Precise Black Hole Masses From Megamaser Disks: Black Hole-Bulge Relations at Low Mass

TL;DR

This paper uses precise megamaser disk measurements to explore black hole-bulge relations in low-mass galaxies, revealing that the established M_BH-sigma* relation in ellipticals does not hold universally at lower masses.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurements of black hole masses in low-mass galaxies using megamaser dynamics, challenging the universality of the M_BH-sigma* relation.

Findings

Low-mass megamaser galaxies fall below the elliptical galaxy M_BH-sigma* relation.

The low-scatter power-law relation between M_BH and sigma* is not universal.

The M_BH-sigma* relation cannot reliably estimate black hole masses or the mass function at low masses.

Abstract

The black hole (BH)-bulge correlations have greatly influenced the last decade of effort to understand galaxy evolution. Current knowledge of these correlations is limited predominantly to high BH masses (M_BH> 10^8 M_sun) that can be measured using direct stellar, gas, and maser kinematics. These objects, however, do not represent the demographics of more typical L< L* galaxies. This study transcends prior limitations to probe BHs that are an order of magnitude lower in mass, using BH mass measurements derived from the dynamics of H_2O megamasers in circumnuclear disks. The masers trace the Keplerian rotation of circumnuclear molecular disks starting at radii of a few tenths of a pc from the central BH. Modeling of the rotation curves, presented by Kuo et al. (2010), yields BH masses with exquisite precision. We present stellar velocity dispersion measurements for a sample of nine megamaser disk galaxies based on long-slit observations using the B&C spectrograph on the Dupont telescope and the DIS spectrograph on the 3.5m telescope at Apache Point. We also perform bulge-to-disk decomposition of a subset of five of these galaxies with SDSS imaging. The maser galaxies as a group fall below the M_BH-sigma* relation defined by elliptical galaxies. We show, now with very precise BH mass measurements, that the low-scatter power-law relation between M_BH and sigma* seen in elliptical galaxies is not universal. The elliptical galaxy M_BH-sigma* relation cannot be used to derive the BH mass function at low mass or the zeropoint for active BH masses. The processes (perhaps BH self-regulation or minor merging) that operate at higher mass have not effectively established an M_BH-sigma* relation in this low-mass regime.