The Black Hole Mass of BL Lacertae Objects from the Stellar Velocity Dispersion of the Host Galaxy

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Abstract
The correlation between black hole mass MBH and stellar velocity dispersion σ in nearby elliptical galaxies affords us a novel way to determine MBH in active galaxies. We report on measurements of σ from optical spectra of seven BL Lacertae host galaxies. The derived values of σ are in the range of 160-290 km s-1 corresponding to MBH of 5 × 107-1 × 109 M☉. The average ratio of MBH to the host galaxy mass is 1.4 × 10-3, consistent with that estimated in other active and inactive galaxies. The velocity dispersions and the derived values of MBH of the BL Lac objects are similar to those obtained for low-redshift radio galaxies, in good agreement with the predictions of the unified models for radio-loud active galaxies.
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