STScI Preprint #1212

Violent Relaxation around a Massive Black Hole

I present galaxy models resulting from violent relaxation in the presence of a pre-existing black hole. The models are computed by maximizing the entropy of the stellar dynamical system. I show that their properties are very similar to those of adiabatic growth models for a suitable choice of parameters. This suggests that observations of nuclear light profiles and kinematics alone may not be sufficient to discriminate between scenarios where a black hole grows adiabatically in the core of a galaxy, and scenarios where the black hole formation preceeds galaxy formation.

Status:

Appeared in: The Astrophysical Journal, 495:L91-L94, 1998

Affiliations:

Space Telescope Science Institute 3700 San Martin Drive Baltimore, MD 21218 USA
and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri, 156126, Pisa, Italy
On assignment from the Space Science Department of the European Space Agency