Related papers: Finding Local Low-mass Supermassive Black Holes
Studies of nearby galaxies reveal that roughly half of their low mass X-ray binary (LMXB) populations are associated with globular clusters (GCs). We have established that the LMXB hosting frequency is correlated to various GC properties…
We analyze the mass distribution of stellar black holes derived from the light and radial velocity curves of optical stars in close binary systems using dynamical methods. The systematic errors inherent in this approach are discussed. These…
This article reviews the current status of black hole astrophysics, focusing on topics of interest to a physics audience. Astronomers have discovered dozens of compact objects with masses greater than 3 solar masses, the likely maximum mass…
In the era of massive photometric surveys, we explore several approaches to estimate the masses of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in active galactic nuclei (AGN) from optical ground-based imaging, in each case comparing to the independent…
Idealized models are used to illustrate the potential of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) as a probe of the largely unknown population of cosmologically-distant Massive Black Holes (MBHs) and as a tool to measure their masses…
We present follow-up X-ray observations of the candidate massive black hole (BH) in the nucleus of the low-mass, compact starburst galaxy Henize 2-10. Using new high-resolution observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory totaling 200 ks…
A large number of Ultra-Luminous X-ray Sources in external galaxies is now known, but the discussion about their nature is still unsettled: intermediate-mass black holes or stellar-mass black holes accreting above the Eddington limit? A…
The cosmic X-ray background (CXB), which peaks at an energy of ~30 keV, is produced primarily by emission from accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs). The CXB therefore serves as a constraint on the integrated SMBH growth in the…
AGNs with narrow Balmer lines show various extreme properties. In particular, rapid X-ray variability, steep X-ray spectra, peculiar optical and UV line ratios, and possibly peculiar line profiles. Since all these phenomena occur together…
A long-standing question is whether active galactic nuclei (AGN) vary like Galactic black hole systems when appropriately scaled up by mass (refs 1-3). If so, we can then determine how AGN should behave on cosmological timescales by…
We have selected a sample of X-ray emitting active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in low-mass host galaxies (5e9-2e10 Msun) out to z~1. By comparing to AGNs in more massive hosts, we have found that the AGN spatial number density and the fraction…
Reliably identifying active galactic nuclei (AGNs) in dwarf galaxies is key to understanding black hole demographics at low masses and constraining models for black hole seed formation. Here we present Chandra X-ray Observatory observations…
We discuss the prospects for detecting faint intermediate-mass black holes, such as those predicted to exist in the cores of globular clusters and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. We briefly summarize the difficulties of stellar dynamical…
We briefly review some recent results from Chandra and XMM-Newton studies of the highest redshift (z > 4) active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Specific topics covered include radio-quiet quasars, radio-loud quasars, moderate-luminosity AGNs in…
We develop a novel method to identify active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and study the nature of low-luminosity AGNs in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. This is the second part of a series of papers and we study the correlations between the AGN…
We present four improved empirical relationships useful for estimating the central black hole mass in nearby AGNs and distant luminous quasars alike using either optical or UV single-epoch spectroscopy. These mass-scaling relationships…
Ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) with Lx > 10^{39} ergs/s have been discovered in great numbers in external galaxies with ROSAT, Chandra, and XMM. The central question regarding this important class of sources is whether they represent an…
This review discusses the current status of supermassive black hole research, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since the early '90s, rapid technological advances, most notably the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the…
The possibility of making stellar mass black holes in supernovae that otherwise produce viable Type II and Ib supernova explosions is discussed and estimates given of their number in the Milky Way Galaxy. Observational diagnostics of…
We review the motivation and search for supermassive black holes (BHs) in galaxies. Energetic nuclear activity provides indirect but compelling evidence for BH engines. Ground-based dynamical searches for central dark objects are reviewed…