HIGH-RESOLUTION KINEMATIC OBSERVATIONS OF RAPIDLY ROTATING SPHEROIDAL COMPONENTS OF GALAXIES

We present kinematic observations of seven bright galaxies: M31, M32, M81, NGC 3115, NGC 5813, NGC 4406 and NGC 4594, taken with high spatial and spectral resolution. These galaxies are all either ellipticals or bulge-dominated composite systems. M31 and NGC 5813 have unresolved central velocity gradients and, in these galaxies and NGC 4406. there is a good case for central mass enhancements, which could be either central black holes or distributed dark matter. We discuss the implications of our observations for some existing black hole models of galaxies. Central-point or concentrated masses will convert box orbits to stochastic orbits in the centres of triaxial elliptical galaxies, and will thus affect the isophotal structure in the centres. We present some evidence for this in NGC 5813.