Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the Hα emission line
| Title: | Estimating masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei from the Hα emission line |
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| Authors: | Dalla Bonta E.; Peterson B. M.; Grier C. J.; Berton M.; Brandt W. N.; Ciroi S.; Corsini E. M.; Dalla Barba B.; Davies R.; Dehghanian M.; Edelson R.; Foschini L.; Gasparri D.; Ho L. C.; Horne K.; Iodice E.; Morelli L.; Pizzella A.; Portaluri E.; Shen Y.; Schneider D. P.; Vestergaard M. |
| Contributors: | Dalla Bonta, E.; Peterson, B. M.; Grier, C. J.; Berton, M.; Brandt, W. N.; Ciroi, S.; Corsini, E. M.; Dalla Barba, B.; Davies, R.; Dehghanian, M.; Edelson, R.; Foschini, L.; Gasparri, D.; Ho, L. C.; Horne, K.; Iodice, E.; Morelli, L.; Pizzella, A.; Portaluri, E.; Shen, Y.; Schneider, D. P.; Vestergaard, M. |
| Publisher Information: | EDP Sciences |
| Publication Year: | 2025 |
| Collection: | Padua Research Archive (IRIS - Università degli Studi di Padova) |
| Subject Terms: | galaxies: active; galaxies: nuclei; galaxies: Seyfert; quasars: emission lines |
| Description: | Aims. The goal of this project is to construct an estimator for the masses of supermassive black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) based on the broad Halpha emission line. Methods. We made use of published reverberation mapping data. We remeasured all Halpha time lags from the original data as we find that reverberation measurements are often improved by detrending the light curves. Results. We produced mass estimators that require only the Halpha luminosity and the width of the Halpha emission line as characterized by either the full width at half maximum or the line dispersion. Conclusions. It is possible, on the basis of a single spectrum covering the Halpha emission line, to estimate the mass of the central supermassive black hole in AGNs with all three parameters believed to affect mass measurement - luminosity, line width, and Eddington ratio - taken into account. The typical formal accuracy in such estimates is of order 0.2-0.3 dex relative to the reverberation-based masses. |
| Document Type: | article in journal/newspaper |
| File Description: | ELETTRONICO |
| Language: | English |
| Relation: | info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:001457679200010; volume:696; firstpage:1; lastpage:13; numberofpages:13; journal:ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS; https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3553390 |
| DOI: | 10.1051/0004-6361/202452746 |
| Availability: | https://hdl.handle.net/11577/3553390; https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202452746; https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/04/aa52746-24/aa52746-24.html |
| Rights: | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; license:Creative commons ; license uri:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: | edsbas.5A0F0D82 |
| Database: | BASE |