Computer Science – Graphics
Scientific paper
May 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006sptz.prop30119b&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #30119
Computer Science
Graphics
Scientific paper
Virtually all of our current knowledge of black hole demographics, both in nearby inactive galaxies and in AGNs, comes from observations of black holes with masses between a few million and a few billion solar masses in host galaxies with stellar velocity dispersions between about 70 and 400 km/sec. Searching for smaller black holes in low-mass galaxies can yield important clues to the origin and early evolution of supermassive black holes, and AGN surveys are the best available way to identify such objects. Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have identified 19 Seyfert 1 galaxies with black hole mass below 10^6 solar masses (Greene & Ho 2004), and 20 Seyfert 2 galaxies having stellar velocity dispersions smaller than 70 km/sec as determined by new Keck observations. These AGN samples offer a unique opportunity to study the very early growth stages of black holes and their host galaxies. Spitzer observations of mid-infrared emission will be the best available calorimeter of the energetics of these tiny AGNs. Our primary goal is to determine the infrared contribution to the bolometric luminosities, which will be a key to understanding the black hole accretion rates. From the infrared spectral shapes we will constrain the dust temperatures and search for silicate features in emission or absorption that may indicate the presence of an obscuring torus, and which will help to determine whether the Type 1 and Type 2 objects differ primarily as a result of our viewing angle, as in classic AGN unified models. PAH features and narrow emission lines will be used to diagnose the relative contributions of AGN and star formation to the infrared luminosity. To accomplish these goals, we request IRS staring-mode spectroscopy in the SL2, SL1, LL2, and LL1 settings for our Sloan-selected sample of 19 Seyfert 1s and 20 Seyfert 2s, as well as NGC 4395 and POX 52, which are the prototypical nearby examples of Seyfert nuclei in dwarf host galaxies.
Barth Aaron
Greene Jenny
Ho Luis
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