Year: 1982
Type: article
Abstract: Quasar masses are investigated assuming that accretion on to massive black holes is the ultimate source of energy produced by quasars. Lower limit for the total energy emitted and the mass accumulated in black holes in 1 Gpc3 is calculated using various data on quasar counts and bolometric luminosities. The energy produced is at least |$8.5\,\times\,{10}^{66}\,\text{erg}\,\text{Gpc}^{-3}$| This result is independent of the cosmological model. Assuming that quasars reside in nuclei of giant galaxies it is shown that minimum masses of dead quasars are of the order of |${10}^{8}\,{M}_{\odot}$|, close to the observational threshold for ground-based telescopes.
Author: A. Sotan
Institution: Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2127984363