Supermassive Black Hole Mass Measurements

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past 30 years, the masses of supermassive black holes (SMBHs) have been shown to correlate with certain properties of their host galaxies, indicating that they are crucial components in regulating galaxy growth across cosmic time. However, the current samples are insufficient for a detailed analysis of their co-evolution by galaxy type, environment, or as a function of redshift. The ever-increasing amount of samples of SMBH masses have been measured using a variety of techniques, including resolved stellar and gaseous kinematic tracers, the reverberation mapping (RM) of the accretion disk and broad-line region clouds in active galaxies, and the hydrostatic equilibrium modeling of hot halos. Now, higher-precision SMBH masses are enabled through advances in imaging technology, the identification of additional kinematics tracers, high-cadence monitoring and broad spectral coverage, and improvements in modeling, computational, and statistical approaches.

The present Special Issue aims to host several contributions dealing with SMBH mass measurements from the local universe to high redshifts. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• SMBH mass measurements using new or established techniques;
• High-redshift studies of galaxy and SMBH growth using kinematics or line excitation;
• SMBH growth over cosmic time, either through observations, R-L relationships, or simulations;
• Cross-checks between different mass measurement techniques;
• Kinematic studies that probe the SMBH sphere of influence;
• RM or accretion disk studies that can provide information about SMBH masses;
• The connection between an SMBH mass and the circumnuclear environment;
• An analysis of the current samples to probe SMBH mass–host galaxy scaling relationships;
• A review of the current state of SMBH mass measurements or the growth of SMBH masses during mergers.

Dr. Benjamin Boizelle
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• supermassive black holes
• active galactic nuclei
• stellar or gaseous kinematics
• dynamical modeling