2. Road Map
• Characteristics and formation of ’monster’ black holes
• Visual of black hole formation
• Study of NGC 3842 and NGC 4889
• Visual data of stellar velocity distributions
• Results from studies
• Quasar relations
• Future of black hole research
• Questions
• References
3. Studies show that massive galaxies host
massive black holes in their centers.
- Different evolutionary processes attribute to the growth of the largest
galaxies and their accompanying black holes.
- The mass of ’monster’ black holes is related to the velocity dispersion
of the stars in the central areas of the galaxies.
- The formation of black holes affects how galaxies themselves are
formed.
4. There are various ways to illustrate the growth and
formation of galaxies and their central black holes.
Image source: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7376/full/480187a.html
5. Studies of NGC 3842 and NGC 4889 have led to
the discovery of two of the most supermassive
black holes currently known.
Distribution of stellar velocities:
- NGC 3842 : 82 different locations
- Black hole of around 9.7 billion solar masses
- NGC 4889 : 63 different locations
- Black hole of estimated 9.8 billion to 2.7e10 solar masses
6. The distribution of stellar velocities at various locations
reveals a noticeable difference between galaxies.
Image source: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7376/full/nature10636.html
7. The results of the studies predicted smaller black hole
masses in each galaxy than actually measured.
- For NGC 3842:
- Predicted a black hole of 9.1e8 solar masses
- For NGC 4889:
- Predicted a black hole between 3.3e9 and 4.5e9 solar masses
- Smaller predictions suggest more prevalent ’dry’ mergers than gas-
accretion formation
8. Studying the ’monster’ black holes revealed
relations and information about quasars.
- Observed quasars: black holes greater than 1010 solar masses
- Growing evidence for massive galaxy/quasar relation:
- Luminosity, velocity dispersion, and black-hole number density data
- Brightest cluster galaxies (BCG’s)
9. The future promises better data collection on the
growth of ’monster’ black holes in the universe.
- Improvements in :
- Adaptive optics instrumentation
- Very-long-baseline interferometry at radio wavelengths
- Black holes detection in more exotic host galaxies
- Increase the number and quantify the cumulative growth of
observable ’monster’ black holes
11. References
• Cappellari, Michele. “Monster black holes.” Nature 480, 187–188. 08
December 2011.
• McConnell, Nicholas et al. “Two ten-billion-solar-mass black holes at
the centres of giant elliptical galaxies.” Nature 480, 215–218. 08
December 2011.
