An official website of the United States government
Context. The M BH – σ ⋆ relation is considered a result of coevolution between the host galaxies and their supermassive black holes. For elliptical bulge hosting inactive galaxies, this relation is well established, but there is still discussion concerning whether active galaxies follow the same relation. Aims. In this paper, we estimate black hole masses for a sample of 19 local luminous active galactic nuclei (AGNs; LLAMA) to test their location on the M BH – σ ⋆ relation. In addition, we test how robustly we can determine the stellar velocity dispersion in the presence of an AGN continuum and AGN emission lines, and as a function of signal-to-noise ratio. Methods. Supermassive black hole masses ( M BH ) were derived from the broad-line-based relations for H α , H β , and Pa β emission line profiles for Type 1 AGNs. We compared the bulge stellar velocity dispersion ( σ ⋆ ) as determined from the Ca II triplet (CaT) with the dispersion measured from the near-infrared CO (2-0) absorption features for each AGN and find them to be consistent with each other. We applied an extinction correction to the observed broad-line fluxes and we corrected the stellar velocity dispersion by an average rotation contribution as determined from spatially resolved stellar kinematic maps. Results. The H α -based black hole masses of our sample of AGNs were estimated in the range 6.34 ≤ log M BH ≤ 7.75 M ⊙ and the σ ⋆CaT estimates range between 73 ≤ σ ⋆CaT ≤ 227 km s −1 . From the so-constructed M BH − σ ⋆ relation for our Type 1 AGNs, we estimate the black hole masses for the Type 2 AGNs and the inactive galaxies in our sample. Conclusions. We find that our sample of local luminous AGNs is consistent with the M BH – σ ⋆ relation of lower luminosity AGNs and inactive galaxies, after correcting for dust extinction and the rotational contribution to the stellar velocity dispersion.
more »
« less
This content will become publicly available on April 1, 2026
Spectroscopic active galactic nucleus survey at z ∼ 2 with NTT/SOFI for GRAVITY+ observations
With the advent of GRAVITY+, the upgrade to the beam combiner GRAVITY at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), fainter and higher redshift active galactic nuclei (AGNs) are becoming observable, opening an unprecedented opportunity to further our understanding of the cosmic coevolution of supermassive black holes and their host galaxies. To identify an initial sample of high-redshift type 1 AGNs that can be observed with GRAVITY+, we have obtained spectroscopic data with NTT/SOFI of the most promising candidates. Our goal is to measure their broad line region (BLR) fluxes and assess their physical geometries by analysing the spectral profiles of their Balmer lines. We present 29z∼ 2 targets with strong Hαemission in theKband. Their line profiles are strongly non-Gaussian, with a narrow core and broad wings. This can be explained as a combination of rotation and turbulence contributing to the total profile or two physically distinct inner and outer regions. We found small Hαvirial factors, which we attributed to the low full-width-half-maximum (FWHM)/σratios of their non-Gaussian profiles, noting that this can lead to discrepancies in black hole masses derived from scaling relations. We also find two targets that show tentative evidence of BLRs dominated by radial motions. Lastly, we estimated the expected differential phase signals that will be seen with GRAVITY+, which will provide guidance for the observing strategy that will be adopted.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1909711
- PAR ID:
- 10611462
- Publisher / Repository:
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Volume:
- 696
- ISSN:
- 0004-6361
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- A30
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
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 Hαemission line. Methods.We made use of published reverberation mapping data. We remeasured all Hαtime 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 Hαluminosity and the width of the Hαemission 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 Hαemission 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.more » « less
-
Abstract Low-luminosity active galactic nuclei (AGNs) with low-mass black holes (BHs) in the early universe are fundamental to understanding the BH growth and their coevolution with the host galaxies. Utilizing JWST NIRCam Wide Field Slitless Spectroscopy, we perform a systematic search for broad-line Hαemitters (BHAEs) atz≈ 4–5 in 25 fields of the A SPectroscopic survey of biased halos In the Reionization Era (ASPIRE) project, covering a total area of 275 arcmin2. We identify 16 BHAEs with FWHM of the broad components spanning from ∼1000 to 3000 km s−1. Assuming that the broad line widths arise as a result of Doppler broadening around BHs, the implied BH masses range from 107to 108M⊙, with broad Hα-converted bolometric luminosities of 1044.5–1045.5erg s−1and Eddington ratios of 0.07–0.47. The spatially extended structure of the F200W stacked image may trace the stellar light from the host galaxies. The Hαluminosity function indicates an increasing AGN fraction toward the higher Hαluminosities. We find possible evidence for clustering of BHAEs: two sources are at the same redshift with a projected separation of 519 kpc; one BHAE appears as a composite system residing in an overdense region with three close companion Hαemitters. Three BHAEs exhibit blueshifted absorption troughs indicative of the presence of high column density gas. We find that the broad-line-selected and photometrically selected BHAE samples exhibit different distributions in the optical continuum slopes, which can be attributed to their different selection methods. The ASPIRE broad-line Hαsample provides a good database for future studies of faint AGN populations at high redshift.more » « less
-
Abstract The broad-line region (BLR) size–luminosity relation has paramount importance for estimating the mass of black holes in active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Traditionally, the size of the HβBLR is often estimated from the optical continuum luminosity at 5100 Å, while the size of the HαBLR and its correlation with the luminosity is much less constrained. As a part of the Seoul National University AGN Monitoring Project, which provides 6 yr photometric and spectroscopic monitoring data, we present our measurements of the Hαlags of high-luminosity AGNs. Combined with the measurements for 42 AGNs from the literature, we derive the size–luminosity relations of the HαBLR against the broad Hαand 5100 Å continuum luminosities. We find the slope of the relations to be 0.61 ± 0.04 and 0.59 ± 0.04, respectively, which are consistent with the Hβsize–luminosity relation. Moreover, we find a linear relation between the 5100 Å continuum luminosity and the broad Hαluminosity across 7 orders of magnitude. Using these results, we propose a new virial mass estimator based on the Hαbroad emission line, finding that the previous mass estimates based on scaling relations in the literature are overestimated by up to 0.7 dex at masses lower than 107M⊙.more » « less
-
Abstract About 3%–10% of Type I active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have double-peaked broad Balmer lines in their optical spectra originating from the motion of gas in their accretion disk. Double-peaked profiles arise not only in AGNs, but occasionally appear during optical flares from tidal disruption events and changing-state AGNs. In this paper, we identify 250 double-peaked emitters (DPEs) among a parent sample of optically variable broad-line AGNs in the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey, corresponding to a DPE fraction of 19%. We model spectra of the broad Hαemission-line regions and provide a catalog of the fitted accretion disk properties for the 250 DPEs. Analysis of power spectra derived from the 5 yr ZTF light curves finds that DPE light curves have similar amplitudes and power-law indices to other broad-line AGNs. Follow-up spectroscopy of 12 DPEs reveals that ∼50% display significant changes in the relative strengths of their red and blue peaks over long 10–20 yr timescales, indicating that broad-line profile changes arising from spiral arm or hotspot rotation are common among optically variable DPEs. Analysis of the accretion disk parameters derived from spectroscopic modeling provides evidence that DPEs are not in a special accretion state, but are simply normal broad-line AGNs viewed under the right conditions for the accretion disk to be easily visible. We include inspiraling supermassive black hole binary candidate SDSSJ1430+2303 in our analysis, and discuss how its photometric and spectroscopic variability is consistent with the disk-emitting AGN population in the ZTF survey.more » « less
