Relation Between Globular Clusters and Supermassive Black Holes in Ellipticals as a Manifestation of the Black Hole Fundamental Plane
Open/View files
Date
2011
Author(s)
Snyder, Gregory F.
Hopkins, Philip F.
Hernquist, Lars
Publisher
American Astronomical Society
The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you.
Citation
Snyder, Gregory F., Philip F. Hopkins, and Lars Hernquist. 2011. “RELATION BETWEEN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS AND SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES IN ELLIPTICALS AS A MANIFESTATION OF THE BLACK HOLE FUNDAMENTAL PLANE.” The Astrophysical Journal 728 (1): L24. https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/728/1/l24.
Abstract
We analyze the relation between the mass of the central supermassive black hole (M-BH) and the number of globular clusters (N-GC) in elliptical galaxies and bulges as a ramification of the black hole fundamental plane, the theoretically predicted and observed multi-variable correlation between M-BH and bulge binding energy. Although the tightness of the M-BH-N-GC correlation suggests an unlikely causal link between supermassive black holes and globular clusters (GCs), such a correspondence can exhibit small scatter even if the physical relationship is indirect. We show that the relatively small scatter of the M-BH-N-GC relation owes to the mutual residual correlation of M-BH and N-GC with stellar mass when the velocity dispersion is held fixed. Thus, present observations lend evidence for feedback-regulated models in which the bulge binding energy is most important; they do not necessarily imply any "special" connection between GCs and M-BH. This raises the question of why N-GC traces the formation of ellipticals and bulges sufficiently well to be correlated with binding energy.
Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles (OAP), as set forth at Terms of Service
Collection