Browsing by Author "Stern, D."

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    Spatially resolved spectroscopy of the globular cluster RZ 2109 and the nature of its black hole*
    (The American Astronomical Society, 2012) Peacock, M.B.; Zepf, S.E.; Kundu, A.; MacCarone, T.J.; Rhode, K.L.; Salzer, J.J.; Waters, C.Z.; Ciardullo, R.; Gronwall, C.; Stern, D.
    We present optical Hubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph ($HST/S\text{TIS}$) spectroscopy of RZ 2109, a globular cluster (GC) in the elliptical galaxy NGC 4472. This GC is notable for hosting an ultraluminous X-ray source as well as associated strong and broad [O III] $\lambda\lambda4959$, 5007 emission. We show that the $HST/S\text{TIS}$ spectroscopy spatially resolves the [O III] emission in RZ 2109. While we are unable to make a precise determination of the morphology of the emission-line nebula, the best-fitting models all require that the [O III] $\lambda5007$ emission has a half-light radius in the range 3-7 pc. The extended nature of the [O III] $\lambda5007$ emission is inconsistent with published models that invoke an intermediate-mass black hole origin. It is also inconsistent with the ionization of ejecta from a nova in the cluster. The spatial scale of the nebula could be produced via the photoionization of a strong wind driven from a stellar mass black hole accreting at roughly its Eddington rate.