POX 52: A Dwarf Seyfert 1 Galaxy With An Intermediate-Mass Black Hole
Abstract
We describe new optical images and spectra of POX 52, a dwarf galaxy with an active nucleus that was originally detected in the POX objective-prism survey. While POX 52 was originally thought to be a Seyfert 2 galaxy, the new data reveal an emission-line spectrum very similar to that of the dwarf Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4395, with broad components to the permitted line profiles, and we classify POX 52 as a Seyfert 1 galaxy. The host galaxy appears to be a dwarf elliptical, and its brightness profile is best fit by a Sersic model with an index of 3.6+/-0.2 and a total magnitude of MV = -17.6. Applying mass-luminosity-linewidth scaling relations to estimate the black hole mass from the broad H-beta linewidth and nonstellar continuum luminosity, we find MBH ~ 1.6x105 solar masses. The stellar velocity dispersion in the host galaxy, measured from the Ca II 8498, 8542 Angstrom lines, is 36+/-5 km/s, also suggestive of a black hole mass of order 105 solar masses. Further searches for active nuclei in dwarf galaxies can provide unique constraints on the demographics of black holes in the mass range below 106 solar masses.
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