The radio luminosity, black hole mass and Eddington ratio for quasars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We investigate the \mbh- \sigma_* relation for radio-loud quasars with redshift $z<0.83$ in Data Release 3 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The sample consists of 3772 quasars with better model of H$\beta$ and \oiii lines and available radio luminosity, including 306 radio-loud quasars, 3466 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity or upper-limit of radio luminosity (181 radio-quiet quasars with measured radio luminosity). The virial supermassive black hole mass (\mbh) is calculated from the broad \hb line, the host stellar velocity dispersion ($\sigma_*$) is traced by the core \oiii gaseous velocity dispersion, and the radio luminosity and the radio loudness are derived from the FIRST catalog. Our results are follows: (1) For radio-quiet quasars, we confirm that there is no obvious deviation from the \mbh- \sigma_* relation defined in inactive galaxies when \mbh uncertainties and luminosity bias are concerned. (2) We find that radio-loud quasars deviate much from the \mbh- \sigma_* relation respect to that for radio-quiet quasars. This deviation is only partly due to the possible cosmology evolution of the \mbh- \sigma_* relation and the luminosity bias. (3) The radio luminosity is proportional to \mbh^{1.28^{+0.23}_{-0.16}}(\lb/\ledd)^{1.29^{+0.31}_{-0.24}} for radio-quiet quasars and \mbh^{3.10^{+0.60}_{-0.70}}(\lb/\ledd)^{4.18^{+1.40}_{-1.10}} for radio-loud quasars. The weaker correlation of the radio luminosity dependence upon the mass and the Eddington ratio for radio-loud quasars shows that other physical effects would account for their radio luminosities, such as the black hole spin.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in ChJA

Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic Nuclei: Past, Present and Future Research

This review discusses the current status of supermassive black hole research, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since the early '90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the commissioning of the VLBA and improvements in near-infrared speckle imaging techniques, have not only given us incontrovertible proof of the existence of supermassive black holes, but have unveiled fundamental connections between the mass of the central singularity and the global properties of the host galaxy. It is thanks to these observations that we are now, for the first time, in a position to understand the origin, evolution and cosmic relevance of these fascinating objects.Comment: Invited Review, 114 pages. Because of space requirements, this version contains low resolution figures. The full resolution version can be downloaded from http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~lff/publications.htm

Hot gas flows on global and nuclear galactic scales

Since its discovery as an X-ray source with the Einstein Observatory, the hot X-ray emitting interstellar medium of early-type galaxies has been studied intensively, with observations of improving quality, and with extensive modeling by means of numerical simulations. The main features of the hot gas evolution are outlined here, focussing on the mass and energy input rates, the relationship between the hot gas flow and the main properties characterizing its host galaxy, the flow behavior on the nuclear and global galactic scales, and the sensitivity of the flow to the shape of the stellar mass distribution and the mean rotation velocity of the stars.Comment: 22 pages. Abbreviated version of chapter 2 of the book "Hot Interstellar Matter in Elliptical Galaxies", Springer 201