50 research outputs found
Refining the M_BH-V_c scaling relation with HI rotation curves of water megamaser galaxies
Black hole - galaxy scaling relations provide information about the
coevolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. We compare the
black hole mass - circular velocity (MBH - Vc) relation with the black hole
mass - bulge stellar velocity dispersion (MBH - sigma) relation, to see whether
the scaling relations can passively emerge from a large number of mergers, or
require a physical mechanism, such as feedback from an active nucleus. We
present VLA H I observations of five galaxies, including three water megamaser
galaxies, to measure the circular velocity. Using twenty-two galaxies with
dynamical MBH measurements and Vc measurements extending to large radius, our
best-fit MBH - Vc relation, log MBH = alpha + beta log(Vc /200 km s^-1), yields
alpha = 7.43+/-0.13, beta = 3.68+1.23/-1.20, and intrinsic scatter epsilon_int
= 0.51+0.11/-0.09. The intrinsic scatter may well be higher than 0.51, as we
take great care to ascribe conservatively large observational errors. We find
comparable scatter in the MBH - sigma relations, epsilon_int = 0.48+0.10/-0.08,
while pure merging scenarios would likely result in a tighter scaling with the
dark halo (as traced by Vc) than baryonic (sigma) properties. Instead, feedback
from the active nucleus may act on bulge scales to tighten the MBH - sigma
relation with respect to the MBH - Vc relation, as observed.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, ApJ accepte
Long term Arecibo monitoring of the water megamaser in MG J0414+0534
We monitored the 22 GHz maser line in the lensed quasar MG J0414+0534 at
z=2.64 with the 300-m Arecibo telescope for almost two years to detect possible
additional maser components and to measure a potential velocity drift of the
lines. The main maser line profile is complex and can be resolved into a number
of broad features with line widths of 30-160 km/s. A new maser component was
tentatively detected in October 2008 at a velocity of +470 km/s. After
correcting for the estimated lens magnification, we find that the H2O isotropic
luminosity of the maser in MG J0414+0534 is about 26,000 solar luminosities,
making this source the most luminous ever discovered. Both the main line peak
and continuum flux densities are surprisingly stable throughout the period of
the observations. An upper limit on the velocity drift of the main peak of the
line has been estimated from our observations and is of the order of 2 km/s per
year. We discuss the results of the monitoring in terms of the possible nature
of the maser emission, associated with an accretion disk or a radio jet. This
is the first time that such a study is performed in a water maser source at
high redshift, potentially allowing us to study the parsec-scale environment
around a powerful radio source at cosmological distances.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the IAU Symposium
287, 2012, "Cosmic masers: from OH to H0
Mrk 1419 - a new distance determination
Water vapor megamasers from the center of active galaxies provide a powerful
tool to trace accretion disks at sub-parsec resolution and, through an entirely
geometrical method, measure direct distances to galaxies up to 200 Mpc. The
Megamaser Cosmology Project (MCP) is formed by a team of astronomers with the
aim of identifying new maser systems, and mapping their emission at high
angular resolution to determine their distance. Two types of observations are
necessary to measure a distance: single-dish monitoring to measure the
acceleration of gas in the disk, and sensitive VLBI imaging to measure the
angular size of the disk, measure the rotation curve, and model radial
displacement of the maser feature. The ultimate goal of the MCP is to make a
precise measurement of H0 by measuring such distances to at least 10 maser
galaxies in the Hubble flow. We present here the preliminary results from a new
maser system, Mrk 1419. Through a model of the rotation from the systemic
masers assuming a narrow ring, and combining these results with the
acceleration measurement from the Green Bank Telescope, we determine a distance
to Mrk 1419 of 81\pm10 Mpc. Given that the disk shows a significant warp that
may not be entirely traced by our current observations, more sensitive
observations and more sophisticated disk modeling will be essential to improve
our distance estimation to this galaxy.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the proceedings of IAU Symposium 287
"Cosmic Masers- from OH to Ho", in Stellenbosch, S
Cosmology and the Hubble Constant: On the Megamaser Cosmology Project (MCP)
The Hubble constant Ho describes not only the expansion of local space at
redshift z ~ 0, but is also a fundamental parameter determining the evolution
of the universe. Recent measurements of Ho anchored on Cepheid observations
have reached a precision of several percent. However, this problem is so
important that confirmation from several methods is needed to better constrain
Ho and, with it, dark energy and the curvature of space. A particularly direct
method involves the determination of distances to local galaxies far enough to
be part of the Hubble flow through water vapor (H2O) masers orbiting nuclear
supermassive black holes. The goal of this article is to describe the relevance
of Ho with respect to fundamental cosmological questions and to summarize
recent progress of the the `Megamaser Cosmology Project' (MCP) related to the
Hubble constant.Comment: 10 pages, 7 postscript figures (8 ps files), IAU Symposium 287, uses
iaus.cl
Using Megamaser Disks to Probe Black Hole Accretion
We examine the alignment between H_2O megamaser disks on sub-pc scales with
circumnuclear disks and bars on <500 pc scales observed with HST/WFC3. The HST
imaging reveals young stars, indicating the presence of gas. The megamaser
disks are not well aligned with the circumnuclear bars or disks as traced by
stars in the HST images. We speculate on the implications of the observed
misalignments for fueling supermassive black holes in gas-rich spiral galaxies.
