{
  "abstract": "There are indications that the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) hosts a central supermassive black hole (SMBH), yet no direct detection exists: one reason is that its present-day location need not necessarily coincide with the photometric or kinematic centers. Here we frame a dynamical targeting problem and predict the present-day sky location of the LMC SMBH. We model the recent LMC–Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) interaction, which induces a bar-disk offset, and integrate SMBH orbits within a realistic, time-dependent LMC–SMC–Milky Way (MW) potential. We show that the MW tidal field at the present epoch exceeds that of the SMC by at least an order of magnitude, setting a preferred direction for coherent, vertical low-amplitude displacements, while the disk asymmetry drives in-plane offsets. Projecting onto the observed LMC frame, the mean of our predicted SMBH probability distribution is located at ( α , δ ) = ( 80 . ″ 23 , − 69 . ″ 55 ) g, with a 1 σ confidence ellipse having semimajor and semiminor axes of ( a , b ) = ( 1 . ″ 34 , 0 . ″ 56 ) , respectively. This mean is ∼6′ north of the adopted dynamical center, while the mode coincides with the dynamical center and lies well within the 1 σ confidence region. Furthermore, all literature estimates of the LMC center considered here fall within the 2 σ confidence region. This provides a concrete, testable target for ongoing and upcoming spectroscopic surveys, transforming the search for the LMC SMBH from an unconstrained problem into a focused observational strategy.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "University of Wisconsin",
    "McDonald Observatory",
    "AURA for ESA",
    "Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam (AIP)"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Robin Chisholm",
      "orcid": "0009-0002-9263-5574"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Elena D’Onghia",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2676-8344"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Niv Drory",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7339-3170"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Andrew J. Fox",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-0724-4115"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Noam Libeskind",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6406-0016"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6ypnjq8nev49e.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeacce",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6ypnjq8nev49e",
  "issns": [
    "1538-4357",
    "0004-637X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacce",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "feed-journal",
      "astronomy/general"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213417640",
  "pdf_url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacce/pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "American Astronomical Society",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6ypnjq8nev49e.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:17Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeacce",
      "source": "feed-iop",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacce"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
      "native_id": "10.3847/1538-4357/aeacce",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aeacce"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena",
      "subfield": "galaxies"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The Missing Black Hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud: A Dynamical Prediction for Its Present-day Location",
  "title_text": "The Missing Black Hole in the Large Magellanic Cloud: A Dynamical Prediction for Its Present-day Location",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:11Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6ypnjq8nev49e",
  "venue": "The Astrophysical Journal",
  "versions": []
}