Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2009

Department

Physics and Astronomy

School

Mathematics and Natural Sciences

Abstract

Seigar et al. have recently demonstrated a new, tight correlation between galactic central supermassive black hole (BH) mass and the pitch angle of the spiral arm in disk galaxies which they attribute to other indirect correlations. They fit a double power law, governed by five parameters, to the BH mass as a function of pitch. Noting the features of their fitted curve, we show that a simple linear proportion of the BH mass to the cotangent of the pitch angle can obtain the same fit, within error. Such a direct, elegant fit may help shed light on the nature of the correlation.

Comments

©Astronomical Journal

DOI: 10.1088/0004-6256/137/6/4716

Publication Title

Astronomical Journal

Volume

137

Issue

6

First Page

4716

Last Page

4717

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