A photometric method to determine supermassive black hole masses

We report the discovery of a strong correlation between the shape of a bulge's light-profile and the mass of its central supermassive black hole (Mbh). We find that log(Mbh=M-circle-dot) = 2:91(±0:38) log(n) + 6:37(±0:21), where n is the Sersic r1=n shape index. This correlation is shown to be at least as strong as the relationship between the logarithm of the stellar velocity dispersion and logMbh and has comparable scatter.