The Cosmic Density of Massive Black Holes from Galaxy Velocity Dispersions
- 1 December 2002
- journal article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astronomical Journal
- Vol. 124 (6) , 3035-3041
- https://doi.org/10.1086/344484
Abstract
Supermassive black holes are thought to be relics of quasars, and their numbers and masses are therefore related to the quasar luminosity function and its evolution with redshift. We have used the relationship between black hole mass and bulge velocity dispersion (the M_bullet - sigma relation) to make an improved estimate of the mass density and mass spectrum of supermassive black holes. Uncertainties in the M_bullet - sigma relation have little effect on the mass density. We find a mass density of (4.8 +/- 1.6) h^2 x 10^5 M_sun Mpc^-3. Some of the variance in published density estimates comes from the use of different values of the Hubble constant.Comment: To appear in the December 2002 issue of The Astronomical JournaKeywords
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