The Local Black Hole - Mass Function Derived from Spiral Galaxies

Davis, Benjamin L.; Berrier, J. C.; Johns, L.; Shields, D. W.; Kennefick, D.; Kennefick, J.; Seigar, M. S.; Lacy, C. H. S.
Bibliographical reference

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #220, #430.08

Advertised on:
5
2012
Number of authors
8
IAC number of authors
0
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Here we present our determination of the black hole - mass function for spiral galaxies in our local universe. We have established our black hole - mass function from a volume-limited sample, consisting of a statistically complete collection of the brightest spiral galaxies in the Southern (δ < 0°) hemisphere. The volume-limited sample is defined by a limiting redshift of z = 0.0068 and a limiting absolute B-band magnitude of M_B = -19.528. These limits define a sample of 140 spiral galaxies. We have measured pitch angles for 102 of these (the remainder did not allow for accurate measurement) and established the pitch angle distribution function for this volume-limited sample. We then used our established relationship between the logarithmic spiral arm pitch angle and the mass of the central supermassive black hole in a host galaxy in order to indirectly estimate the mass of the 102 respective supermassive black holes in this volume-limited sample. This result effectively gives us the distribution of mass for supermassive black holes residing in spiral galaxies over the past ≈94.5 Myr of the history of the universe and contained within a comoving volume of ≈50,000 cubic Mpc. The authors gratefully acknowledge support for this work from NASA Grant NNX08AW03A.