Black Hole Demography from Nearby Active Galactic Nuclei

Abstract

A significant fraction of local galaxies show evidence of nuclear activity. I argue that the bulk of this activity, while energetically not remarkable, derives from accretion onto a central massive black hole. The statistics of nearby active galactic nuclei thus provide an effective probe of black hole demography. Consistent with the picture emerging from direct dynamical studies, the local census of nuclear activity strongly suggests that most, perhaps all, galaxies with a significant bulge component contain a central massive black hole. Although late-type galaxies appear to be generally deficient in nuclear black holes, there are important exceptions to this rule. I highlight two examples of dwarf, late-type galaxies that contain active nuclei powered by intermediate-mass black holes.