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The MBHBM Project - I: measurement of the central black hole mass in the Dwarf Galaxy NGC 3504 using molecular gas kinematics

Abstract:
We present a dynamical mass measurement of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in the nearby double-barred spiral galaxy NGC 3504 as part of the Measuring Black Holes in below Milky Way (Msstarf) Mass Galaxies Project. Our analysis is based on Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array cycle 5 observations of the ${}^{12}\mathrm{CO}(2-1)$ emission line. These observations probe NGC 3504's circumnuclear gas disk (CND). Our dynamical model of the CND simultaneously constrains a black hole (BH) mass of ${1.6}_{-0.4}^{+0.6}\times {10}^{7}$ M⊙, which is consistent with the empirical BH–galaxy scaling relations and a mass-to-light ratio in the H band of 0.44 ± 0.12 (M⊙/${L}_{\odot }$). This measurement also relies on our new estimation of the distance to the galaxy of 32.4 ± 2.1 Mpc using the surface brightness fluctuation method, which is much further than the existing distance estimates. Additionally, our observations detect a central deficit in the ${}^{12}\mathrm{CO}(2-1)$ integrated intensity map with a diameter of 6.3 pc at the putative position of the SMBH. However, we find that a dense gas tracer CS(5 − 4) peaks at the galaxy center, filling in the ${}^{12}\mathrm{CO}(2-1)$-attenuated hole. Holes like this one are observed in other galaxies, and our observations suggest these may be caused by changing excitation conditions rather than a true absence of molecular gas around the nucleus.
Publication status:
Published
Peer review status:
Peer reviewed

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Publisher copy:
10.3847/1538-4357/ab77aa

Authors


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Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Physics
Sub department:
Astrophysics
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0002-1283-8420
More by this author
Institution:
University of Oxford
Division:
MPLS
Department:
Physics
Sub department:
Astrophysics
Role:
Author
ORCID:
0000-0003-4980-1012


Publisher:
American Astronomical Society
Journal:
Astrophysical Journal More from this journal
Volume:
892
Issue:
1
Article number:
68
Publication date:
2020-03-30
Acceptance date:
2020-02-17
DOI:
EISSN:
1538-4357
ISSN:
0004-637X


Language:
English
Keywords:
Pubs id:
1094337
Local pid:
pubs:1094337
Deposit date:
2020-03-16

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