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Register a new userAn Accreting, Anomalously Low Mass Black Hole at the Center of Low Mass Galaxy IC 750
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We present a multi-wavelength study of the active galactic nucleus in the nearby ($D=14.1$ Mpc) low mass galaxy IC 750, which has circumnuclear 22 GHz water maser emission. The masers trace a nearly edge-on, warped disk $sim$0.2 pc in diameter, coincident with the compact nuclear X-ray source which lies at the base of the $sim$kpc-scale extended X-ray emission. The position-velocity structure of the maser emission indicates the central black hole (BH) has a mass less than $1.4 times 10^5~M_odot$. Keplerian rotation curves fitted to these data yield enclosed masses between $4.1 times 10^4~M_odot$ and $1.4 times 10^5~M_odot$, with a mode of $7.2 times 10^4~M_odot$. Fitting the optical spectrum, we measure a nuclear stellar velocity dispersion $sigma_* = 110.7^{+12.1}_{-13.4}$~{rm km~s}$^{-1}.$ From near-infrared photometry, we fit a bulge mass of $(7.3 pm 2.7) times 10^8~M_odot$ and a stellar mass of $1.4 times 10^{10}~M_odot$. The mass upper limit of the intermediate mass black hole in IC 750 falls roughly two orders of magnitude below the $M_{rm BH}-sigma_*$ relation and roughly one order of magnitude below the $M_{rm BH}-M_{rm Bulge}$ and $M_{rm BH}-M_*$ relations -- larger than the relations intrinsic scatters of (0.58 $pm$ 0.09) dex, 0.69 dex, and (0.65 $pm$ 0.09) dex, respectively. These offsets could be due to larger scatter at the low mass end of these relations. Alternatively, black hole growth is intrinsically inefficient in galaxies with low bulge and/or stellar masses, which causes the black holes to be under-massive relative to their hosts, as predicted by some galaxy evolution simulations.
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We report on Chandra X-ray observations of four candidate low-mass black hole (<10^6Msun) active galactic nuclei (AGNs) that have the estimated Eddington ratios among the lowest (~10^(-2)) found for this class. The aims are to validate the nature of their AGNs and to confirm the low Eddington ratios that are derived from the broad H_alpha line, and to explore this poorly studied regime in the AGN parameter space. Among them, two objects with the lowest significance of the broad lines are also observed with Multi-Mirror Telescope, and the high-quality optical spectra taken confirm them as Seyfert 1 AGNs and as having small black hole masses. X-ray emission is detected from the nuclei of two of the galaxies, which is variable on timescales of 10^3s, whereas no significant (or only marginal at best) detection is found for the remaining two. The X-ray luminosities are on the order of 10^(41) ergs/s or even lower, on the order of 10^(40) ergs/s for non-detections, which are among the lowest regimes ever probed for Seyfert galaxies. The low X-ray luminosities, compared to their black hole masses derived from H_alpha, confirm their low accretion rates assuming typical bolometric corrections. Our results hint at the existence of a possibly large population of under-luminous low-mass black holes in the local universe. An off-nucleus ultra-luminous X-ray source (ULX) in one of the dwarf galaxies is detected serendipitously, with a luminosity (6-9)x10^(39) ergs/s in 2-10 keV.
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