In contrast, we find a strong preference for the rotation axes of the megamaser
disks to align with radio continuum jets observed on >50 pc scales, in those
galaxies for which radio continuum detections are available. Sub-arcsecond
observations of molecular gas with ALMA will enable a more complete
understanding of the interplay between circumnuclear structures.Comment: Error in Figure 4 corrected, references added. 7 pages, 4 figures, to
be published in the Astrophysical Journa
Precise Black Hole Masses From Megamaser Disks: Black Hole-Bulge Relations at Low Mass
The black hole (BH)-bulge correlations have greatly influenced the last
decade of effort to understand galaxy evolution. Current knowledge of these
correlations is limited predominantly to high BH masses (M_BH> 10^8 M_sun) that
can be measured using direct stellar, gas, and maser kinematics. These objects,
however, do not represent the demographics of more typical L< L* galaxies. This
study transcends prior limitations to probe BHs that are an order of magnitude
lower in mass, using BH mass measurements derived from the dynamics of H_2O
megamasers in circumnuclear disks. The masers trace the Keplerian rotation of
circumnuclear molecular disks starting at radii of a few tenths of a pc from
the central BH. Modeling of the rotation curves, presented by Kuo et al.
(2010), yields BH masses with exquisite precision. We present stellar velocity
dispersion measurements for a sample of nine megamaser disk galaxies based on
long-slit observations using the B&C spectrograph on the Dupont telescope and
the DIS spectrograph on the 3.5m telescope at Apache Point. We also perform
bulge-to-disk decomposition of a subset of five of these galaxies with SDSS
imaging. The maser galaxies as a group fall below the M_BH-sigma* relation
defined by elliptical galaxies. We show, now with very precise BH mass
measurements, that the low-scatter power-law relation between M_BH and sigma*
seen in elliptical galaxies is not universal. The elliptical galaxy M_BH-sigma*
relation cannot be used to derive the BH mass function at low mass or the
zeropoint for active BH masses. The processes (perhaps BH self-regulation or
minor merging) that operate at higher mass have not effectively established an
M_BH-sigma* relation in this low-mass regime.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
A ring-like accretion structure in M87 connecting its black hole and jet
The nearby radio galaxy M87 is a prime target for studying black hole
accretion and jet formation^{1,2}. Event Horizon Telescope observations of M87
in 2017, at a wavelength of 1.3 mm, revealed a ring-like structure, which was
interpreted as gravitationally lensed emission around a central black hole^3.
Here we report images of M87 obtained in 2018, at a wavelength of 3.5 mm,
showing that the compact radio core is spatially resolved. High-resolution
imaging shows a ring-like structure of 8.4_{-1.1}^{+0.5} Schwarzschild radii in
diameter, approximately 50% larger than that seen at 1.3 mm. The outer edge at
3.5 mm is also larger than that at 1.3 mm. This larger and thicker ring
indicates a substantial contribution from the accretion flow with absorption
effects in addition to the gravitationally lensed ring-like emission. The
images show that the edge-brightened jet connects to the accretion flow of the
black hole. Close to the black hole, the emission profile of the jet-launching
region is wider than the expected profile of a black-hole-driven jet,
suggesting the possible presence of a wind associated with the accretion flow.Comment: 50 pages, 18 figures, 3 tables, author's version of the paper
published in Natur