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We investigate how the properties of massive black hole binaries influence the observed properties of core galaxies. We compare the observed trend in stellar mass deficit as a function of total stellar mass in the core galaxy with predicted trends in IllustrisTNG. We calculate mass deficits in simulated galaxies by applying subgrid, post-processing physics based on the results of literature N -body experiments. We find that the median value of the posterior distribution for the minimum binary mass ratio capable of creating a core is 0.7. For the gas mass fraction above which a core is erased, we find a median value of 0.6. Thus, low mass ratio binaries do not contribute to core formation and gas-rich mergers must lead to star formation within the nucleus, ultimately erasing the core. Such constraints have important implications for the overall massive black hole binary population, black hole–galaxy co-evolution, and the origin of the gravitational wave background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the effect of supermassive black hole (SMBH) mass scaling relation choice on the inferred SMBH mass population since redshift z ∼ 3. To make robust predictions for the gravitational wave background (GWB), we must have a solid understanding of the underlying SMBH demographics. Using the SDSS and 3D-HST + CANDELS surveys for 0 < z < 3, we evaluate the inferred SMBH masses from two SMBH–galaxy scaling relations: M BH– M bulge and M BH–σ. Our SMBH mass functions come directly from stellar mass measurements for M BH– M bulge, and indirectly from stellar mass and galaxy radius measurements along with the galaxy mass fundamental plane for M BH–σ. We find that there is a substantial difference in predictions especially for z > 1, and this difference increases out to z  = 3. In particular, we find that using velocity dispersion predicts a greater number of SMBHs with masses greater than 109 M⊙. The GWB that pulsar timing arrays find evidence for is higher in amplitude than expected from GWB predictions which rely on high-redshift extrapolations of local SMBH mass–galaxy scaling relations. The difference in SMBH demographics resulting from different scaling relations may be the origin for the mismatch between the signal amplitude and predictions. Generally, our results suggest that a deeper understanding of the potential redshift evolution of these relations is needed if we are to draw significant insight from their predictions at z > 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have used Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, SAURON Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS), and adaptative optics assisted Gemini NIFS near-infrared K-band IFS to map the stellar and gas distribution, excitation and kinematics of the inner few kpc of the nearby edge-on S0 galaxy NGC 4111. The HST images map its ≈450 pc diameter dusty polar ring, with an estimated gas mass ≥107 M⊙. The NIFS data cube maps the inner 110 pc radius at ≈7 pc spatial resolution, revealing a ≈220 pc diameter polar ring in hot (2267 ± 166 K) molecular H2 1–0 S(1) gas embedded in the polar ring. The stellar velocity field shows disc-dominated kinematics along the galaxy plane both in the SAURON large scale and in the NIFS nuclear-scale data. The large-scale [O  iii ] λ5007 Å velocity field shows a superposition of two disc kinematics: one similar to that of the stars and another along the polar ring, showing non-circular motions that seem to connect with the velocity field of the nuclear H2 ring, whose kinematics indicate accelerated inflow to the nucleus. The estimated mass inflow rate is enough not only to feed an active galactic nucleus (AGN) but also to trigger circumnuclear star formation in the near future. We propose a scenario in which gas from the polar ring, which probably originated from the capture of a dwarf galaxy, is moving inwards and triggering an AGN, as supported by the local X-ray emission, which seems to be the source of the H2 1–0 S(1) excitation. The fact that we see neither near-UV nor Br γ emission suggests that the nascent AGN is still deeply buried under the optically thick dust of the polar ring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feedback from active galactic nuclei (AGN) has proven to be a critical ingredient in the current picture of galaxy assembly and growth. However, observational constraints on AGN-driven outflows face technical challenges and as a result, the cold molecular gas outflow properties of type-1 AGN are not well known. We present new IRAM NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array observations of CO |$\, (1{-}0)$| in F07599+6508, Z11598 − 0112, F13342 + 3932, and PG1440 + 356, all nearby type-1 AGN and ultraluminous infrared galaxies. We achieve spatial resolution of 1–3 arcsec corresponding to physical scales of 2–8 kpc and spectral resolution of 15–60  km s−1, which enables updated CO |$\, (1{-}0)$| redshifts and a detailed morphological view of the cold molecular gas in these sources. The CO |$\, (1{-}0)$| luminosities, |$L_{CO}^{\prime }$|⁠ , are in the range 2–12 × 109 K km s−1 pc2 and inferred molecular gas masses, M (H2), are in the range 2–9 × 109 M⊙. The velocity fields and gas distributions do not unambiguously identify any of these sources as having outflows. However, Z11598 − 0112 has signs of infalling material and after the subtraction of a rotating disc model PG 1440 + 356 shows complex kinematics in the residuals that may indicate an outflow or warped disc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a