The mass distribution in the innermost regions of spiral galaxies

We use high-spatial resolution (100 pc) rotation curves of 83 spiral galaxies to investigate the mass distribution of their innermost kpc. We show that, in this region, the luminous matter completely accounts for the gravitational potential and no dark component is required. The derived I-band disk mass-to-light ratios agree well with those obtained from population synthesis models and correlate with color in a similar way. We find strict upper limits of 10⁷ M for the masses of compact bodies at the center of spirals, ruling out that these systems host the remnants of the quasar activity.