Black hole mass estimates in brightest cluster galaxies

We present HST imaging and spectroscopic observations of three brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), Abell 1836-BCG, Abell 2052-BCG, and Abell 3565-BCG, obtained with WFPC2, ACS, and STIS. The data provide detailed information on the structure and mass profile of the stellar component, 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 [N II] λ6583Å emission line. Secure SBH detection of M_BH = 5.77^{+2.58}_{-1.77} × 10^9 M_sun and M_BH = 1.66^{+0.06}_{-0.06} × 10^9 M_sun, respectively, are obtained for Abell 1836-BCG and Abell 3565-BCG. In the case of Abell 2052-BCG we placed an upper limit on the mass of the central SBH of M_BH ≤ 8.7 × 10^9 M_sun.