month-long X-ray light curve from RXTE /PCA and 1.5 month-long UV continuum light curves from IUE spectra in 1220–1970 Å, we performed a detailed time-lag study of the Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 7469. Our cross-correlation analysis confirms previous results showing that the X-rays are delayed relative to the UV continuum at 1315 Å by 3.49 ± 0.22 d, which is possibly caused by either propagating fluctuation or variable Comptonization. However, if variations slower than 5 d are removed from the X-ray light curve, the UV variations then lag behind the X-ray variations by 0.37 ± 0.14 d, consistent with reprocessing of the X-rays by a surrounding accretion disc. A very similar reverberation delay is observed between Swift /XRT X-ray and Swift /UVOT UVW 2, U light curves. Continuum light curves extracted from the Swift /GRISM spectra show delays with respect to X-rays consistent with reverberation. Separating the UV continuum variations faster and slower than 5 d, the slow variations at 1825 Å lag those at 1315 Å by 0.29 ± 0.06 d, while the fast variations are coincident (0.04 ± 0.12 d). The UV/optical continuum reverberation lag from IUE, Swift , and other optical telescopes at different wavelengths are consistent with the relationship: τ ∝ λ4/3, predicted for the standard accretion disc theory while the best-fitting X-ray delay from RXTE and Swift /XRT shows a negative X-ray offset of ∼0.38 d from the standard disc delay prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dedicated photometric and spectroscopic surveys have provided unambiguous evidence for a strong stellar mass–size evolution of galaxies within the last 10 Gyr. The likely progenitors of today’smostmassive galaxies are remarkably small, discy, passive and have already assembled much of their stellar mass at redshift z = 2. An in-depth analysis of these objects, however, is currently not feasible due to the lack of high-quality, spatially resolved photometric and spectroscopic data. In this paper, we present a sample of nearby compact elliptical galaxies (CEGs), which bear resemblance to the massive and quiescent galaxy population at earlier times. Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and wide-field integral field unit (IFU) data have been obtained, and are used to constrain orbit-based dynamical models and stellar population synthesis (SPS) fits, to unravel their structural and dynamical properties. We first show that our galaxies are outliers in the present-day stellar mass–size relation. They are, however, consistent with the mass–size relation of compact, massive and quiescent galaxies at redshift z = 2. The compact sizes of our nearby galaxies imply high central stellar mass surface densities, which are also in agreement with the massive galaxy population at higher redshift, hinting at strong dissipational processes during their formation. Corroborating evidence for a largely passive evolution within the last 10 Gyr is provided by their orbital distribution as well as their stellar populations, which are difficult to reconcile with a very active (major) merging history. This all supports that we can use nearby CEGs as local analogues of the high-redshift, massive and quiescent galaxy population, thus providing additional constraints for models of galaxy formation and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the compact, early-type galaxy NGC 1281 with integral field unit observations to map the stellar line-of-sight velocity distribution (LOSVD) out to five effective radii and construct orbit-based dynamical models to constrain its dark and luminous matter content. Under the assumption of mass-follows-light, the H-band stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L) is Ƴ* = 2.7 ± 0.1 Ƴ⊙, and higher than expected from our stellar population synthesis fits with either a canonical Kroupa (Ƴ* = 1.3 Ƴ⊙) or Salpeter (Ƴ* = 1.7 Ƴ⊙) stellar initial mass function. Such models also cannot reproduce the details of the LOSVD. Models with a dark halo recover the kinematics well and indicate that NGC 1281 is dark matter dominated, making up ~ 90 per cent of the total enclosed mass within the kinematic bounds. Parametrized as a spherical NFW profile, the dark halo mass is 11.5 = log(MDM/M⊙) = 11.8 and the stellar M/L is 0.6 = Ƴ*/Ƴ⊙ = 1.1. However, this M/L is lower than predicted by its old stellar population. Moreover, the halo mass within the kinematic extent is 10 times larger than expected based on A-cold-dark-matter predictions, and an extrapolation yields cluster-sized dark halo masses. Adopting Ƴ* = 1.7 Ƴ⊙ yields more moderate dark halo virial masses, but these models fit the kinematics worse. A non-NFW model might solve the discrepancy between the unphysical consequences of the best-fitting dynamical models and models based on more reasonable assumptions for the dark halo and stellar M/L, which are disfavoured according to our parameter estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a dynamical analysis to infer the structural parameters and properties of the two nearby, compact, high-velocity dispersion galaxies MRK 1216 and NGC 1277. Combining deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, wide-field integral field unit stellar kinematics, and complementary long-slit spectroscopic data out to three effective radii, we construct orbit-based models to constrain their black hole masses, dark matter content and stellar mass-to-light ratios. We obtain a black hole mass of log(M•/Mʄ) = 10.1+0.1−0.2 for NGC 1277 and an upper limit of log(M•/Mʄ) = 10.0 for MRK 1216, within 99.7 percent (3σ) confidence. The stellar