in dwarf galaxies. These objects are the least massive galaxies known to contain central black holes. Stellar velocity dispersions obtained with MMTO/MAESTRO will shed new light on the nature of black hole/galaxy scaling relations near the bottom of the galaxian food chain.
Bechtold Jill
Becker Robert
Eracleous Michael
Kay Laura
Moran Edward
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