A stellar dynamical mass measurement of an inactive black hole at redshift 2.
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| Title: | A stellar dynamical mass measurement of an inactive black hole at redshift 2. |
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| Authors: | Newman, Andrew B. (AUTHOR), Gu, Meng (AUTHOR), Belli, Sirio (AUTHOR), Ellis, Richard S. (AUTHOR), Gangula, Sai (AUTHOR), Greene, Jenny E. (AUTHOR), Walsh, Jonelle L. (AUTHOR), Suyu, Sherry H. (AUTHOR), Ertl, Sebastian (AUTHOR), Caminha, Gabriel (AUTHOR), Granata, Giovanni (AUTHOR), Grillo, Claudio (AUTHOR), Schuldt, Stefan (AUTHOR), Barone, Tania M. (AUTHOR), Bird, Simeon (AUTHOR), Glazebrook, Karl (AUTHOR), Jafariyazani, Marziye (AUTHOR), Kriek, Mariska (AUTHOR), Matthews, Allison (AUTHOR), Morishita, Takahiro (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Science. 6/4/2026, Vol. 392 Issue 6802, p1065-1068. 4p. |
| Subjects: | Stellar dynamics, Gravitational lenses, Galactic evolution, Supermassive black holes, Galactic redshift, Space telescopes |
| Abstract: | Supermassive black holes and their host galaxies grow together over time, producing correlations between the black hole mass and various galaxy properties. Determining the evolution of these correlations requires precise measurements of the masses of distant black holes. We observed the gravitationally lensed quiescent galaxy MRG-M0138 at redshift 1.95 using James Webb Space Telescope integral field spectroscopy to spatially resolve the kinematics of stars within the black hole's sphere of influence. By using a foreground lens model and fitting stellar dynamical models, we determined the mass of its inactive black hole to be M • = 6.0 − 1.7 + 2.1 × 10 9 solar masses. Comparing this measurement to local galaxies, we found that M • is higher than expected given the galaxy's bulge mass but consistent with the correlation of M • with stellar velocity dispersion. Editor's summary: Most galaxies contain a supermassive black hole at their center. The black hole mass can be determined from stellar kinematics, which requires a high spatial resolution that is usually only available for nearby targets. For more distant galaxies, the black hole mass must be inferred indirectly using empirical scaling relations, but it is unclear whether those are valid beyond the local Universe. Newman et al. took advantage of a gravitational lens that magnifies a distant galaxy. This approach provides sufficient spatial resolution to model the stellar kinematics and determine the black hole mass. Its value is consistent with one local scaling relation but inconsistent with another. —Keith T. Smith [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Supermassive black holes and their host galaxies grow together over time, producing correlations between the black hole mass and various galaxy properties. Determining the evolution of these correlations requires precise measurements of the masses of distant black holes. We observed the gravitationally lensed quiescent galaxy MRG-M0138 at redshift 1.95 using James Webb Space Telescope integral field spectroscopy to spatially resolve the kinematics of stars within the black hole's sphere of influence. By using a foreground lens model and fitting stellar dynamical models, we determined the mass of its inactive black hole to be M • = 6.0 − 1.7 + 2.1 × 10 9 solar masses. Comparing this measurement to local galaxies, we found that M • is higher than expected given the galaxy's bulge mass but consistent with the correlation of M • with stellar velocity dispersion. Editor's summary: Most galaxies contain a supermassive black hole at their center. The black hole mass can be determined from stellar kinematics, which requires a high spatial resolution that is usually only available for nearby targets. For more distant galaxies, the black hole mass must be inferred indirectly using empirical scaling relations, but it is unclear whether those are valid beyond the local Universe. Newman et al. took advantage of a gravitational lens that magnifies a distant galaxy. This approach provides sufficient spatial resolution to model the stellar kinematics and determine the black hole mass. Its value is consistent with one local scaling relation but inconsistent with another. —Keith T. Smith [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00368075 |
| DOI: | 10.1126/science.adx5816 |
