Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lujan, Nathaniel, Gebhardt, Karl, Anantua, Richard, Chase, Owen, Debski, Maya H., Finley, Claire, Gomez, Loraine V., Gupta, Om, Lawson, Alex J., Marron, Izabella, Martinez, Zorayda, Painter, Connor A., Sklansky, Yonatan, West, Hayley
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.06198
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866916734824349696
author Lujan, Nathaniel
Gebhardt, Karl
Anantua, Richard
Chase, Owen
Debski, Maya H.
Finley, Claire
Gomez, Loraine V.
Gupta, Om
Lawson, Alex J.
Marron, Izabella
Martinez, Zorayda
Painter, Connor A.
Sklansky, Yonatan
West, Hayley
author_facet Lujan, Nathaniel
Gebhardt, Karl
Anantua, Richard
Chase, Owen
Debski, Maya H.
Finley, Claire
Gomez, Loraine V.
Gupta, Om
Lawson, Alex J.
Marron, Izabella
Martinez, Zorayda
Painter, Connor A.
Sklansky, Yonatan
West, Hayley
contents The dwarf spheroidal galaxy, Segue 1, is thought to have one of the largest ratios of dark matter to stellar mass. Using orbit-based dynamical models, we model Segue 1, including a dark halo and a central black hole. The best-fit model requires a black hole mass of $4 \pm 1.5 \times 10^5\ M_\odot$. The value of the black hole mass is the same with or without a dark halo. The mass-to-light ratio of the stars is poorly constrained by the dynamical modeling, reflecting that Segue 1 is dominated by mass other than stars. Dynamical models that exclude a black hole provide a worse fit and require a dark halo with very small scale radii of around 100 parsecs. Additionally, the zero black hole models require a stellar orbital distribution that is highly radially biased. The model with a black hole provides an orbital structure that is close to isotropic, more similar to other well-studied systems. We argue that the two-parameter models of stars and black hole provide a better description of Segue 1 than the three-parameter models of stars and two dark halo components. Additional support for a central black hole comes from a significant increase in the central rotation. Using individual velocities, we measure a rotation amplitude of $9.0 \pm 2.4\ \mathrm{km\ s^{-1}}$. Segue 1 is likely being tidally stripped at large radii, and we might be witnessing the remnant nucleus of a more massive system. Alternatively, given the high black hole mass relative to the stellar mass, Segue 1 is analogous to Little Red Dots seen in the early Universe.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_06198
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The "Dark-Matter Dominated" Galaxy Segue 1 Modeled with a Black Hole and no Dark Halo
Lujan, Nathaniel
Gebhardt, Karl
Anantua, Richard
Chase, Owen
Debski, Maya H.
Finley, Claire
Gomez, Loraine V.
Gupta, Om
Lawson, Alex J.
Marron, Izabella
Martinez, Zorayda
Painter, Connor A.
Sklansky, Yonatan
West, Hayley
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The dwarf spheroidal galaxy, Segue 1, is thought to have one of the largest ratios of dark matter to stellar mass. Using orbit-based dynamical models, we model Segue 1, including a dark halo and a central black hole. The best-fit model requires a black hole mass of $4 \pm 1.5 \times 10^5\ M_\odot$. The value of the black hole mass is the same with or without a dark halo. The mass-to-light ratio of the stars is poorly constrained by the dynamical modeling, reflecting that Segue 1 is dominated by mass other than stars. Dynamical models that exclude a black hole provide a worse fit and require a dark halo with very small scale radii of around 100 parsecs. Additionally, the zero black hole models require a stellar orbital distribution that is highly radially biased. The model with a black hole provides an orbital structure that is close to isotropic, more similar to other well-studied systems. We argue that the two-parameter models of stars and black hole provide a better description of Segue 1 than the three-parameter models of stars and two dark halo components. Additional support for a central black hole comes from a significant increase in the central rotation. Using individual velocities, we measure a rotation amplitude of $9.0 \pm 2.4\ \mathrm{km\ s^{-1}}$. Segue 1 is likely being tidally stripped at large radii, and we might be witnessing the remnant nucleus of a more massive system. Alternatively, given the high black hole mass relative to the stellar mass, Segue 1 is analogous to Little Red Dots seen in the early Universe.
title The "Dark-Matter Dominated" Galaxy Segue 1 Modeled with a Black Hole and no Dark Halo
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.06198