1998/03/26 by Luis C. Ho, Ho, Luis C.
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysical Phenomena and Observations #Astrophysics (astro-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.astro-ph/9803307
To appear in Observational Evidence for Black Holes in the Universe, ed. S. K. Chakrabarti (Dordrecht: Kluwer). LaTex, 30 pages including embedded figures and tables
arxiv created 1998/03/26 · openalex publication_date 1998/03/26 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
I review the status of observational determinations of central masses in nearby galactic nuclei. Results from a variety of techniques are summarized, including ground-based and space-based optical spectroscopy, radio VLBI measurements of luminous water vapor masers, and variability monitoring studies of active galactic nuclei. I will also discuss recent X-ray observations that indicate relativistic motions arising from the accretion disks of active nuclei. The existing evidence suggests that supermassive black holes are an integral component of galactic structure, at least in elliptical and bulge-dominated galaxies. The black hole mass appears to be correlated with the mass of the spheroidal component of the host galaxy. This finding may have important implications for many astrophysical issues.