mass-to-light ratios span a range of ϒV = 6.5+1.5−1.5 in NGC 1277 and ϒH = 1.8+0.5−0.8 in MRK 1216 and are in good agreement with single stellar population models of a single power-law Salpeter initial mass function. Even though our models do not place strong constraints on the dark halo parameters, they suggest that dark matter is a necessary ingredient in MRK 1216, with a dark matter contribution of 22+30−20 percent to the total mass budget within one effective radius. NGC 1277, on the other hand, can be reproduced without the need for a dark halo, and a maximal dark matter fraction of 13 percent within the same radial extent. In addition, we investigate the orbital structures of both galaxies, which are rotationally supported and consistent with photometric multi-Sérsic decompositions, indicating that these compact objects do not host classical, non-rotating bulges formed during recent (z ≤ 2) dissipative events or through violent relaxation. Finally, both MRK 1216 and NGC 1277 are anisotropic, with a global anisotropy parameter δ of 0.33 and 0.58, respectively. While MRK 1216 follows the trend of fast-rotating, oblate galaxies with a flattened velocity dispersion tensor in the meridional plane of the order of βz ~ δ, NGC 1277 is highly tangentially anisotropic and seems to belong kinematically to a distinct class of objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation of central black hole mass and stellar spheroid velocity dispersion (the M–σ relation) is one of the best-known and tightest correlations linking black holes and their host galaxies. There has been much scrutiny concerning the difficulty of obtaining accurate black hole measurements, and rightly so; however, it has been taken for granted that measurements of velocity dispersion are essentially straightforward. We examine five disc galaxies from cosmological SPH simulations and find that line-of-sight effects due to galaxy orientation can affect the measured σlos by 30 per cent, and consequently black hole mass predictions by up to 1.0 dex. Face-on orientations correspond to systematically lower velocity dispersion measurements, while more edge-on orientations give higher velocity dispersions, due to contamination by disc stars when measuring line-of-sight quantities. We caution observers that the uncertainty of velocity dispersion measurements is at least 20 km s−1, and can be much larger for moderate inclinations. This effect may account for some of the scatter in the locally measured M–σ relation, particularly at the low-mass end. We provide a method for correcting observed σlos values for inclination effects based on observable quantities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We assess the influence of massive black hole (MBH) ejections from galaxy centres due to gravitational radiation recoil, along the cosmic merger history of the MBH population. We discuss the ‘danger’ of recoil for MBHs as a function of different MBH spin-orbit configurations and of the host halo cosmic bias, and on how that reflects on the occupation fraction of MBHs. We assess ejection probabilities for mergers occurring in a gas-poor environment, in which the MBH binary coalescence is driven by stellar dynamical processes and the spin-orbit configuration is expected to be isotropically distributed. We contrast this case with the ‘aligned’ case. The latter is the more realistic situation for gas-rich, i.e. ‘wet’, mergers, which are expected for high-redshift galaxies. We find that if all haloes at host an MBH, the probability of the Milky Way (or similar size galaxy) to host an MBH today is less than 50 per cent, unless MBHs form continuously in galaxies. The occupation fraction of MBHs, intimately related to halo bias and MBH formation efficiency, plays a crucial role in increasing the retention fraction. Small haloes, with shallow potential wells and low escape velocities, have a high ejection probability, but the MBH merger rate is very low along their galaxy formation merger hierarchy: MBH formation processes are likely inefficient in such shallow potential wells. Recoils can decrease the overall frequency of MBHs in small galaxies to ∼60 per cent, while they have little effect on the frequency of MBHs in large galaxies (at most a 20 per cent effect). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the distribution of massive black holes (MBHs) in the Virgo cluster. Observations suggest that active galactic nuclei activity is widespread in massive galaxies ( M*≳ 1010 M⊙), while at lower galaxy masses star clusters are more abundant, which might imply a limited presence of central black holes in these galaxy-mass regimes. We explore if this possible threshold in MBH hosting is linked to nature, nurture or a mixture of both. The nature scenario arises naturally in hierarchical cosmologies, as MBH formation mechanisms typically are efficient in biased systems, which would later evolve into massive galaxies. Nurture, in the guise of MBH ejections following MBH mergers, provides an additional mechanism that is more effective for low mass, satellite galaxies. The combination of inefficient formation, and lower retention of MBHs, leads to the natural explanation of the distribution of compact massive objects in Virgo galaxies. If MBHs arrive to the correlation with the host mass and velocity dispersion during merger-triggered accretion episodes, sustained tidal stripping of the host galaxies creates a population of MBHs which lie above the expected scaling between the holes and their host mass, suggesting a possible environmental dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]