LLAMA: TheM_BH–σ_⋆relation of the most luminous local AGNs

Abstract

Context. The M BH -σ relation is considered a result of co-evolution between the host galaxies and their super-massive black holes. For elliptical bulge hosting inactive galaxies, this relation is well established, but there is still discussion whether active galaxies follow the same relation. Aims. In this paper, we estimate black hole masses for a sample of 19 local luminous AGNs (LLAMA) in order to test their location on the M BH -σ relation. In addition, we test how robustly we can determine the stellar velocity dispersion in the presence of an AGN continuum, AGN emission lines and as a function of signal/noise ratio. Methods. Super-massive black hole masses (M BH ) were derived from the broad-line based relations for Hα, Hβ and Paβ emission line profiles for the Type 1 AGNs. We compare the bulge stellar velocity dispersion (σ ) as determined from the Ca II triplet (CaT) with the dispersion measured from the near-infrared CO (2-0) absorption features for each AGN and find them to be consistent with each other. We apply an extinction correction to the observed broad line fluxes and we correct the stellar velocity dispersion by an average rotation contribution as determined from spatially resolved stellar kinematic maps. Results. The Hα-based black hole masses of our sample of AGNs were estimated in the range 6.34 ≤ log M BH ≤ 7.75 M and the σ CaT estimates range between 73 ≤ σ CaT ≤ 227 km s −1 . From the so-constructed M BH -σ relation for our Type 1 AGNs, we estimate the black hole masses for the Type 2 AGNs and the inactive galaxies in our sample. Conclusions. In conclusion, we find that our sample of local luminous AGNs is consistent with the M BH -σ relation of lower luminosity AGNs and inactive galaxies, after correcting for dust extinction and the rotational contribution to the stellar velocity dispersion.

The central parsec of NGC 3783: a rotating broad emission line region, asymmetric hot dust structure, and compact coronal line region

“…Through RM, the black hole mass of NGC 3783 has been estimated to be ∼3 × 10 7 M assuming a virial factor of f σ = 4−5 (Peterson et al 2004;Bentz & Katz 2015), which implies that the AGN is radiating at ∼0.1 L Edd . For a velocity dispersion of 130 km s −1 as measured from both the Ca II triplet and the CO 2-0 bandhead (Caglar et al 2020), this puts the object very close to the M BH −σ * relation (Ferrarese & Merritt 2000;Gebhardt et al 2000;Ferrarese et al 2001;Nelson et al 2004;Onken et al 2004;Gültekin et al 2009;McConnell & Ma 2013). The black hole mass also matches that derived from the Fe Kα line at 6.4 keV (Brenneman et al 2011;Capellupo et al 2017) when modelled together with the spin of the black hole.…”

Ionized outflows in local luminous AGN: what are the real densities and outflow rates?

“…And the ability to compare the results to a matched sample of inactive galaxies has been essential in many of the studies so far, including the analysis presented here. These studies include the following: the physical properties of, and extinction to, the broad-line region (BLR;Schnorr-Müller et al 2016b); the respective roles of host galaxy and environment in fuelling AGN (Davies et al 2017); the molecular gas content and depletion time on kiloparsec scales (Rosario et al 2018); the nuclear stellar population and kinematics (Lin et al 2018); the black hole masses and location in the M BH -σ * plane (Caglar et al 2020); and the nuclear star formation histories (Burtscher et al, in preparation).…”

The Case for the Fundamental MBH-σ Relation

“…An important question is whether the same black holegalaxy scaling relations hold for both active and inactive galaxies. Several groups suggest that this is indeed the case (e.g., [38][39][40]). It is important to stress that the samples of nearby (inactive) galaxies on which the black hole-host galaxy relations are based, still remain relatively small, only comprising around ∼70-80 objects.…”