Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1
We studied the optical spectrum of HLX-1 during its latest outburst, using the FORS2 spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope. We detect an Hα emission line centered at λ = 6718.9 ± 0.9 Å and find that its projected radial velocity with respect to the nucleus of ESO 243–49 is 424 ± 27 km s–1, while...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Institute of Physics Publishing
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19722 |
| _version_ | 1848750111404851200 |
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| author | Soria, Roberto Hau, G. Pakull, M. |
| author_facet | Soria, Roberto Hau, G. Pakull, M. |
| author_sort | Soria, Roberto |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | We studied the optical spectrum of HLX-1 during its latest outburst, using the FORS2 spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope. We detect an Hα emission line centered at λ = 6718.9 ± 0.9 Å and find that its projected radial velocity with respect to the nucleus of ESO 243–49 is 424 ± 27 km s–1, while the maximum rotational velocity of the stars in that galaxy is 209 km s–1. This suggests that HLX-1 and its surrounding stars were not formed in situ, but came either from a disrupted dwarf galaxy or from a nuclear recoil. We also find that the Hα emission line is resolved with FWHM 400 km s–1, suggesting a nebular rather than disk origin for the emission. Its luminosity (L Hα = a few 1037 erg s–1, equivalent width = 70 Å) is also consistent with emission from a nebula photoionized by HLX-1. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:31:38Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-19722 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:31:38Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Institute of Physics Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-197222017-09-13T13:48:14Z Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 Soria, Roberto Hau, G. Pakull, M. individual (Abell 2877) galaxies: clusters galaxies: individual (ESO 243–49) accretion accretion disks black hole physics We studied the optical spectrum of HLX-1 during its latest outburst, using the FORS2 spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope. We detect an Hα emission line centered at λ = 6718.9 ± 0.9 Å and find that its projected radial velocity with respect to the nucleus of ESO 243–49 is 424 ± 27 km s–1, while the maximum rotational velocity of the stars in that galaxy is 209 km s–1. This suggests that HLX-1 and its surrounding stars were not formed in situ, but came either from a disrupted dwarf galaxy or from a nuclear recoil. We also find that the Hα emission line is resolved with FWHM 400 km s–1, suggesting a nebular rather than disk origin for the emission. Its luminosity (L Hα = a few 1037 erg s–1, equivalent width = 70 Å) is also consistent with emission from a nebula photoionized by HLX-1. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19722 10.1088/2041-8205/768/1/L22 Institute of Physics Publishing fulltext |
| spellingShingle | individual (Abell 2877) galaxies: clusters galaxies: individual (ESO 243–49) accretion accretion disks black hole physics Soria, Roberto Hau, G. Pakull, M. Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 |
| title | Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 |
| title_full | Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 |
| title_fullStr | Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 |
| title_short | Kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate HLX-1 |
| title_sort | kinematics of the intermediate-mass black hole candidate hlx-1 |
| topic | individual (Abell 2877) galaxies: clusters galaxies: individual (ESO 243–49) accretion accretion disks black hole physics |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/19722 |