WISDOM project - XIV. SMBH mass in the early-type galaxies NGC 0612, NGC 1574, and NGC 4261 from CO dynamical modelling
Abstract
We present a CO dynamical estimate of the mass of the supermassive black hole (SMBH) in three nearby early-type galaxies: NGC 0612, NGC 1574, and NGC 4261. Our analysis is based on Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Cycle 3-6 observations of the 12CO(2-1) emission line with spatial resolutions of 14-58 pc (0.01″-0.26″). We detect disc-like CO distributions on scales from ≲ 200 pc (NGC 1574 and NGC 4261) to ≈10 kpc (NGC 0612). In NGC 0612 and NGC 1574 the bulk of the gas is regularly rotating. The data also provide evidence for the presence of a massive dark object at the centre of NGC 1574, allowing us to obtain the first measure of its mass, MBH = (1.0 ± 0.2) × 108 M⊙ (1σ uncertainty). In NGC 4261, the CO kinematics is clearly dominated by the SMBH gravitational influence, allowing us to determine an accurate black hole mass of (1.62 ± 0.04) × 109 M⊙ (1σ uncertainty). This is fully consistent with a previous CO dynamical estimate obtained using a different modelling technique. Signs of non-circular gas motions (likely outflow) are also identified in the inner regions of NGC 4261. In NGC 0612, we are only able to obtain a (conservative) upper limit of MBH ≲ 3.2 × 109 M⊙. This has likely to be ascribed to the presence of a central CO hole (with a radius much larger than that of the SMBH sphere of influence), combined with the inability of obtaining a robust prediction for the CO velocity curve. The three SMBH mass estimates are overall in agreement with predictions from the MBH - σ* relation.
- Publication:
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Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Pub Date:
- July 2023
- DOI:
- 10.1093/mnras/stad1119
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2304.06117
- Bibcode:
- 2023MNRAS.522.6170R
- Keywords:
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- ISM: kinematics and dynamics;
- galaxies: elliptical and lenticular;
- cD;
- galaxies: ISM;
- galaxies: nuclei;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- Main text: 20 pages, 14 Figures