John Magorrian

Abstract:

We present our mass estimate of the central black hole in the isolated spiral galaxy NGC 4414. Using natural guide star adaptive optics assisted observations with the Gemini Near-Infrared Integral Field Spectrometer (NIFS) and the natural seeing Gemini MultiObject Spectrographs-North (GMOS), we derived two-dimensional stellar kinematic maps of NGC 4414 covering the central 1.5 arcsec and 10 arcsec, respectively, at a NIFS spatial resolution of 0.13 arcsec. The kinematic maps reveal a regular rotation pattern and a central velocity dispersion dip down to around 105 km/s. We constructed dynamical models using two different methods: Jeans anisotropic dynamical modeling and axisymmetric Schwarzschild modeling. Both modeling methods give consistent results, but we cannot constrain the lower mass limit and only measure an upper limit for the black hole mass of MBH = 1.56 × 106 M (at 3σ level) which is at least 1σ below the recent MBH − σe relations. Further tests with dark matter, mass-to-light ratio variation and different light models confirm that our results are not dominated by uncertainties. The derived upper mass limit is not only below the MBH − σe relation, but is also five times lower than the lower limit black hole mass anticipated from the resolution limit of the sphere of influence. This proves that via high quality integral field data we are now able to push black hole measurements down to at least five times less than the resolution limit.

Abstract:

The secular evolution of an infinitely thin tepid isolated galactic disc made of a finite number of particles is investigated using the inhomogeneous Balescu-Lenard equation expressed in terms of angle-action variables. The matrix method is implemented numerically in order to model the induced gravitational polarisation. Special care is taken to account for the amplification of potential fluctuations of mutually resonant orbits and the unwinding of the induced swing amplified transients. Quantitative comparisons with N-body simulations yield consistent scalings with the number of particles and with the self-gravity of the disc: the fewer the particles and the colder the disc, the faster the secular evolution. Secular evolution is driven by resonances, but does not depend on the initial phases of the disc. For a Mestel disc with Q ~ 1.5, the polarisation cloud around each star boosts its secular effect by a factor of a thousand or more, accordingly promoting the dynamical relevance of self-induced collisional secular evolution. The position and shape of the induced resonant ridge are found to be in very good agreement with the prediction of the Balescu-Lenard equation, which scales with the square of the susceptibility of the disc. In astrophysics, the inhomogeneous Balescu-Lenard equation may describe the secular diffusion of giant molecular clouds in galactic discs, the secular migration and segregation of planetesimals in proto-planetary discs, or even the long-term evolution of population of stars within the Galactic centre. It could be used as a valuable check of the accuracy of N-body integrators on secular timescales.