NGC 3945 has a complex structure, with two concentric bars and a pseudobulge.[3] Unlike classical bulges which are like miniature elliptical galaxies, pseudobulges have features similar to disk galaxies, including a flattened structure and significant rotation.[6] It is classified as a LINER galaxy.[3] The formation history of NGC 3945 is likely quite complex, with the pseudo-bulge being formed gradually from disk material, while bulges (spheroidal components) would have formed from violent merger events.[3]
Unlike galaxies with similar velocity dispersions and luminosities, the central black hole of NGC 3945 has an unusually low mass, estimated to be around 9×106M☉. However, it is also possible that NGC 3945 has no central black hole at all.[7]
^ abSkrutskie, Michael F.; Cutri, Roc M.; Stiening, Rae; Weinberg, Martin D.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Carpenter, John M.; Beichman, Charles A.; Capps, Richard W.; Chester, Thomas; Elias, Jonathan H.; Huchra, John P.; Liebert, James W.; Lonsdale, Carol J.; Monet, David G.; Price, Stephan; Seitzer, Patrick; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Fullmer, Linda; Hurt, Robert L.; Light, Robert M.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Tam, Robert; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Wheelock, Sherry L. (1 February 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (2): 1163–1183. Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN0004-6256. S2CID18913331.
^Gültekin, Kayhan; Richstone, Douglas O.; Gebhardt, Karl; Lauer, Tod R.; Pinkney, Jason; Aller, M. C.; Bender, Ralf; Dressler, Alan; Faber, S. M.; Filippenko, Alexei V.; Green, Richard; Ho, Luis C.; Kormendy, John; Siopis, Christos (2009). "A Quintet of Black Hole Mass Determinations". The Astrophysical Journal. 695 (2): 1577–1590. arXiv:0901.4162. Bibcode:2009ApJ...695.1577G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/695/2/1577. S2CID14365610.