THE BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXY IN A85: THE LARGEST CORE KNOWN SO FAR

Journal Article · Mon Nov 10 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Astrophysical Journal Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/795/2/L31· OSTI ID:22364498

López-Cruz, O.; Añorve, C.; Ibarra-Medel, H. J. ^[1]; Birkinshaw, M.; Worrall, D. M. ^[2]; Barkhouse, W. A. ^[3]; Torres-Papaqui, J. P. ^[4]

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1. Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE), Astrofísica, Luis Enrique Erro No.1, Tonantzintla, Pue., C.P. 72840 (Mexico)
2. HH Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL (United Kingdom)
3. Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202 (United States)
4. Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Guanajuato (DAUG), Callejón Jalisco S/N Col. Valenciana, C.P. 36240 Guanajuato, Gto. (Mexico)

We have found that the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in A85, Holm 15A, displays the largest core known so far. Its cusp radius, r {sub γ} = 4.57 ± 0.06 kpc (4.''26 ± 0.''06), is more than 18 times larger than the mean for BCGs and ≳ 1 kpc larger than A2261-BCG, hitherto the largest-cored BCG. Holm 15A hosts the luminous amorphous radio source 0039-095B and has the optical signature of a LINER. Scaling laws indicate that this core could host a supermassive black hole (SMBH) of mass M {sub •} ∼ (10{sup 9}-10{sup 11}) M {sub ☉}. We suggest that cores this large represent a relatively short phase in the evolution of BCGs, whereas the masses of their associated SBMH might be set by initial conditions.

• OSTI ID: 22364498
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 795, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
BLACK HOLES
CUSPED GEOMETRIES
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
GALAXY CLUSTERS
GALAXY NUCLEI
MASS
PHOTOMETRY
SCALING LAWS