Do Quiescent and Active Galaxies Have Different M_(BH)-σ* Relations?

Abstract

To investigate the validity of the assumption that quiescent galaxies and active galaxies follow the same black hole mass (M_BH)-stellar velocity dispersion (σ*) relation, as required for the calibration of M_BH estimators for broad line active galactic nuclei (AGNs), we determine and compare the M_BH-σ* relations, respectively, for quiescent and active galaxies. For the quiescent galaxy sample, composed of 72 dynamical M_BH measurements, we update σ* for 28 galaxies using homogeneous H-band measurements that are corrected for galaxy rotation. For active galaxies, we collect 25 reverberation-mapped AGNs and improve σ* measurement for two objects. Combining the two samples, we determine the virial factor f, first by scaling the active galaxy sample to the M_BH-σ* relation of quiescent galaxies, and second by simultaneously fitting the quiescent and active galaxy samples, as f=5.1^(+1.5)_(-1.1) and f=5.9^(+2.1)_(-1.5), respectively. The M_BH-σ* relation of active galaxies appears to be shallower than that of quiescent galaxies. However, the discrepancy is caused by a difference in the accessible M_BH distribution at given σ*, primarily due to the difficulty of measuring reliable stellar velocity dispersion for the host galaxies of luminous AGNs. Accounting for the selection effects, we find that active and quiescent galaxies are consistent with following intrinsically the same M_BH-σ* relation.

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