Discovery of an Intermediate Mass Black Hole at the center of the starburst/Seyfert composite galaxy IRAS 01072+4954

Abstract

The starburst/Seyfert composite galaxy IRAS 01072+4954 (z = 0.0236) is an enigmatic source that combines a Seyfert 1-like X-ray emission with a starburst optical spectrum that lacks broad line emission. We performed High Angular Resolution observations of the central kiloparsec of this galaxy in the near-infrared. Combining our data with 2MASS images of the whole galaxy, we obtain and model the surface brightness profile. We find indications for the presence of an elongated bar-like structure in both data sets. We also model the line of sight velocity distribution of the stars in the bulge. The derived photometrical and kinematical parameters of the bulge are used to evaluate the black hole mass through scaling relations. We find that all reliable estimations of the black hole mass are consistent with the presence of an intermediate mass black hole of MBH ≲ 105 M⊙.