Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral Galaxies
Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are tiny in comparison to the galaxies they inhabit, yet they manage to influence and coevolve along with their hosts. Evidence of this mutual development is observed in the structure and dynamics of galaxies and their correlations with black hole mass ( M _• ). For...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfa98 |
| _version_ | 1827795602183815168 |
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| author | Benjamin L. Davis Zehao Jin |
| author_facet | Benjamin L. Davis Zehao Jin |
| author_sort | Benjamin L. Davis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) are tiny in comparison to the galaxies they inhabit, yet they manage to influence and coevolve along with their hosts. Evidence of this mutual development is observed in the structure and dynamics of galaxies and their correlations with black hole mass ( M _• ). For our study, we focus on relative parameters that are unique to only disk galaxies. As such, we quantify the structure of spiral galaxies via their logarithmic spiral-arm pitch angles ( ϕ ) and their dynamics through the maximum rotational velocities of their galactic disks ( v _max ). In the past, we have studied black hole mass scaling relations between M _• and ϕ or v _max , separately. Now, we combine the three parameters into a trivariate M _• – ϕ – v _max relationship that yields best-in-class accuracy in prediction of black hole masses in spiral galaxies. Because most black hole mass scaling relations have been created from samples of the largest SMBHs within the most massive galaxies, they lack certainty when extrapolated to low-mass spiral galaxies. Thus, it is difficult to confidently use existing scaling relations when trying to identify galaxies that might harbor the elusive class of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). Therefore, we offer our novel relationship as an ideal predictor to search for IMBHs and probe the low-mass end of the black hole mass function by utilizing spiral galaxies. Already with rotational velocities widely available for a large population of galaxies and pitch angles readily measurable from uncalibrated images, we expect that the M _• – ϕ – v _max fundamental plane will be a useful tool for estimating black hole masses, even at high redshifts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:52:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e26666f78734aae9da34bd7977bf8a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T18:52:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e26666f78734aae9da34bd7977bf8a02023-10-11T09:03:29ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052023-01-019561L2210.3847/2041-8213/acfa98Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral GalaxiesBenjamin L. Davis0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4306-5950Zehao Jin1https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2506-6645Center for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS), New York University Abu Dhabi , P.O. Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, UAE ; ben.davis@nyu.eduCenter for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS), New York University Abu Dhabi , P.O. Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, UAE ; ben.davis@nyu.eduSupermassive black holes (SMBHs) are tiny in comparison to the galaxies they inhabit, yet they manage to influence and coevolve along with their hosts. Evidence of this mutual development is observed in the structure and dynamics of galaxies and their correlations with black hole mass ( M _• ). For our study, we focus on relative parameters that are unique to only disk galaxies. As such, we quantify the structure of spiral galaxies via their logarithmic spiral-arm pitch angles ( ϕ ) and their dynamics through the maximum rotational velocities of their galactic disks ( v _max ). In the past, we have studied black hole mass scaling relations between M _• and ϕ or v _max , separately. Now, we combine the three parameters into a trivariate M _• – ϕ – v _max relationship that yields best-in-class accuracy in prediction of black hole masses in spiral galaxies. Because most black hole mass scaling relations have been created from samples of the largest SMBHs within the most massive galaxies, they lack certainty when extrapolated to low-mass spiral galaxies. Thus, it is difficult to confidently use existing scaling relations when trying to identify galaxies that might harbor the elusive class of intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs). Therefore, we offer our novel relationship as an ideal predictor to search for IMBHs and probe the low-mass end of the black hole mass function by utilizing spiral galaxies. Already with rotational velocities widely available for a large population of galaxies and pitch angles readily measurable from uncalibrated images, we expect that the M _• – ϕ – v _max fundamental plane will be a useful tool for estimating black hole masses, even at high redshifts.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfa98AstrostatisticsGalaxy evolutionHubble classification schemeIntermediate-mass black holesLate-type galaxiesRegression |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin L. Davis Zehao Jin Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral Galaxies The Astrophysical Journal Letters Astrostatistics Galaxy evolution Hubble classification scheme Intermediate-mass black holes Late-type galaxies Regression |
| title | Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral Galaxies |
| title_full | Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral Galaxies |
| title_fullStr | Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral Galaxies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral Galaxies |
| title_short | Discovery of a Planar Black Hole Mass Scaling Relation for Spiral Galaxies |
| title_sort | discovery of a planar black hole mass scaling relation for spiral galaxies |
| topic | Astrostatistics Galaxy evolution Hubble classification scheme Intermediate-mass black holes Late-type galaxies Regression |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/acfa98 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT benjaminldavis discoveryofaplanarblackholemassscalingrelationforspiralgalaxies AT zehaojin discoveryofaplanarblackholemassscalingrelationforspiralgalaxies |