The Coexistence of Classical Bulges, Pseudobulges, and Supermassive Black Holes

Peter Erwin

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arXiv · 1002.1445

The Coexistence of Classical Bulges, Pseudobulges, and Supermassive Black Holes

Peter Erwin

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Abstract

Some S0 and early-type spiral galaxies possess "composite bulges"; in these galaxies, the photometric bulge -- the central stellar light in excess of the disk light -- is composed of both a "(disky) pseudobulge", with a flattened, disklike morphology and relatively cool stellar kinematics, and a rounder, kinematically hot "classical bulge" embedded within. I speculate that supermassive black holes (SMBH) in such galaxies may correlate with the classical-bulge component only, and not with the pseudobulge component; preliminary comparisons with SMBH masses appear to support this hypothesis.

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Peter Erwin. 2010-02-07. The Coexistence of Classical Bulges, Pseudobulges, and Supermassive Black Holes. https://arxiv.org/abs/1002.1445

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