Hunting for Intermediate-Mass Black Holes Using X-ray and Optical Images of Galaxies

Abstract

The existence of stellar-mass and supermassive black holes has been confirmed and their properties investigated for many years now, but the existence of hypothesized black holes with masses between these two ranges, called Intermediate-Mass Black Holes (IMBHs), has yet to be confirmed. By testing and using a relationship between a galaxy's spiral arm pitch angle, which relates the tightness of a spiral galaxy's arms to the mass of the central black hole, a sample of galaxies has been identified as candidates for hosting these IMBHs and become a point of interest for further research. Further research will confirm, through other black hole mass estimation methods, the presence of IMBHs in these galaxies and the accuracy of the relationship between spiral arm pitch angle and a galaxy's central mass.