We present near-IR surface photometry ( 2D-profiling ) for a sample of 29 nearby galaxies for which super-massive black hole ( SMBH ) masses are constrained .
The data is derived from the UKIDSS-LASS survey representing a significant improvement in image quality and depth over previous studies based on 2MASS data .
We derive the spheroid luminosity and spheroid Sérsic index for each galaxy with GALFIT3 and use these data to construct SMBH mass -bulge luminosity ( M _ { bh } – L ) and SMBH - Sérsic index ( M _ { bh } – n ) relations .
The best fit K-band relation for elliptical and disk galaxies is \log ( M _ { bh } / M _ { \odot } ) = ~ { } -0.36 ( \pm~ { } 0.03 ) ( M _ { K } +18 ) ~ { } + ~ { } 6.17 ( \pm~ { % } 0.16 ) with an intrinsic scatter of 0.4 ^ { +0.09 } _ { -0.06 } dex whilst for elliptical galaxies we find \log ( M _ { bh } / M _ { \odot } ) = ~ { } -0.42 ( \pm~ { } 0.06 ) ( M _ { K } +22 ) ~ { } + ~ { } 7.5 ( \pm~ { } % 0.15 ) with an intrinsic scatter of 0.31 ^ { +0.087 } _ { -0.047 } dex .
Our revised M _ { bh } – L relation agrees closely with the previous near-IR constraint by .
The lack of improvement in the intrinsic scatter in moving to higher quality near-IR data suggests that the SMBH relations are not currently limited by the quality of the imaging data but is either intrinsic or a result of uncertainty in the precise number of required components required in the profiling process .
Contrary to expectation ( see ) a relation between SMBH mass and the Sérsic index was not found at near-IR wavelengths .
This latter outcome is believed to be explained by the generic inconsistencies between 1D and 2D galaxy profiling which are currently under further investigation .