Program: GN-2010A-Q-11

Title:The High Mass End of the Black Hole Mass - Stellar Velocity Dispersion Relation in AGNs
PI:Bradley Peterson
Co-I(s): Catherine Grier, Misty Bentz, Kalliopi Dasyra, Laura Ferrarese, Paul Martini, Richard Pogge, Linda Tacconi, Linda Watson

Abstract

The M(BH)-sigma relationship, the strong correlation between central black hole mass and stellar bulge velocity dispersion, is not only of great importance for understanding black hole demographics and galaxy dynamics, it is has great practical importance in providing the fundamental mass scale for all quasar black hole mass estimates by establishing the zero-point for reverberation-based black hole masses in AGNs. We propose to continue our Gemini/NIFS investigation of the under-populated high-mass end of the M(BH)-sigma relationship by measuring the bulge velocity dispersion in four additional AGNs. These four PG quasars are among the seven most massive black holes measured by reverberation: of the remaining three, one is at a declination inaccessible for the AO system, one is a semester B target, and we already have obtained and published a NIFS velocity dispersion measurement for the remaining source.

Publications using this program's data