Depleted cores, multi-component fits, and structural parameter relations for luminous early-type galaxies

Abstract

New surface brightness profiles from 26 early-type galaxies with partially depleted cores have been extracted from the full radial extent of HST images, giving us a total sample of 31 such core-Sersic galaxies. We have carefully quantified the radial stellar distributions of the elliptical galaxies using the core-Sersic model whereas for the lenticular galaxies a core-Sersic bulge plus an exponential disc model gives the best representation. We additionally caution about the excessive use of multiple Sersic functions for decomposing galaxies and compare with past fits in the literature. The structural parameters obtained from our fitted models are in general, in good agreement with our initial study using radially limited (R < 10") profiles, and are used here to update several galaxy scaling relations. We find near-linear relations between the break radius R_b and the spheroid luminosity L such that R_b ~ L^(1.13 +/- 0.13), and with the supermassive black hole mass M_BH such that R_b ~ M_BH^(0.83+/- 0.21). This is internally consistent with the notion that major, dry mergers add the stellar and black hole mass in equal proportion, i.e., M_BH ~ L. In addition, we observe a linear relation R_b ~ R_e^(0.98 +/- 0.15) for the core-Sersic elliptical galaxies, where R_e is the galaxies' effective half light radii, which is collectively consistent with the approximately-linear, bright-end of the curved L-R_e relation. Finally, we measure accurate stellar mass deficits M_def that are in general 0.5-4 M_BH, and we identify two galaxies (NGC 1399, NGC 5061) that, due to their high M_def/M_BH ratio, may have experienced oscillatory core-passage by a kicked black hole. The galaxy scaling relations and stellar mass deficits favor core-Sersic galaxy formation through a few `dry' major merger events involving supermassive black holes such that M_def ~ M_BH^(3.70 +/- 0.76), for M_BH > 2 X 10^8 M_sun.

Matches published version

References in corpus (26)

• Coevolution (Or Not) of Supermassive Black Holes and Host Galaxies
• A systematic variation of the stellar initial mass function in early-type galaxies
• The SAURON project -- X. The orbital anisotropy of elliptical and lenticular galaxies: revisiting the (V/sigma,epsilon) diagram with integral-field stellar kinematics
• The ACS Virgo Cluster Survey. VIII. The Nuclei of Early-Type Galaxies
• A Compact Supermassive Binary Black Hole System
• Dissipation and Extra Light in Galactic Nuclei: II. 'Cusp' Ellipticals
• Ejection of Supermassive Black Holes from Galaxy Cores
• The luminosities, sizes and velocity dispersions of Brightest Cluster Galaxies: Implications for formation history
• Chandra unveils a binary Active Galactic Nucleus in Mrk463
• Dissipation and Extra Light in Galactic Nuclei: I. Gas-Rich Merger Remnants
• Intracluster light and the extended stellar envelopes of cD galaxies: An analytical description
• Dissipation and Extra Light in Galactic Nuclei: III. 'Core' Ellipticals and 'Missing' Light
• The Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey. III. The Three-Component Structure of Nearby Elliptical Galaxies
• The Influence of Dark Matter Halos on Dynamical Estimates of Black Hole Mass: Ten New Measurements for High-sigma Early-Type Galaxies
• The energy output of the Universe from 0.1 micron to 1000 micron
• Search for Supermassive Black Hole Binaries in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Spectroscopic Sample
• Constraining Sub-Parsec Binary Supermassive Black Holes in Quasars with Multi-Epoch Spectroscopy. II. The Population with Kinematically Offset Broad Balmer Emission Lines
• Photometric Properties and Scaling Relations of Early Type Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• Distribution of Slow and Fast Rotators in the Fornax Cluster
• The ATLAS3D Project -- XXIII. Angular momentum and nuclear surface brightness profiles
• The Black Hole Mass and Extreme Orbital Structure in NGC1399
• Hi Shells and Supershells in the I-GALFA Hi 21-cm Line Survey: I. Fast-Expanding Hi Shells Associated with Supernova Remnants
• The central mass and mass-to-light profile of the Galactic globular cluster M15
• Supermassive Black Holes and Their Host Galaxies - I. Bulge luminosities from dedicated near-infrared data
• A Search for the Most Massive Galaxies. III. Global and Central Structure
• An Empirical Connection between the UV Color of Early Type Galaxies and the Stellar Initial Mass Function

Cited by in corpus (66)

