The black hole mass versus velocity dispersion relation in QSOs/Active Galactic Nuclei: observational appearance and black hole growth

Studies of massive black holes (BHs) in nearby galactic centers have revealed a tight correlation between BH mass and galactic velocity dispersion. In this paper we investigate how the BH mass versus velocity dispersion relation and the nuclear luminosity versus velocity dispersion relation in QSOs/active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are connected with the BH mass versus velocity dispersion relation in local galaxies, through the nuclear luminosity evolution of individual QSOs/AGNs and the mass growth of individual BHs. In the study we ignore the effects of BH mergers and assume that the velocity dispersion does not change significantly during and after the nuclear activity phase. Using the observed correlation in local galaxies and an assumed form of the QSO/AGN luminosity evolution and BH growth, we obtain the simulated observational appearance of the BH mass versus velocity dispersion relation in QSOs/AGNs. The simulation results illustrate how the BH accretion history (e.g., the lifetime of nuclear activity and the possibility that QSOs/AGNs accrete at a super-Eddington accretion rate at the early evolutionary stage) can be inferred from the difference between the relation in QSOs/AGNs and that in local galaxies. We also show how the difference may be weakened by the flux limit of telescopes. We expect that a large complete sample of QSOs/AGNs with accurate BH mass and velocity dispersion measurements will help to quantitatively constrain QSO/AGN luminosity evolution and BH growth models.Comment: 20 pages, including 4 figures; revised to match the published versio

General Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamic Simulations of Black Hole Accretion Disks: Results and Observational Implications

A selection of results from the general relativistic MHD accretion simulations described in the previous talk are presented. We find that the magnetic field strength increases sharply with decreasing radius and is also enhanced near rapidly-spinning black holes. The greater magnetic field strength associated with rapid black hole rotation leads to a large outward electromagnetic angular momentum flux that substantially reduces both the mean accretion rate and the net accreted angular momentum per unit rest-mass. This electromagnetic stress strongly violates the traditional guess that the accretion stress vanishes at and inside the marginally stable orbit. Possible observational consequences include a constraint on the maximum spin of black holes, enhancement to the radiative efficiency, and concentration of fluorescent Fe Kalpha to the innermost part of the accretion disk.Comment: invited review at the conference "Stellar-mass, Intermediate-mass, and Supermassive Black Holes", held in Kyoto, Japan, Octorber 28-31, 2003, to be published in Progress of Theoretical Physics Supplemen

Inclinations and black hole masses of Seyfert 1 galaxies

A tight correlation of black hole mass and central velocity dispersion has been found recently for both active and quiescent galaxies. By applying this correlation, we develop a simple method to derive the inclination angles for a sample of 11 Seyfert 1 galaxies that have both measured central velocity dispersions and black hole masses estimated by reverberation mapping. These angles, with a mean value of 36 degree that agrees well with the result obtained by fitting the iron K$\alpha$ lines of Seyfert 1s observed with ASCA, provide further support to the orientation-dependent unification scheme of AGN. A positive correlation of the inclinations with observed FWHMs of H$\beta$ line and a possible anti-correlation with the nuclear radio-loudness have been found. We conclude that more accurate knowledge on inclinations and broad line region dynamics is needed to improve the black hole mass determination of AGN with the reverberation mapping technique.Comment: 12 pages including 4 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letter

On The Linearity of The Black Hole - Bulge Mass Relation in Active and in Nearby Galaxies

Analysis of PG quasar observations suggests a nonlinear relation between the black hole mass, M_BH, and the bulge mass, M_bulge, although a linear relation, as proposed for nearby galaxies, cannot be ruled out. New M_BH values for nearby galaxies from Gebhardt et al., and L_bulge measurements for Seyfert 1 galaxies from Virani et al., are used here to obtain a more accurate value for the slope of the M_BH-M_bulge relation. The combined sample of 40 active and non-active galaxies suggests a significantly nonlinear relation, M_BH\propto M_bulge^{1.53\pm 0.14}. Further support for a nonlinear relation is provided by the slope of the M_BH-stellar velocity dispersion relation found recently, and by the low M_BH found in late type spiral galaxies. The mean M_BH/M_bulge ratio is therefore not a universal constant, but rather drops from ~0.5% in bright (M_V ~ -22) ellipticals, to ~0.05% in low luminosity (M_V ~ -18) bulges. Hubble Space Telescope determinations of M_BH in late type spirals, and of the bulge magnitude in narrow line Seyfert 1 galaxies (both predicted to have low M_BH), can further test the validity of the nonlinear M_BH-M_bulge relation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 9 pages inc. 2 figure

AGN Obscuring Tori Supported by Infrared Radiation Pressure

Explicit 2-d axisymmetric solutions are found to the hydrostatic equilibrium, energy balance, and photon diffusion equations within obscuring tori around active galactic nuclei. These solutions demonstrate that infrared radiation pressure can support geometrically thick structures in AGN environments subject to certain constraints: the bolometric luminosity must be roughly 0.03--1 times the Eddington luminosity; and the Compton optical depth of matter in the equatorial plane should be order unity, with a tolerance of about an order of magnitude up or down. Both of these constraints are at least roughly consistent with observations. In addition, angular momentum must be redistributed so that the fractional rotational support against gravity rises from the inner edge of the torus to the outer in a manner specific to the detailed shape of the gravitational potential. This model also predicts that the column densities observed in obscured AGN should range from about 10^{22} to about 10^{24} cm^{-2}.Comment: ApJ, in pres