Michele Cappellari

Abstract:

We construct the first comprehensive dynamical model for the high-quality subset of stellar kinematics of the Milky Way disc, with full 6D phase-space coordinates, provided by the Gaia Data Release 2. We adopt an axisymmetric approximation and use an updated Jeans Anisotropic Modelling (JAM) method, which allows for a generic shape and radial orientation of the velocity ellipsoid, as indicated by the Gaia data, to fit the mean velocities and all three components of the intrinsic velocity dispersion tensor. The Milky Way is the first galaxy for which all intrinsic phase space coordinates are available, and the kinematics are superior to the best integral-field kinematics of external galaxies. This situation removes the long-standing dynamical degeneracies and makes this the first dynamical model highly overconstrained by the kinematics. For these reasons, our ability to fit the data provides a fundamental test for both galaxy dynamics and the mass distribution in the Milky Way disc. We tightly constrain the volume average total density logarithmic slope, in the radial range 3.6–12 kpc, to be αtot = −2.149 ± 0.055 and find that the dark halo slope must be significantly steeper than αDM = −1 (NFW). The dark halo shape is close to spherical and its density is ρDM(R⊙) = 0.0115 ± 0.0020 M⊙ pc−3 (0.437 ± 0.076 GeV cm−3), in agreement with previous estimates. The circular velocity at the solar position vcirc(R⊙) = 236.5 ± 3.1 km s−1 (including systematics) and its gently declining radial trends are also consistent with recent determinations.

Abstract:

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>I present a flexible solution for the axisymmetric Jeans equations of stellar hydrodynamics under the assumption of an anisotropic (three-integral) velocity ellipsoid aligned with the spherical polar coordinate system. I describe and test a robust and efficient algorithm for its numerical computation. I outline the evaluation of the intrinsic velocity moments and the projection of all first and second velocity moments, including both the line-of-sight velocities and the proper motions. This spherically-aligned Jeans Anisotropic Modelling (JAMsph) method can describe in detail the photometry and kinematics of real galaxies. It allows for a spatially-varying anisotropy, or stellar mass-to-light ratios gradients, as well as for the inclusion of general dark matter distributions and supermassive black holes. The JAMsph method complements my previously derived cylindrically-aligned JAMcyl and spherical Jeans solutions, which I also summarize in this paper. Comparisons between results obtained with either JAMsph or JAMcyl can be used to asses the robustness of inferred dynamical quantities. As an illustration, I modelled the ATLAS3D sample of 260 early-type galaxies with high-quality integral-field spectroscopy, using both methods. I found that they provide statistically indistinguishable total-density logarithmic slopes. This may explain the previously-reported success of the JAM method in recovering density profiles of real or simulated galaxies. A reference software implementation of JAMsph is included in the publicly-available JAM software package.</jats:p>

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.