[ITAL]Chandra[/ITAL] Limits on X-Ray Emission Associated with the Supermassive Black Holes in Three Giant Elliptical Galaxies
Open Access
- 1 July 2001
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Astronomical Society in The Astrophysical Journal
- Vol. 555 (1), L21-L24
- https://doi.org/10.1086/323157
Abstract
Elliptical galaxy nuclei are the sites of the largest black holes known but typically show little or no nuclear activity. We investigate this extreme quiescence using Chandra X-Ray Observatory observations of the giant elliptical galaxies NGC 1399, NGC 4472, and NGC 4636. The unique Chandra imaging power enables us to place upper limits of 7.3, 15, and 28 × 10-9LEdd for the ~108-109 M☉ black holes in NGC 1399, NGC 4472, and NGC 4636, respectively. The corresponding radiative efficiencies in this band are 4.1, 24, and 620 × 10-6 using Bondi accretion rates derived from the Chandra hot interstellar gas surface brightness profiles. These limits are inconsistent with basic advection-dominated accretion flow models for NGC 1399 and NGC 4472, indicating accretion onto the black hole at 10% of the Bondi rate.This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit:
- Accretion onto Nearby Supermassive Black Holes: [ITAL]Chandra[/ITAL] Constraints on the Dominant Cluster Galaxy NGC 6166The Astrophysical Journal, 2001
- The Nature of the Hard X-Ray Background Sources: Optical, Near-Infrared, Submillimeter, and Radio PropertiesThe Astronomical Journal, 2001
- Hard X-ray emission from elliptical galaxiesMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2000
- Low-radiative-efficiency accretion in the nuclei of elliptical galaxiesMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 2000
- [ITAL]Chandra[/ITAL] Detection of Massive Black Holes in Galactic Cooling FlowsThe Astrophysical Journal, 1999
- Strong observational constraints on advection-dominated accretion in the cores of elliptical galaxiesMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1999
- On the fate of gas accreting at a low rate on to a black holeMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1999
- Galaxy DynamicsPublications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1999
- Cooling Flows and Quasars: Different Aspects of the Same Phenomenon? I. ConceptsThe Astrophysical Journal, 1997
- On Spherically Symmetrical AccretionMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 1952