• A 17-billion-solar-mass black hole in a group galaxy with a diffuse core
• AutoLens: Automated Modeling of a Strong Lens's Light, Mass and Source
• The (black hole)-bulge mass scaling relation at low masses
• Black Hole Mass Scaling Relations for Early-Type Galaxies: $M_{BH}$-$M_{\ast ,sph}$ and $M_{BH}$-$M_{\ast ,gal}$
• Galaxy bulges and their massive black holes: a review
• Interactions between multiple supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei: a solution to the final parsec problem
• A 40-billion solar mass black hole in the extreme core of Holm 15A, the central galaxy of Abell 85
• Hiding in plain sight: An abundance of compact massive spheroids in the local Universe
• Revealing Hidden Substructures in the $M_{BH}$-$\sigma$ Diagram, and Refining the Bend in the $L$-$\sigma$ Relation
• The formation of extremely diffuse galaxy cores by merging supermassive black holes
• Improved measurements of turbulence in the hot gaseous atmospheres of nearby giant elliptical galaxies
• Supermassive black holes and their host spheroids I. Disassembling galaxies
• Overmassive black holes in the $M_{\mathrm{BH}}-\sigma$ diagram do not belong to over (dry) merged galaxies
• Six new supermassive black hole mass determinations from adaptive-optics assisted SINFONI observations
• Explaining the reportedly over-massive black holes in early-type galaxies with intermediate-scale discs
• A remarkably large depleted core in the Abell 2029 BCG IC 1101
• $Profiler$ - A Fast and Versatile New Program for Decomposing Galaxy Light Profiles
• Formation of the largest galactic cores through binary scouring and gravitational wave recoil
• A galaxy classification grid that better recognises early-type galaxy morphology
• Two channels of supermassive black hole growth as seen on the galaxies mass-size plane
• Abell 1201: Detection of an Ultramassive Black Hole in a Strong Gravitational Lens
• Formation channels of slowly rotating early-type galaxies
• Implications for the origin of dwarf early-type galaxies: a detailed look at the isolated rotating dwarf early-type galaxy CG 611, with ramifications for the Fundamental Plane's (S_K)^2 kinematic scaling and the spin-ellipticity diagram
• Defining the (Black Hole)-Spheroid Connection with the Discovery of Morphology-Dependent Substructure in the $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$--${\mathrm{n}}_{\mathrm{sph}}$ and $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$--${\mathrm{R}}_{\mathrm{e},\mathrm{sph}}$ Diagrams: New Tests for Advanced Theories and Realistic Simulations
• $R_{\mathrm{e}}$. I. Understanding galaxy sizes, associated luminosity densities, and the artificial division of the early-type galaxy population
• Disky elliptical galaxies and the allegedly over-massive black hole in the compact massive `ES' galaxy NGC 1271
• Inward Bound: The incredible journey of massive black holes as they pair and merge; I. The effect of mass ratio in flattened rotating galactic nuclei
• A SLUGGS and Gemini/GMOS combined study of the elliptical galaxy M60: wide-field photometry and kinematics of the globular cluster system
• Understanding the Unique Assembly History of Central Group Galaxies
• The quest for the largest depleted galaxy core: supermassive black hole binaries and stalled in-falling satellites
• Ultramassive black holes in the most massive galaxies: $M_{\mathrm{BH}}-\sigma$ versus $M_{\mathrm{BH}}-R_{\mathrm{b}}$
• The (black hole mass)-(color) relations for early- and late-type galaxies: red and blue sequences
• Complex central structures suggest complex evolutionary paths for barred S0 galaxies
• Beyond Sérsic + exponential disc morphologies in the Coma Cluster
• Study of gravitational fields and globular cluster systems of early-type galaxies
• Reading the tea leaves in the $M_{\mathrm{bh}}$-$M_{\ast ,\mathrm{sph}}$ and $M_{\mathrm{bh}}$-$R_{\mathrm{e},\mathrm{sph}}$ diagrams: dry and gaseous mergers with remnant angular momentum
• Formation of S0s in extreme environments II: the star-formation histories of bulges, discs and lenses
• The nuclear activity and central structure of the elliptical galaxy NGC 5322
• High-resolution MEGARA IFU spectroscopy and structural analysis of a fast-rotating, disky bulge in NGC 7025
• The (Black Hole Mass)-(Spheroid Stellar Density) Relations: $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$--$\mu$ (and $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$--$\Sigma$) and $M_{\mathrm{BH}}$--$\rho$
• Compact object mergers: Observations of supermassive binary black holes and stellar tidal disruption events
• Core shapes and orientations of core-Sersic galaxies
• Recovering the origins of the lenticular galaxy NGC 3115 using multi-band imaging
• GALFIT-CORSAIR: implementing the core-Sersic model into GALFIT
• Evolution of supermassive black hole binaries and tidal disruption rates in nonspherical galactic nuclei
• Too big to be real? No depleted core in Holm 15A
• Accelerated quenching and chemical enhancement of massive galaxies in a $z\sim 4$ gas-rich halo
• Splitting the lentils: Clues to galaxy/black hole coevolution from the discovery of offset relations for non-dusty versus dusty (wet-merger-built) lenticular galaxies in the $M_{\mathrm{bh}}$-$M_{\ast ,\mathrm{spheroid}}$ diagram
• The isotropic center of NGC 5419 -- A core in formation?
• Black hole and nuclear cluster scaling relations: M_bh ~ M_nc^{2.7+/-0.7}
• Galaxy Core Formation by Supermassive Black Hole Binaries: the Importance of Realistic Initial Conditions and Galaxy Morphology
• Probing the Delay Time of Supermassive Black Hole Binary Mergers With Gravitational Waves
• Unveiling Gargantua: A new search strategy for the most massive central cluster black holes
• Evolution of binary supermassive black holes and the final-parsec problem
• The Nuker model for galactic nuclei
• Connecting traces of galaxy evolution: the missing core mass -- morphological fine structure relation
• Identifying supermassive black hole recoil in elliptical galaxies
• Early Type Galaxy Core Phase Densities
• Modelling dust rings in early-type galaxies through a sequence of radiative transfer simulations and 2D image fitting
• Astrophysics with the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
• LeMMINGs. VI. Connecting nuclear activity to bulge properties of active and inactive galaxies: radio scaling relations and galaxy environment
• New Analysis of Dark Matter in Elliptical Galaxies
• Elliptical (E) and ellicular (ES) galaxies in the M_bh-M_*,sph diagram, and a merger-driven explanation for the origin of ES galaxies, anti-truncated stellar discs in lenticular galaxies, and the Sersicification of E galaxy light profiles
• LeMMINGs. V. Nuclear activity and bulge properties: a detailed multi-component decomposition of $e$-MERLIN Palomar galaxies with $HST$
• Studying Dynamical Models of the Core Galaxy NGC 1399 with Merging Remnants
• The most massive galaxies with large depleted cores: structural parameter relations and black hole masses