Gas Dynamical Black Hole Mass Measurements for M87

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:14110090,
            doi = {10.48660/14110090},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/14110090},
            author = {Walsh, Jonelle},
            keywords = {Strong Gravity},
            language = {en},
            title = {Gas Dynamical Black Hole Mass Measurements for M87},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2014},
            month = {nov},
            note = {PIRSA:14110090 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }
          

Abstract

M87 is one of the most luminous nearby galaxies and hosts one of the most massive black holes known, making it a very important target for extragalactic studies. The supermassive black hole has been the subject of several stellar and gas dynamical mass measurements; however, the best current stellar dynamical black hole mass is larger than the gas dynamical determination by a factor of two, corresponding to a 2-sigma discrepancy. In this talk, I will review the gas dynamical black hole mass measurements that have been made over the years for M87, focusing in particular on the most recent measurement from multi-slit Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph observations from the Hubble Space Telescope. I will also discuss the strengths and weaknesses generally associated with stellar and gas dynamical black hole mass measurement methods, and the current state of cross-checks between the two methods that have been carried out within the same galaxy.