Pith. Sign in

RECORD

The Black Hole Mass - Galaxy Age Relation

PaperPDF from arXiv

data files

Paper breakdownThe authors' claims, conditions and measurements, as JSON Signed receiptProof this review has not been altered
X Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit Hacker News
M.R. Merrifield (University of Nottingham), D.A. Forbes (University of Birmingham, Swinburne University), A.I. Terlevich (University of Birmingham)

Astrophysics · Submitted 17 Feb 2000

abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review

The authors' main claim We present evidence that there is a significant correlation between the fraction of a galaxy's mass that lies in its central black hole and the age of the galaxy's stellar population.

how it is stated · asserted 0.98 read the record →

Comment (0) Read on arXiv ↗
Cite ▾
arXiv IDastro-ph/0002350 (version 1)
Pith IDVQ5EQVJB, Pith's permanent record of this paper and its review
CitationA.I. Terlevich (University of Birmingham), D.A. Forbes (University of Birmingham, M.R. Merrifield (University of Nottingham), Swinburne University). "The Black Hole Mass - Galaxy Age Relation." arXiv:astro-ph/0002350 (2000). https://pith.science/paper/VQ5EQVJB
Claim paper

The compiled record

The paper's own sentences, arranged. Each label is drawn from a closed vocabulary; the number beside it is the probability the classifier gave that label. Numbers in the tables are the authors', checked by code. No sentence in this record was written by a model.

Open the compiled record

Compiled by classifier-1.13.0 via TypeSafe API, question bank abstract-p1-20260923, 2026-09-23: 1 request, 3,662 input tokens.

What the abstract itself states, as probabilities: claims first 0.03 · states limitation 0.17 · human participants 0.02 · controlled comparison 0.05 · randomized assignment 0.01 · states quantitative result 0.09 · compares with prior results 0.20 · mentions code or data availability 0.02.

The abstract, sentence by sentence

arXiv listing abstract v1. Results and the main claim are underlined; .

We present evidence that there is a significant correlation between the fraction of a galaxy's mass that lies in its central black hole and the age of the galaxy's stellar population. Since the absorption line indices that are used to estimate the age are luminosity weighted, they essentially measure the time since the last significant episode of star formation in the galaxy. The existence of this correlation is consistent with several theories of galaxy formation, including the currently-favoured hierarchical picture of galaxy evolution, which predicts just such a relation between black hole mass and the time since the last burst of merger-induced star formation. It is not consistent with models in which the massive black hole is primordial, and hence uncoupled from the stellar properties of the galaxy.

background contribution method result interpretation main claim

What the classifier reports for each sentence. The number is the probability it gave the label.
#sentencerolethe authors' own workstates the main conclusionstrength
s0 We present evidence that there is a significant correlation between the fraction of a galaxy's mass that lies in its central black hole and the age of the galaxy's stellar population. result 0.94 0.94 0.95 asserted 0.98
s1 Since the absorption line indices that are used to estimate the age are luminosity weighted, they essentially measure the time since the last significant episode of star formation in the galaxy. method 0.74 0.20 0.03 asserted 0.99
s2 The existence of this correlation is consistent with several theories of galaxy formation, including the currently-favoured hierarchical picture of galaxy evolution, which predicts just such a relation between black hole mass and the time since the last burst of merger-induced star formation. interpretation 1.00 0.13 0.09 hedged possibility 0.98
s3 It is not consistent with models in which the massive black hole is primordial, and hence uncoupled from the stellar properties of the galaxy. interpretation 0.98 0.37 0.07 asserted 1.00

What kind of paper the classifier reports this is: empirical study 1.00 · evidence from observation or experiment 0.50.

What was examined, and what was not

sources read
  • arXiv listing abstract v1
not examined
  • full text
  • figures and tables
  • references and citing sentences
  • relations to other papers
levels run
  • P abstract
not run
  • S sections
  • T body sentences
  • C citations
  • R cross-paper relations

Every quoted sentence on this record is the authors'. Every label is from Pith's closed vocabulary, with the probability shown beside it. Every number in the measurements table is the authors', checked by code. Record as JSON

The paper
Original abstract

We present evidence that there is a significant correlation between the fraction of a galaxy's mass that lies in its central black hole and the age of the galaxy's stellar population. Since the absorption line indices that are used to estimate the age are luminosity weighted, they essentially measure the time since the last significant episode of star formation in the galaxy. The existence of this correlation is consistent with several theories of galaxy formation, including the currently-favoured hierarchical picture of galaxy evolution, which predicts just such a relation between black hole mass and the time since the last burst of merger-induced star formation. It is not consistent with models in which the massive black hole is primordial, and hence uncoupled from the stellar properties of the galaxy.

Human review

How Pith checks papers → · Full audit of this paper →

Discussion

Know something about this paper? Leave a comment, or highlight any passage above to comment on it.