Monday

Galaxy-black hole co-evolution is a crucial part of our modern theories of galaxy evolution. Our understanding of this vital process is hindered, however, by a lack of direct dynamical black hole mass measurements. The use of molecular gas as a tracer of the gravitational field in a galaxy has been used to make several direct super-massive black hole mass measurements. With fewer morphological biases than previous methods, and the possibility of pushing towards high redshift observations, this method has the potential to advance our understanding of the evolution of supermassive black holes and their hosts. In this talk I will present the latest results from the mm-Wave Interferometric Survey of Dark Object Masses (WISDOM). I will show that the molecular gas method can probe the same material as megamasers, deep in the molecular torus, clearly resolving the Keplerian increase in rotational velocities close to the black hole and providing high precision black hole mass measurements. I will support this with tests conducted on a simulated galaxy, which allow us to identify the strengths (and observational limitations) of the molecular gas method.