Skinny galaxy harbors massive black hole at core

[(Q)]

"Skinny" galaxy harbors massive black hole at core

Scientists have uncovered a supermassive black hole at the core of a svelte, spiral galaxy, a finding that questions a recently devised rule of thumb in which only galaxies with bulging cores have such black holes.

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/04/10_skinny.shtml


What kind of changes to our "rule of thumb" can we expect from this finding?

 

[Loren Booda]

Maybe the velocity dispersion mentioned is actually more of a momentum dispersion, allowing for a smaller black hole mass with great spin and narrower galactic bulge? One would probably find, on axis, narrow jets of matter perpendicular to such a galaxy.

Otherwise, the galaxy has entered a stage, similar to a quasar's earlier demise, where the stellar mass neighboring the black hole is temporarily depleted, with only disc material remaining nearby. This process is rare in that it would be a transition to a reconstituted bulge.

 

[quantumcarl]

Originally posted by (Q)
http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/04/10_skinny.shtml


What kind of changes to our "rule of thumb" can we expect from this finding?

It could be that the age of the NGC 4395 galaxy is sufficently advanced enough to have lost its central buldge to the black hole.

The evolution of black holes has no set "rule of thumb" as yet... as far as I know. It may take another 1000 years of study to actually have a "rule of thumb" with regard to black holes and galactic evolution.

The "light" black hole at NGC 4395's centre could have been super massive at one time... then been reduced as it reduced the size of NGC 4395.

I'm not up on the physics of these conditions so... this is just an approximation generated by my general ignorance of the phenomenon.