THE HIGH-MASS END OF THE BLACK HOLE MASS FUNCTION: MASS ESTIMATES IN BRIGHTEST CLUSTER GALAXIES

We present Hubble Space Telescope imaging and spectroscopic observations of three Brightest Cluster Galaxies, Abell 1836-BCG, Abell 2052-BCG, and Abell 3565-BCG, obtained with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. The data provide detailed information on the structure and mass profile of the stellar component, the dust optical depth, and the spatial distribution and kinematics of the ionized gas within the innermost region of each galaxy. Dynamical models, which account for the observed stellar mass profile and include the contribution of a central supermassive black hole (SBH), are constructed to reproduce the kinematics derived from the Ha and [N II]lambda lambda 6548,6583 emission lines. Secure SBH detection with M-center dot = 3.61(-0.50)(+0.41) x 10(9) M-circle dot and M-center dot = 1.34(-0.19)(+0.21) x 10(9) M-circle dot, respectively, are obtained for Abell 1836-BCG and Abell 3565-BCG, which show regular rotation curves and strong central velocity gradients. In the case of Abell 2052-BCG, the lack of an orderly rotational motion prevents a secure determination, although an upper limit of M-center dot less than or similar to 4.60 x 10(9) M-circle dot can be placed on the mass of the central SBH. These measurements represent an important step forward in the characterization of the high-mass end of the SBH mass function.