| Title |
A supermassive black hole in an ultra-compact dwarf galaxy
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Nature, September 2014
|
| DOI | 10.1038/nature13762 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Anil C. Seth, Remco van den Bosch, Steffen Mieske, Holger Baumgardt, Mark den Brok, Jay Strader, Nadine Neumayer, Igor Chilingarian, Michael Hilker, Richard McDermid, Lee Spitler, Jean Brodie, Matthias J. Frank, Jonelle L. Walsh |
| Abstract |
Ultra-compact dwarf galaxies are among the densest stellar systems in the Universe. These systems have masses of up to 2 × 10(8) solar masses, but half-light radii of just 3-50 parsecs. Dynamical mass estimates show that many such dwarfs are more massive than expected from their luminosity. It remains unclear whether these high dynamical mass estimates arise because of the presence of supermassive black holes or result from a non-standard stellar initial mass function that causes the average stellar mass to be higher than expected. Here we report adaptive optics kinematic data of the ultra-compact dwarf galaxy M60-UCD1 that show a central velocity dispersion peak exceeding 100 kilometres per second and modest rotation. Dynamical modelling of these data reveals the presence of a supermassive black hole with a mass of 2.1 × 10(7) solar masses. This is 15 per cent of the object's total mass. The high black hole mass and mass fraction suggest that M60-UCD1 is the stripped nucleus of a galaxy. Our analysis also shows that M60-UCD1's stellar mass is consistent with its luminosity, implying a large population of previously unrecognized supermassive black holes in other ultra-compact dwarf galaxies. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 56 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 11 | 20% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | 5% |
| Switzerland | 3 | 5% |
| Japan | 3 | 5% |
| France | 2 | 4% |
| India | 2 | 4% |
| Bangladesh | 1 | 2% |
| Russia | 1 | 2% |
| Cuba | 1 | 2% |
| Other | 10 | 18% |
| Unknown | 19 | 34% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 39 | 70% |
| Scientists | 16 | 29% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 2% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 91 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | 2% |
| Spain | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 88 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 29 | 32% |
| Researcher | 20 | 22% |
| Student > Master | 11 | 12% |
| Student > Bachelor | 8 | 9% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 4 | 4% |
| Other | 12 | 13% |
| Unknown | 7 | 8% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Physics and Astronomy | 77 | 85% |
| Engineering | 3 | 3% |
| Chemistry | 2 | 2% |
| Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 1 | 1% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1 | 1% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 7 | 8% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 548. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 24 April 2023.
All research outputs
#45,125
of 25,732,188 outputs
Outputs from Nature
#3,805
of 98,606 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#297
of 260,696 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Nature
#39
of 994 outputs
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