Dissecting Galaxies with Adaptive Optics

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Abstract

We describe several projects addressing the growth of galaxies and massive black holes, for which adaptive optics is mandatory to reach high spatial resolution but is also a challenge due to the lack of guide stars and long integrations. In each case kinematics of the stars and gas, derived from integral field spectroscopy, plays a key role. We explain why deconvolution is not an option, and that instead the PSF is used to convolve a physical model to the required resolution. We discuss the level of detail with which the PSF needs to be known, and the ways available to derive it. We explain how signal-to-noise can limit the resolution achievable and show there are many science cases that require high, but not necessarily diffraction limited, resolution. Finally, we consider what requirements astrometry and photometry place on adaptive optics performance and design.

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The Relation between Black Hole Mass, Bulge Mass, and Near-Infrared Luminosity

Leslie Hunt, Alessandro Marconi (2003)

We present new accurate near-infrared (NIR) spheroid (bulge) structural parameters obtained by two-dimensional image analysis for all galaxies with a direct black hole (BH) mass determination. As expected, NIR bulge luminosities Lbul and BH masses are tightly correlated, and if we consider only those galaxies with secure BH mass measurement and accurate Lbul (27 objects), the spread of MBH-Lbul is similar to MBH-sigma, where sigma is the effective stellar velocity dispersion. We find an intrinsic rms scatter of ~0.3 dex in log MBH. By combining the bulge effective radii R_e measured in our analysis with sigma, we find a tight linear correlation (rms ~ 0.25 dex) between MBH and the virial bulge mass (propto R_e sigma^2), with ~ 0.002. A partial correlation analysis shows that MBH depends on both sigma and R_e, and that both variables are necessary to drive the correlations between MBH and other bulge properties.

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On the Black Hole Mass - Bulge Mass Relation

Hans-Walter Rix, Nadine Haering (2004)

We have re-examined the relation between the mass of the central black holes in nearby galaxies, M_bh, and the stellar mass of the surrounding spheroid or bulge, M_bulge. For a total of 30 galaxies bulge masses were derived through Jeans equation modeling or adopted from dynamical models in the literature. In stellar mass-to-light ratios the spheroids and bulges span a range of a factor of eight. The bulge masses were related to well-determined black hole masses taken from the literature. With these improved values for M_bh, compared to Magorrian et al. (1998), and our redetermination of M_bulge, we find the M_bh-M_bulge relation becomes very tight. We find M_bh ~ M_bulge^(1.12+/-0.06) with an observed scatter of < 0.30 dex, a fraction of which can be attributed to measurement errors. The scatter in this relation is therefore comparable to the scatter in the relations of M_bh with sigma and the stellar concentration. These results confirm and refine the work of Marconi and Hunt (2003). For M_bulge~5x10^10 M_sun the median black hole mass is 0.14% +/- 0.04% of the bulge mass.