Gemini Near Infrared Spectrograph Observations of the Central Supermassive Black Hole in Centaurus A

2005 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 406-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia D. Silge ◽  
Karl Gebhardt ◽  
Marcel Bergmann ◽  
Douglas Richstone
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Centaurus A

Central kiloparsec of NGC 1326 observed with SINFONI

2020 ◽  
Vol 638 ◽  
pp. A53
Author(s):  
Nastaran Fazeli ◽  
Gerold Busch ◽  
Andreas Eckart ◽  
Françoise Combes ◽  
Persis Misquitta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Velocity Fields ◽  
Molecular Gas ◽  
Nearby Galaxy ◽  
Stellar Content ◽  
Stellar Rotation ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Integral Field Spectrograph

Gas inflow processes in the vicinity of galactic nuclei play a crucial role in galaxy evolution and supermassive black hole growth. Exploring the central kiloparsec of galaxies is essential to shed more light on this subject. We present near-infrared H- and K-band results of the nuclear region of the nearby galaxy NGC 1326, observed with the integral-field spectrograph SINFONI mounted on the Very Large Telescope. The field of view covers 9″ × 9″ (650 × 650 pc2). Our work is concentrated on excitation conditions, morphology, and stellar content. The nucleus of NGC 1326 was classified as a LINER, however in our data we observed an absence of ionised gas emission in the central r ∼ 3″. We studied the morphology by analysing the distribution of ionised and molecular gas, and thereby detected an elliptically shaped, circum-nuclear star-forming ring at a mean radius of 300 pc. We estimate the starburst regions in the ring to be young with dominating ages of < 10 Myr. The molecular gas distribution also reveals an elongated east to west central structure about 3″ in radius, where gas is excited by slow or mild shock mechanisms. We calculate the ionised gas mass of 8 × 105 M⊙ completely concentrated in the nuclear ring and the warm molecular gas mass of 187 M⊙, from which half is concentrated in the ring and the other half in the elongated central structure. The stellar velocity fields show pure rotation in the plane of the galaxy. The gas velocity fields show similar rotation in the ring, but in the central elongated H2 structure they show much higher amplitudes and indications of further deviation from the stellar rotation in the central 1″ aperture. We suggest that the central 6″ elongated H2 structure might be a fast-rotating central disc. The CO(3–2) emission observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array reveal a central 1″ torus. In the central 1″ of the H2 velocity field and residual maps, we find indications for a further decoupled structure closer to a nuclear disc, which could be identified with the torus surrounding the supermassive black hole.

scholarly journals The Supermassive Black Hole at the Heart of Centaurus A: Revealed by the Kinematics of Gas and Stars

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Neumayer
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Adaptive Optics ◽  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Black Hole Mass ◽  
Stellar Kinematics ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Integral Field Spectroscopy ◽  
Very Large Telescope ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Centaurus A

AbstractAt less than 4 Mpc distance the radio galaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) is the prime example to study the supermassive black hole and its influence on the environment in great detail. To model and understand the feeding and feedback mechanisms one needs an accurate determination of the mass of the supermassive black hole. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the recent studies that have been dedicated to measure the black hole mass in Centaurus A from both gas and stellar kinematics. It shows how the advancement in observing techniques and instrumentation drive the field of black hole mass measurements and concludes that adaptive optics assisted integral field spectroscopy is the key to identify the effects of the AGN on the surrounding ionised gas. Using data from SINFONI at the ESO Very Large Telescope, the best-fit black hole mass is MBH = 4.5(+1.7, −1.0) × 107 M⊙ (from H2 kinematics) and MBH = (5.5 ± 3.0) × 107 M⊙ (from stellar kinematics). This is one of the cleanest gas-versus-star comparisons of a MBH determination, and brings Centaurus A into agreement with the MBH−σ relation.

scholarly journals Deconvolving the Nucleus of Centaurus A Using Chandra PSF Library

2001 ◽  
Vol 205 ◽  
pp. 66-69
Author(s):  
Margarita Karovska ◽  
T. Aldcroft ◽  
M.S. Elvis ◽  
I.N. Evans ◽  
G. Fabbiano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Angular Resolution ◽  
High Angular Resolution ◽  
Central Source ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Scale Structures ◽  
Centaurus A

We describe preliminary results from our study of multi-scale structures in Centaurus A (NGC 5128) obtained using the Chandra X-ray Observatory HRC-I observations. The high-angular resolution Chandra images reveal X-ray multi-scale structures in this object with unprecedented detail and clarity. The region surrounding the Cen A nucleus, believed to be associated with a supermassive black hole, shows structures on arcsecond scales clearly resolved from the central source.

scholarly journals EXTENDED SUBMILLIMETER EMISSION OF THE GALACTIC CENTER AND NEAR-INFRARED/SUBMILLIMETER VARIABILITY OF ITS SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE

2011 ◽  
Vol 738 (2) ◽  
pp. 158 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. García-Marín ◽  
A. Eckart ◽  
A. Weiss ◽  
G. Witzel ◽  
M. Bremer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Submillimeter Emission

Peering through the Dust: Evidence for a Supermassive Black Hole at the Nucleus of Centaurus A from VLT Infrared Spectroscopy

2001 ◽  
Vol 549 (2) ◽  
pp. 915-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Marconi ◽  
Alessandro Capetti ◽  
David J. Axon ◽  
Anton Koekemoer ◽  
Duccio Macchetto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Centaurus A

scholarly journals The supermassive black hole in Centaurus A: a benchmark for gas kinematical measurements

2006 ◽  
Vol 448 (3) ◽  
pp. 921-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Marconi ◽  
G. Pastorini ◽  
F. Pacini ◽  
D. J. Axon ◽  
A. Capetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Centaurus A

scholarly journals 15 years of high precision astrometry in the Galactic Center

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S248) ◽  
pp. 466-469
Author(s):  
S. Gillessen ◽  
R. Genzel ◽  
F. Eisenhauer ◽  
T. Ott ◽  
S. Trippe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Mass Distribution ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Galactic Center ◽  
Massive Black Hole ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Stellar Orbits ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Precision Astrometry

AbstractIn 1992, we obtained the first observations of S2 a star close to the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center. In 2002, S2 passed its periastron and in 2007, it completed a first fully observed revolution. This orbit allowed us to determine the mass of and the distance to the supermassive black hole with unprecedented accuracy. Here we present a re-analysis of the data set, enhancing the astrometric accuracy to 0.5 mas and increasing the number of well-determined stellar orbits to roughly 15. This allows to constrain the extended mass distribution around the massive black hole and will lead in the near future to the detection of post-Newtonian effects. We will also give an outlook on the potential of interferometric near-infrared astrometry with 10 microarcsecond accuracy from the VLTI.

scholarly journals Sgr A West in the light of molecules: cold and dense gas east of the circumnuclear disk

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (S303) ◽  
pp. 86-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Moser ◽  
A. Eckart ◽  
A. Borkar ◽  
M. García-Marin ◽  
D. Kunneriath ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Hole ◽  
Star Formation ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Line Emission ◽  
Dense Gas ◽  
Dark Clouds ◽  
Supermassive Black Hole ◽  
Circumnuclear Disk ◽  
Sgr A

AbstractWe present the very first detection of N2H+J = (1 – 0) and CH3OH(2k−1k) line emission on 5″ scales in the circumnuclear disk (CND) around Sgr A*. The emission matches the position and shape of the dark clouds in the near-infrared. Our findings suggest that these molecular clouds in the eastern CND are significantly colder and denser than the rest of the CND, and partially shocked. The research on these dark clouds will contribute to understanding the processes of star formation close to a supermassive black hole.

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