Work

Estimating Black Hole Masses in Active Galaxies Using the Hα Emission Line

Year: 2005

Type: article

Abstract: It has been established that virial masses for black holes in low-redshift active galaxies can be estimated from measurements of the optical continuum strength and the width of the broad Hβ line. Under various circumstances, however, both of these quantities can be challenging to measure or can be subject to large systematic uncertainties. To mitigate these difficulties, we present a new method for estimating black hole masses. From analysis of a new sample of broad-line active galactic nuclei, we find that Hα luminosity scales almost linearly with optical continuum luminosity and that a strong correlation exists between Hα and Hβ line widths. These two empirical correlations allow us to translate the standard virial mass system to a new one based solely on observations of the broad Hα emission line.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/431897

Authors: Jenny E. Greene, Luis C. Ho

Institutions: Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Observatories

Language: English

Topic: Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Space Telescope Science Institute

Awards: G433322167, G58316358, G6273510985