Kinematics of the Halpha Nuclear Disk in M81: A Search for a MBH in the Nearest LINER

Details Kinematics of the Halpha Nuclear Disk in M81: A Search for a MBH in the Nearest LINER Kinematics of the Halpha Nuclear Disk in M81: A Search for a MBH in the Nearest LINER

Dec 1997

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1997hst..prop.7351f&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #7351

Mathematics

Logic

Hst Proposal Id #7351 Agn/Quasars

Scientific paper

As the nearest example of an AGN with a directly observable nucleus, M81 is important and merits intense scrutiny. Because HST's exquisite angular resolution is fixed, the minimum detectable mass of a massive black hole {M_BH} and the minimum detectable radius of influence of the M_BH scale with distance. Consequently, M81, with a minimum detectable M_BH 10^6 M_sun, and M31 are our best bests for pinning down the lower end of the M_BH mass function in luminous galaxies. And, if we can show unambiguously that M81 hosts a M_BH, as appears will be the case in the Milky Way, M31, and M32, we will have evidence that M_BHs are commonly, and perhaps always, found in nucleated galaxies. Our WFPC2 Halpha images show that there is a small {r 70 pc} disk of ionized gas in the center of M81. The disk has nearly the same size as the nuclear disks in M87 and NGC 4261, and shows many of the same morphological features {eg spiral arms and eccentricity}. We propose to take STIS 0.1" long-slit spectra with the G750M grating to measure the kinematics in the nuclear disk. Our goals are: 1} Measure and characterize the kinematics and turbulence in the disk, and investigate the variability of the broad line region. 2}Use the kinematics and our HST images to measure the central mass-to-light ratio and the mass of the unresolved {r <= 0.8 pc} Seyfert-like nucleus. This ``knocking on the door'' of M81 for the M_BH census will yield an important datum in the new field of black hole demographics.

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