The Mass Distribution in the Elliptical Galaxy NGC 3377: Evidence for a 2 × 10[TSUP]8[/TSUP] [ITAL]M[/ITAL][TINF][sun][/TINF] Black Hole

Abstract

This paper is a study of the mass distribution in the central 35 ′′ ≃ 1.7 kpc of the E5 galaxy NGC 3377. Stellar rotation velocity and velocity dispersion profiles (seeing σ * = 0. ′′ 20 -0. ′′ 56) and V -band surface photometry (σ * = 0. ′′ 20 -0. ′′ 26) have been obtained with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. NGC 3377 is kinematically similar to M 32: the central kinematic gradients are steep. There is an unresolved central rise in rotation velocity to V = 110 ± 3 km s −1 (internal error) at r = 1. ′′ 0. The apparent velocity dispersion rises from 95 ± 2 km s −1 at 1. ′′ 0 ≤ r < 4 ′′ to 178 ± 10 km s −1 at the center.To search for a central black hole, we derive three-dimensional velocity and velocity dispersion fields that fit the above observations and Hubble Space Telescope surface photometry after projection and seeing convolution. Isotropic models imply that the mass-to-light ratio rises by a factor of ∼ 4 at r < 2 ′′ to M/L V > ∼ 10. If the mass-to-light ratio of the stars, M/L V = 2.4 ± 0.2, is constant with radius, then NGC 3377 contains a central massive dark object (MDO), probably a black hole, of mass M • ≃ (1.8 ± 0.8) × 10 8 M ⊙ . Several arguments suggest that NGC 3377 is likely to be nearly isotropic. However, flattened, anisotropic maximum entropy models can fit the present data without an MDO. Therefore the MDO detection in NGC 3377 is weaker than those in M 31, M 32, and NGC 3115.The above masses are corrected for the E5 shape of the galaxy and for the difference between velocity moments and velocities given by Gaussian fits to the line profiles. We show that the latter correction does not affect the strength of the MDO detection, but it slightly reduces MTherefore the inner parts of NGC 3377 are dominated by a normal old stellar population. In this elliptical, as in the bulge-dominated galaxies NGC 3115 and NGC 4594, halo dark matter is unimportant over a significant range in radius near the center.

An optical/NIR survey of globular clusters in early-type galaxies

“…It was suggested by Kormendy et al (1998) that this galaxy contains a black hole. Contains spatially extended 1 signs of SSP equivalent 2 younger ages (Kuntschner et al 2010).…”

“…Some of these authors find evidence for a significant fraction of young GCs. It hosts a kinematically distinct component (KDC) (Bender 1998) and has ages consistent with old stellar populations (Davies et al 2001). …”

“…It was also studied with B, V and R photometry, by Rhode & Zepf (2004) who reported a multimodal colour distribution. It hosts a KDC (Bender 1998). NGC 4552: the GC system of this galaxy, also known as M 89, was studied by Kundu & Whitmore (2001) and Larsen et al (2001) with (V −I) colour and by Peng et al (2006) who report likely colour bimodality.…”

The Slope of the Black Hole Mass versus Velocity Dispersion Correlation

“…- (1 Gebhardt et al 2002;(7) J. Pinkney et al 2002, in preparation;(8) Bower et al 2001;(9) Greenhill & Gwinn 1997;(10) Sarzi et al 2001;(11) Kormendy et al 1996a;(12) Barth et al 2001b;(13) Kormendy et al 1998;(14) Gebhardt et al 2000b;(15) Herrnstein et al 1999;(16) Ferrarese, Ford, & Jaffe 1996;(17) Cretton & van den Bosch 1999;(18) Harms et al 1994;(19) Macchetto et al 1997;(20) M. E. Kaiser et al 2002, in preparation;(21) Ferrarese & Ford 1999;(22) (23) Cappellari et al 2002. the Milky Way (see x 4.3) and 5% uncertainties in the dispersions of external galaxies (see x 4.1), although the uncertainties in the dispersions of a few galaxies that we have not observed ourselves may be larger. Initially, we assume 0.33 dex rms uncertainties in the black hole masses, which yields 2 per degree of freedom of unity.…”

A SCUBA-2 survey of FeLoBAL QSOs. Are FeLoBALs in a ‘transition phase’ between ULIRGs and QSOs?

“…It has been established that every massive, local spheroid harbours a supermassive black hole (SMBH; Kormendy et al 1996Kormendy et al , 1998 in its centre whose mass is proportional to that of its host bulge (e.g. Magorrian et al 1998;Gebhardt et al 2000), suggesting that there is a close connection between the central SMBHs and their surrounding galaxies.…”