We have used Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images, SAURON Integral Field Spectroscopy (IFS), and adaptative optics assisted Gemini NIFS near-infrared K-band IFS to map the stellar and gas distribution, excitation and kinematics of the inner few kpc of the nearby edge-on S0 galaxy NGC 4111. The HST images map its ≈450 pc diameter dusty polar ring, with an estimated gas mass ≥10⁷ M_⊙. The NIFS data cube maps the inner 110 pc radius at ≈7 pc spatial resolution, revealing a ≈220 pc diameter polar ring in hot (2267 ± 166 K) molecular H₂ 1–0 S(1) gas embedded in the polar ring. The stellar velocity field shows disc-dominated kinematics along the galaxy plane both in the SAURON large scale and in the NIFS nuclear-scale data. The large-scale [O III] λ5007 Å velocity field shows a superposition of two disc kinematics: one similar to that of the stars and another along the polar ring, showing non-circular motions that seem to connect with the velocity field of the nuclear H₂ ring, whose kinematics indicate accelerated inflow to the nucleus. The estimated mass inflow rate is enough not only to feed an active galactic nucleus (AGN) but also to trigger circumnuclear star formation in the near future. We propose a scenario in which gas from the polar ring, which probably originated from the capture of a dwarf galaxy, is moving inwards and triggering an AGN, as supported by the local X-ray emission, which seems to be the source of the H₂ 1–0 S(1) excitation. The fact that we see neither near-UV nor Br γ emission suggests that the nascent AGN is still deeply buried under the optically thick dust of the polar ring.

We carried out spectroscopic monitoring of 21 low-redshift Seyfert 1 galaxies using the Kast double spectrograph on the 3 m Shane telescope at Lick Observatory from 2016 April to 2017 May. Targeting active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with luminosities of λ L λ (5100 Å) ≈ 1044 erg s−1 and predicted Hβ lags of ∼20–30 days or black hole masses of 107–108.5 M ⊙, our campaign probes luminosity-dependent trends in broad-line region (BLR) structure and dynamics as well as to improve calibrations for single-epoch estimates of quasar black hole masses. Here we present the first results from the campaign, including Hβ emission-line light curves, integrated Hβ lag times (8–30 days) measured against V-band continuum light curves, velocity-resolved reverberation lags, line widths of the broad Hβ components, and virial black hole mass estimates (107.1–108.1 M ⊙). Our results add significantly to the number of existing velocity-resolved lag measurements and reveal a diversity of BLR gas kinematics at moderately high AGN luminosities. AGN continuum luminosity appears not to be correlated with the type of kinematics that its BLR gas may exhibit. Follow-up direct modeling of this data set will elucidate the detailed kinematics and provide robust dynamical black hole masses for several objects in this sample.

We present 0.'' 14 resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO(2-1) observations of the circumnuclear gas disk in UGC 2698, a local compact galaxy. The disk exhibits regular rotation with projected velocities rising to 450 km s(-1) near the galaxy center. We fit gas-dynamical models to the ALMA data cube, assuming the CO emission originates from a dynamically cold, thin disk, and measured the mass of the supermassive black hole (BH) in UGC 2698 to be M-BH = (2.46 +/- 0.07 [1 sigma statistical](-0.78)(+0.70) [systematic]) x 10(9) M-circle dot. UGC 2698 is part of a sample of nearby early-type galaxies that are plausible z similar to 2 red nugget relics. Previous stellar-dynamical modeling for three galaxies in the sample found BH masses consistent with the BH mass-stellar velocity dispersion (M-BH - sigma(star)) relation but over-massive relative to the BH mass-bulge luminosity (M-BH - L-bul) correlation, suggesting that BHs may gain the majority of their mass before their host galaxies. However, UGC 2698 is consistent with both M-BH - sigma(star) and M-BH - L-bul. As UGC 2698 has the largest stellar mass and effective radius in the local compact galaxy sample, it may have undergone more recent mergers that brought it in line with the BH scaling relations. Alternatively, given that the three previously measured compact galaxies are outliers from M-BH - L-bul, while UGC 2698 is not, there may be significant scatter at the poorly sampled high-mass end of the relation. Additional gas-dynamical M-BH measurements for the compact galaxy sample will improve our understanding of BH-galaxy co-evolution.

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Cycle 5 and Cycle 6 observations of CO (2−1) and CO (3−2) emission at 0.″2−0.″3 resolution in two radio-bright, brightest group/cluster early-type galaxies, NGC 315 and NGC 4261. The data resolve CO emission that extends within their black hole (BH) spheres of influence (rg), tracing regular Keplerian rotation down to just tens of parsecs from the BHs. The projected molecular gas speeds in the highly inclined (i ≳ 60°) disks rise at least to 500 km s−1 near their galaxy centers. We fit dynamical models of thin-disk rotation directly to the ALMA data cubes and account for the extended stellar mass distributions by constructing galaxy surface brightness profiles corrected for a range of plausible dust extinction values. The best-fit models yield  for NGC 315 and  for NGC 4261, the latter of which is larger than previous estimates by a factor of ∼3. The BH masses are broadly consistent with the relations between BH masses and host galaxy properties. These are among the first ALMA observations to map dynamically cold gas kinematics well within the BH-dominated regions of radio galaxies, resolving the respective rg by factors of ∼5−10. The observations demonstrate ALMA’s ability to precisely measure BH masses in active galaxies, which will enable more confident probes of accretion physics for the most massive galaxies.

We present ~0farcs10 resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) CO(2−1) imaging of the arcsecond-scale (r ≈ 150 pc) dusty molecular disk in the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 3258. The data provide unprecedented resolution of the cold gas disk kinematics within the dynamical sphere of influence of a supermassive black hole (BH), revealing a quasi-Keplerian central increase in projected rotation speed rising from 280 km s−1 at the disk's outer edge to >400 km s−1 near the disk center. We construct dynamical models for the rotating disk and fit beam-smeared model CO line profiles directly to the ALMA data cube. Our models incorporate both flat and tilted-ring disks that provide a better fit of the mildly warped structure in NGC 3258. We show that the exceptional angular resolution of the ALMA data makes it possible to infer the host galaxy's mass profile within r = 150 pc solely from the ALMA CO kinematics, without relying on optical or near-infrared imaging data to determine the stellar mass profile. Our model therefore circumvents any uncertainty in the BH mass that would result from the substantial dust extinction in the galaxy's central region. The best model fit yields ${M}_{\mathrm{BH}}=2.249\times {10}^{9}$ ${M}_{\odot }$, with a statistical model-fitting uncertainty of just 0.18% and systematic uncertainties of 0.62% from various aspects of the model construction and 12% from uncertainty in the distance to NGC 3258. This observation demonstrates the full potential of ALMA for carrying out highly precise measurements of ${M}_{\mathrm{BH}}$ in early-type galaxies containing circumnuclear gas disks.

Emission line observations of circumnuclear gas disks in the ALMA era have begun to resolve molecular gas tracer kinematics near supermassive black holes (BHs), enabling highly precise mass determination in the best cases. The ngVLA is capable of extremely high spatial resolution imaging of the CO(1–0) transition at 115 GHz for nearby galaxies. Furthermore, its high (anticipated) emission line sensitivity suggests this array can produce benchmark BH mass measurements. We discuss lessons learned from gas-dynamical modeling of recent ALMA data sets and also compare ALMA and ngVLA CO simulations of a dynamically cold disk. While only a fraction of all local galaxies likely possess sufficiently bright, regularly-rotating nuclear molecular gas, in such cases the ngVLA is expected to more efficiently resolve such emission arising at a projected 50–100 mas from the central BH.