Physics – Optics
Scientific paper
Jan 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011aas...21714804s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #217, #148.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Physics
Optics
Scientific paper
Using adaptive optics assisted Gemini/NIFS data, I study the present and past gas accretion in the central 3" of the M32 nucleus. From changes in the spectral slope and CO line depths near the center, I find evidence for unresolved dust emission resulting from BH accretion. With a luminosity of 2e38 ergs/s, this dust emission is the most luminous tracer of current BH accretion. These observations suggest that using high resolution infrared data to search for dust emission may be an effective way to detect other nearby, low luminosity BHs, such as those in globular clusters. I also examine the fossil evidence of gas accretion contained in the kinematics of the stars in the nucleus. The higher-order moments (h3 and h4) of the line-of-sight velocity distribution show patterns that are remarkably similar to those seen on larger scales in elliptical galaxies and in gas-rich merger simulations. The kinematics suggests the presence of two components in the M32 nucleus, a dominant disk overlying a pressure supported component. I suggest a scenario, in which the nuclear disk formed gradually from the stellar winds of stars in the bulge of M32, that may provide a good explanation of the observed kinematics, stellar populations and abundance gradients seen in the nucleus. The kinematic measurements presented here are the highest quality available for the nucleus of M32, and may be useful for any future dynamical models of this benchmark system.
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