Understanding the Physics of the Bulge/Black-Hole Connection with GSMT

1. Understanding the Physics of the Bulge/Black-Hole Connectionwith GSMT Stephen Eikenberry University of Florida 3 November 2007

2. Black holes are fundamental influences on many astrophysical phenomena • Super-massive BH’s now known to be intrinsically linked to galaxy evolution • But how/why?? What is the physics of the Bulge/Black-Hole (BBH) connection? • Probably related to nuclear gas flow … Black Holes – Why Care? Ferrarese et al., 2001

3. The Galactic Center • The Galactic Center is a wonderful & mysterious place: • >4.5x106 M0 black hole in Sgr A* • Closest galaxy on BBH correlation curve • (Also >2000 Chandra X-ray sources -- the “Elephant’s Graveyard” for (stellar mass) black hole hunters!!)

4. GC Surveys: The Problem • ~100% of all Chandra X-ray sources have IR counterpart candidates within 1-arcsec • But, stats indicate that ~85% are SPURIOUS • Need to sort the wheat from the chaff! • IR spectra do it (but need N=2000, and most are “throw-aways”!  TAC issue!!)

5. FLAMINGOS-2 GC Survey • F2GCS Team: S. Eikenberry, R. Bandyopadhyay, C. DeWitt, N. Raines (Florida); R. Blum & K. Olsen (NOAO); K. Sellgren (OSU); M. Muno (Caltech); etc. • FLAMINGOS-2 Summary: • Gemini 8-m NIR imager/MOS • 1-2.5-micron, HAWAII-2 • 6.2-arcmin-diam. imaging FOV • 6x2-arcmin MOS FOV; N>60 targets • R~1300 JH, HK; R~3300 J,H,K • MCAO-compatible

6. FLAMINGOS-2 GC Survey • F2GCS will obtain HK spectra of ~5000 stars in GC region (w/ISPI pre-imaging for target selection) • Will target ~2000 X-ray sources to identify ~300 new X-ray binary IR counterparts (doubling the number currently known in the Galaxy; >x100 sample in the GC region) • Should resolve the mystery of this new source population • What about the other stars? (5000 – 300 = 4700 “throw-aways”)

7. FLAMINGOS-2 GC Survey:RGB Heaven • One person’s “chaff” is another person’s “wheat”! • Produces a catalog of ~4000-ish RGB spectra hurray! (?) • Use H&K steam bands and CO indices  Mbol & Teff • Now we can place 4000 RGB stars on an H-R diagram hurray! (?) Blum et al., 2003

8. F2GCS: Star Formation History • F2GCS increases sample x60 ! • F2GCS reaches much fainter too Blum, Ramirez, Sellgren, Olsen 2003 • Combine with model star formation histories we can constrain the SFH of the GC • SFH traces nuclear gas flow versus time(hurray!) • Can link this to the mass evolution history of the SMBH!!

9. The Bulge/Black-Hole Connection • Follow-up on F2GCS (Gen 1 & 2) + other inner surveys with: • FRIDA on GTC • Keck NGAO & IR d-IFU (?) • HK + R=20,000 will provide abundances (, Fe) & kinematics • Then know history of nuclear gas flow (mass, kinematics, & composition versus time) ! Smith et al., 2002 •  physics of the Bulge/Black-Hole connection (!)

10. Black Hole Origins: Beyond the Milky Way • F2GCS will probe the origins of Sgr A* by studying the properties/history of the stellar population around it • Future programs will study the origins of black holes in external galaxies with same resolved approach • GSMT can resolve individual RSG stars in Virgo Cluster galaxies!

11. Virgo Cluster Black Holes & Bulges • GSMT + AO + IR integral field unit gives MBH (CaII triplet) • Offset IFU (multi-pointings or multi-dIFU) gives bulge • With GSMT spatial res, get individual red supergiant stars • H ~20-23 mag • K ~19-22 mag • GSMT S/N OK! Note: GSMT with IRIS/IRMOS-like instruments can achieve much greater bandpass than this!

12. Virgo: What About Crowding? • Un/partly-resolved stellar background important • IFU analysis approaches: • spectra of many spatial points • photometry w/many spectral channels • Adopt Olsen et al. approach to ELT crowding • Conclusion  crowding is non-trivial, but also non-crippling for this science

13. Virgo Cluster Survey • Use AO-fed IR IFU with multiple pointings (or AO-fed multi-dIFU with single pointing) on an individual Virgo cluster galaxy • Results: • MBH ; bulge • Nuclear gas flow history (incl. abundance + kinematics!) from stars/SFH •  Physics of BBH Connection (like Sgr A*) • Repeat for many Virgo galaxies  probe how the physics of BBH changes with galaxy properties/environment • The Virgo Cluster becomes a natural test laboratory for the Bulge/Black-Hole Connection !!

14. GSMT Instrument Requirements • Near-Diffraction-limited AO in H/K bands • IR IFU with R~5K-7K and R~20K: • Need high-res grating, but still 1st order and “normal” grating constant (i.e. FRIDA) • Need multiple pointings • Or IR multi-dIFU with R~5K-7K and R~20K: i.e. UF IRMOS concept • High-res grating incl. in baseline design • Multi d-IFUs can get entire galaxy in one go!

15. Conclusions • BBH investigations using resolved stellar studies can tie Black Hole evolution to feeder gas via Star Formation History (incl. abundance, kinematics) • 8-m-class telescopes will do this for the Milky Way + M33 (i.e. Gemini/FLAMINGOS-2 Galactic Center Survey) • GSMT (ELTs) + right instruments can do this same work out to the Virgo Cluster  supermassive black hole astrophysics test laboratory • Cost: Need AO-fed IR IFU (or multi-dIFU) grating/filter slots to include 2 “high-res” 1st-order gratings (in other words, CHEAP incremental cost compared to existing instrument plans for many/most ELTs!)